Black Shack Alley - Bawling my eyes out

I enjoyed Zobel's "Black Shack Alley" very much. At first, I was a little intimidated by the number of pages, but once I started reading, I was glued to it. It is definitely one of my favourites so far. Not only does it raise awareness, but it is told in such a beautiful way. 

A few things stood out to me. Firstly, Jose's long for freedom as a child. He didn't know any better, he was only an innocent child so all he thought of was playing with his friends at Black Shack Alley. "Free at last! Free for the entire day" (10), he would say right when the adults left, not fully understanding what it is they went through. I think he only grasped this during Mr. Médouze's unexpected death. Mr. Médouze's death was caused by the "attachment" he had for the plantation. I found this interesting as well because even though the work is exhausting and they do not earn much, the workers went back every time. This exact reason took M'man Tine's life as well. When the book mentioned this, I actually started bawling my eyes out because I think I got attached to M'man Tine and was amazed by her. She truly loved and cared for Jose even though his parents were not present. She acted as his mother that during times, I forget that she's Jose's grandmother. Also, later in the book when M'man Tine addressed Jose as "son" I found myself crying again.

M'man Tine was truly a role model. I feel that she knew right away what future she wanted for Jose. All her hard work in the plantation and the letters sent to Délia was for him. One important thing I noticed was that, he never let Jose work at the plantation. Even after the whole situation with his friends setting fire to Black Shack Alley, she never asked him to work like his other friends. She knew right away that he shall go to school. Another thing is that M'man Tine only drinks half a cup of coffee in the morning, and doesn't let herself eat first before Jose has eaten something. Even though she seemed strict and scary to seven-year-old Jose, all of it was out of love. (This is making me want to cry again)

Also, another thing I noticed was that during M'man Tine's first illness, in the book, Jose did not know what to feel/felt indifferent like Mr. Médouze's death. His mind was confused of the new feeling, but his body kind of acted on its own by always staying near M'man Tine and even skipping school to care for her. However, the second time she fell ill, he was older and actually stated that he was "haunted by the fear that [his] grandmother would die" (158), understanding the feeling at last.

Additionally, I admired the relationships Jose had with all his friends/family. The sense of community in Black Shack Alley was evident. For instance, they all got together during Mr. Médouze's disappearance and death. Also, the sense of community for wherever they went. When M'man Tine was sick, neighbours and friends came to care for her and Jose. As well as Jose and Jojo's friendship that did not spoil one bit over the years. Their sense of community everywhere they go is commendable.

Lastly, here is a quote that I really liked:

"I don’t think there are in the world people who would deny their race because a person of the same color of skin as they behaved badly, in any way whatsoever. I don’t think that any white person, for instance, ever shouted: ‘I hate my race’ when a white person committed some theft or murder—something that occurs quite often" (169).

Discussion Question:

Jose was kind of clueless about racism after he moved away from Black Shack Alley, stating, "Could it be I was that repulsive in my dress? (128) when he moved to the Fort-de-France lycée. Do you think he was not educated about this when he was younger? Is he not aware or is he just looking for other explanations besides his race?