Griff! I. Background Austin Clarke:

– Biography:

• Barbadian- Canadian identity:

• Born in Bardados in 1934 Left for Toronto in 1955 (University) Barbados in 1975

Austin Clarke:

– Career:

• Broadcaster

• Civil right leader

• Professor.

Austin Clarke: Writing Style– Theme:

• Overall pattern:

–Peasant poverty in Barbados

–Immigrant experience in Canada

–Canadian and Caribbean nationhood

• Immigrants:

–Exterior and interior life

Austin Clarke: Narration:

• Third person narration

• Italic Griff’s mind

• Repetition

• Irony

Black Experience in Canada:

– Exterior Life:

• Racial discrimination:

– Example of Racism

• Unemployment

– Interior Life:

• Alienation, exile

• Hollowness

Griff! II. Caribbean Community& Griff

• A. Griff’s distance from community

• 1. Feeling superior to the other blacks

• His British experience and breeding• Master of Arts• Control over his wife• Pretending being affluent (“Money is

naught all.”)

Griff! II. Caribbean Community& Griff

• B. People’s viewpoints of Griff• Princess- fooling

around/proud/hypocrite• The stranger- weak/impotent• Masher (the barman)-

Discrimination-- Canadian—Griff---Black

Griff! II. Caribbean Community& Griff

• C. Friday Club• For Caribbean immigrants-- escape

from reality • (“Friday night is forgetting night.

West Indian night.”)• For Griff—not warm, a place remind

of his loss, weakness and failure

Griff! II: Self-Contradiction

• Griff’s language shows his self-contradiction. His speeches and his action are always contradicting each other.

• -- He seems not to care about anything, though, in fact, he does care.

Griff! II: Self-Contradiction, examples“I don’t come on strong”

– (p.233-234) After he knowsthat someone has said something about his behavior.

– (p.236--237) When he sees another man hugs wife.

“Money don’t mean anything to me…money is naught all”– -- He always tells people that money is not

important to him. However, his favorite hobby is gambling.

– (p.229-230) He says this after losing on the horse race.

Griff! III. Gender Relationship I. What is Griff's view toward his wife?• A. keep his wife in control

• 1. drapes his wife in an aura of sanctity

• 2. Griff's wife must dress well, and look sharp, even in the house

•

Griff! III. Gender Relationship

• B. Griff's vulnerability and doubts toward his wife

• 1. Griff stares at his friend, Stooly, invade his wife

• 2. The big Jamaican man asks his wife for a dance

– a. The man says, "I thought the missis was by-herself, tonight, again."

– b. Masher's words stir up the flame

Griff! III. Gender RelationshipII. What kind of woman is Griff's wife?

A. She is pretty and attractive

B. She carried burdens of fear and failure for his husbands' ambitionless attitude.

– 1. Covering her embarrassment for her husband--- She never criticized Griff in public

– 2. The way she responses to Griff

• a. She always carries a SMILE on her face

• b. She often says "Griffy, dear!" and "Haiii! How?"

Griff! III. Gender RelationshipIII. The interactions between Griff and his

wife

A. Griff was so centered around his own problems that he did not, for one moment, consider any emotion coming from his wife

B. Griff does not understand his wife, especially her smile

– 1. Griff was not able to keep things in control

– 2. Griff wanted to kill her smile more than he wanted to kill his wife

Griff! IV. Symbols•horse racing

– an environment for Griff to seek a sense of security

– the feeling of being in control

– Griff’s unwillingness to do laborious work

Griff! IV. Symbols

• A. dress– . limited understanding of British

culture

– . best-dressed man ←→adjust his jacket constantly

( ) how much Griff cared about the way he dressed

( ) discrepancy between reality and appearance.

Griff! IV. Symbols

• B. smile

– . part of the Britishness

– . the smile was shared by others

– . the smile as a mask to cover up the wife’s burdens

Griff! IV. Symbols• C. scar

– . implies something shameful– . lack of communication– . the symbolic meaning of covering the

scar with a scarf– . the symbolic meaning of the falling

scarf

• D. the beach, fishermen, fish