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Introduction To The Novel: For The Life of Lartitia by Merle Hodge

The document outlines the requirements for studying the novel 'For the Life of Laetitia' by Merle Hodge, including the necessity of having the textbook and completing assessments. It provides background on the author, highlighting her significance in Caribbean literature and her focus on women's conditions and education in the Caribbean. The synopsis details the protagonist Laetitia's struggles with family, education, and societal issues, emphasizing themes of power, poverty, and the challenges faced by women.

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158 views7 pages

Introduction To The Novel: For The Life of Lartitia by Merle Hodge

The document outlines the requirements for studying the novel 'For the Life of Laetitia' by Merle Hodge, including the necessity of having the textbook and completing assessments. It provides background on the author, highlighting her significance in Caribbean literature and her focus on women's conditions and education in the Caribbean. The synopsis details the protagonist Laetitia's struggles with family, education, and societal issues, emphasizing themes of power, poverty, and the challenges faced by women.

Uploaded by

chamulopeterson
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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For the Life

Of Laetitia
By Merle
Hodge
Requirements for studying this novel
● You must have the textbook. This was told to you from last
semester.
● You will write the necessary notes in your notebooks when
required.
● During and post reading assessments will be assigned and they
must be done. Some of them will be graded.
● You must cooperate with classmates when you are assigned group
work.
● Quizzes, reading assignments and tests will be given based on the
novel.
About the author
● Author of the novel ‘For the Life of
Laetitia’(published 1994)
● She lives is St. Augustine, Trinidad.
● Born in 1944 in Carapichaima, Trinidad and
is currently 78 years old.
● She is a writer, teacher and cultural social
activist.
● Also wrote the classic Trinidadian novel
‘Crick Crack Monkey(1970).
● She is recognized as the first black
Caribbean woman to have published a major
work of fiction.
● She attended school in Trinidad and
university in London.
Merle Hodge paints a rather dismal picture
of women's conditions in the Caribbean,
placing particular emphasis on education as
the key to their emancipation. In narrative
rich with local color, she contrasts city
and rural life and relates problems common
to both settings. Her cast of
multidimensional characters expresses a
range of attitudes about education, equality
and traditional values. Readers will easily
empathize with this heroine and the numerous
obstacles on her road to independence.
Main Characters
Laetitia (Lacey) Johnson- 12 yrs old, smart, likes to read books,sympathetic,
non-judgmental,strong sense of self(proud), outspoken,
no nonsense person,grateful, industrious/hardworking,
first to attend secondary school(modern & big,run by
the government)
Uncle Leroy
Tantie Vilma
Tantie Monica
Mr. Orville Cephas
Ma
Ms. Adlyn
Uncle Jamsie
Pappy
Rampie
Patsy Johnson (Laetitia’s mom)
A Synopsis of the novel
From Trinidadian writer Hodge, a novel with an authentic taste of Caribbean
culture and several serious themes. Laetitia (``Lacey''), 12, has passed the exams
for the distant secondary school, but the honor is overshadowed by the necessity
of leaving the wise grandparents who raised her and moving to town to live with a
self-important father she hardly knows. Lacey's own resourcefulness and
intelligence, plus a friendship with Indian classmate Anjanee, help her endure the
class prejudice of some of her teachers, as well as the abuse of her brutal
father. For Anjanee, the cruel pressures of getting an education without the
support of her traditional family are unbearable; even Lacey suffers a breakdown,
but at least she finds a way to escape her father's domination and return to
school. Anjanee's suicide is a compelling lesson: a woman who doesn't go to school
is doomed to a life of slaving for others—and being invisible to them; Anjanee
would rather be dead. The many colorful details of island life enrich the
narrative without interrupting its flow; the dialogue incorporates some island
patois, mostly clear in context. A powerful picture of a resilient young woman who
must challenge both racism and sexism in order to get the education that will
allow her to escape both.
Themes to Consider

1 Attitude towards power


and authority 2 Poverty
3 Love & Family Relationship 4 Prejudice
● Friendship
● Education
● Women in Society
● Abuse
● Equality
● Traditional Values

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