Postcolonial Reading of “Summer Lightning"

Postcolonial Reading of “Summer Lightning”

Olive Senior is a Caribbean writer who was born in rural Jamaica. In the short story, the author metaphorically expresses her thoughts about the loss of pride in Caribbean culture by the people of Caribbean Island and the hegemonic magnetism towards western culture, which he thinks “Sodomy”. The story, in surface level, presents a narration about boy who lives with her guardians and his experience with a new comer to the house, an old man. A Postcolonial analysis would bring out the intention of the author and provide a different coloring to the story. The Old man represents the colonizers who “had been coming for Years”. The House/ Garden Room represent the “Caribbean Island” and the old man can be analogized with the colonizers of Caribbean Island.

The secret room functions as a "Third Space" where the two cultures mingle. The Boy's race is not mentioned in the story, yet he may be assumed as being an african.Afro-Jamaican. Afro-Jamaicans or Black-Jamaicans are Jamaicans of partial or predominately Black African descent. They presently represent the largest ethnic group in the country, comprising over 90 percent of the island's population. The Old man, who is the outsider, can be considered as a Westerner. Caribbean Island is the Third Space where the two cultures mingle. The land neither belongs to the new boy nor to the old man. Thunderstorm represents Dangers and Perils. Whenever the boy sees Lightning he enters into the Garden Room, which is not his real house. The aunty and uncle are already lured by wester culture and let the western culture stay in her house, which is represented by the old man. Bro.Justice represents Jamaican Culture. The boy forgets Bro.Justice and is attracted towards the old man, who represents foreign culture. The author criticises the people of Jamaica of having cultural cringe by looking down at their own culture and admiring the foreign culture. The aunty epotomizes the people who forget their own culture and adopting the western culture.

The author gives three solutions to escape from the cultural cringe. The three doors represents three Choices that are given before the Jamaicans. The first door leads to the "living room" where the aunty lives. The Aunt never listens to Bro.Justice instead she lets the Westerner live in her house. The Aunt is fully influenced by the western culture therefore she looks down at the Rastafarian Bro.Justice. thus the first door leads to the "dominant" culture which has been lured by the hegemonic western culture. The Second door leads to the place where uncle lives. Uncle represents residual stereotypes. The second way which leads to the "side Verandha" functions as a thrushold/ liminal space where two cultures meet. It is the place where people who are "not upto the standard of front" would be received. The Uncle lets the foreigner stay with him yet he has a connection with the out side world through side Verandha. Thus the second door represents "residual" space/ hybrid space. The third way which leads to Bro.Justice represents Native Culture of Jamaica. Bro.Justice, from the beginning represents native myths and native religion, who epitomizes "Emergent" culture. The author abruptly ends the story with cliff hanger climax. The choice is given to the boy and it is upto him to choose that way. Though the boy turns the talisman towards the Garden, it is obscure that whether the boy was saved by Bro.Justic