Mrs. K.

MaharajCSEC English BAnansi

ANANSI- ALISTAIR CAMPBELL

PART 1 “THE GOOD SHIP HOPE WEST

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● In this part of the play, we are introduced to the Boy and the Captain who are

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father and son. Pay close attention to the relationship between the Boy and the
Captain. It does not seem loving at first.

● The Captain, in his parental/fatherly role, comes across as authoritative, a

disciplinarian and cold.

● This initial part of the play introduces the reader to very specific constructions of

childhood and constructions of adulthood.

● ADULTHOOD (CAPTAIN)- Dominating and authoritative

● CHILD (BOY)- subservient, curious, seeks reasoning and explanations, innocent

and naïve.

● CHILD (GIRL)- black, unfortunate, enslaved, lost, cannot communicate and

confused.

● The Boy does not quite understand the issue and realities of slavery and the idea

of transporting HUMAN CARGO.

● The Boy is also privileged, white and of the dominant race of the time.

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● We are introduced to an enslaved child, simply named Girl. She looks at her

surroundings as strange and shocking. She thinks that the world is ending
Mrs. K. MaharajCSEC English BAnansi

because all she sees is the endless ocean around her. This would have been a
shocking sight because the child would have only known her very small
surroundings of her tribe and her home.

● She comments about the “pale men” and shows that she is very much

unaccustomed to seeing whites/ Caucasian people. She only knows her race and
her family.

● Reference is made to a “bale of cotton”- immediately, the reader knows her faith.

That is, she will be sold to work on a cotton plantation.

● The reader begins to get an idea of how the slaves were treated. They were

treated inhumanely and dehumanised. They were also treated worse than animals
and as goods/cargo rather than people.

● The sailor comments that if the “cargo is damaged”, then the value of the cargo

will decrease and they won’t be able to fetch a good price for her.

● The reader is also introduced to the port that the slave ship left from in England

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which is Bristol.

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● Boy- lacks understanding of the harsh reality of what is actually taking place.

● The innocence of the Boy is revealed when he compares his grandmother to the

old slave Woman. Such a comparison would be seen as blasphemous and

● The first part also gives the reader insight into the structure/different parts of the

ship.

● It is revealed that Boy writes/keeps a diary/log which suggests that he is quite

lonely with the only real companion is his thoughts. He confides in his diary and it
becomes a safe space for him to express himself.

● He seems very grateful for the one sailor who spends time with him and teaches

him to tie nautical knots.

THE HOLD

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● STAGE DIRECTIONS- gives vivid imagery of how the slaves are arranged in the

hold.

● Girl- identified as being one of the bound slaves.

● Woman- other person tied to the beam and “we will hear her but never see her.”

● This is where we are introduced to the Woman who will tell the stories and keep

the child company. Inadvertently, she also gives the Girl HOPE and RESILIENCE in
the face of the most horrid circumstances.

● The Girl remembers being captured and taken away from her mother and she

states “I don’t know why…” suggests her youth, age and innocence. She has little
to no understanding of what is happening to her.

● This part uses the DRAMATIC TECHNIQUE of REPETITION for emphasis. The Girl

repeatedly states, “I don’t know why…”, which emphasises her state of confusion.

● The line, “tied together like goats” shows that the enslaved were treated like

animals that are going to be slaughtered.

● The Girl longs and yearns for her mama, she longs to be rescued, which is

understandable because she is just a child.

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● While observing what is happening around her, the reader gains insight into the

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reality of her situation.

● DRAMATIC TECHNIQUE/LITERARY DEVICE- VERY DISTINCT Imagery is used through

the words “filth, sickness and fear”. The use of these words can be categorised as
DISEASE IMAGERY and indicates the harsh reality of what is taking place.

● The Woman’s first words spoken to the Girl are encouraging words and she sends

the message that you are alive, therefore, you must hold on to that.

● The warmth that the Girl feels is very comforting and she wants to know who is

the Woman.

● The Woman continues with more positive affirmations and words and urges the

Girl to hold on to truth and to life.

THE CABIN

● The scene shifts to The Cabin and this is where most of the interactions between

the Boy and the Captain take place. The Captain is more focused on his son’s
education. That is, the didactic aspects of the young child’s life.

● He commands his son to focus on “dictation” and highlights the short, cold and

stern interaction between father and son. For example, “Yes Captain”. The Boy
refers to his father by his title/occupation rather than the more endearing use of
the word “father”.
Mrs. K. MaharajCSEC English BAnansi

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● The death of only three slaves indicates a positive outcome and thanks God for it.

We also get an idea of the journey that the slave ship is taking.

● We also get some details of the treatment of the slaves. They are allowed to

exercise, given corn porridge as their only meal.

● The Captain instructs his son to focus on “Dictation” regarding the Captain

entering information into the ship’s log. His son writes down what he dictates and
through this, the reader is given information on specificities about the journey and
the ship’s operation.

THE HOLD

● Again, we see the stage directions acting as an OMNISCIENT NARRATOR. An

omniscient narrator is the all-knowing voice in a story. The narrator has greater
insight into the narrative events; context; and the characters' motives, unspoken

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thoughts, and experiences, than any individual character does.

● Through the narrative voice, the reader is able to gain insight into the character’s

thoughts which are not revealed in their dialogue.

● The Woman continues to give positive affirmations. She urges the Girl to be

strong but the Girl is upset and cries out for her mother. This is a permissible
reactions simply because she is a very frightened child.

● The reality of the situation is revealed through the indication that the Girl is sitting

in her own filth/mess.

● It is interesting to note that even though white slavers thought that African tribes

were savages and uncivilised, they, in fact, had their own culture, religion, society
and functioned quite efficiently.

● The Woman attempts to distract the child from her harsh reality in the hopes of

comforting her. She begins her questioning and stories with “Riddle me this,
riddle me that”. This is very important because in the Caribbean, through the oral
tradition of storytelling, Anansi stories would start off and end with “Crick Crack”,
to indicate to the listeners that the story was about to begin. Similarly, the
European tradition of storytelling will begin with “Once upon a time…”

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● The Woman tries to reassure the Girl and to find some support/positivity

regardless of her situation.

● The Girl claims that she is “not free” which refers to the fact that she is bound

with rope and she isn’t physically free. However, the Girl finds no positivity in her
situation yet. She is completely HOPELESS and feels like she wants to die.

● The Woman is quite persistent and determined in her quest to distract the Girl

from her harsh reality. She also scolds the Girl for ceaselessly questioning her by
telling her “Do not question your elders.”

● Through this we can see a similar ADULT-CHILD relationship coming into play in

that children should not question adults. The same thing happens with the
Captain and his son. But, in the case of the Woman and the Girl, the reader is
quite aware that she only wants what is best for the child.

● The Girl sees LIGHT which represents HOPE and COMFORT and the Woman

continues to ask her the same question. The DRAMATIC TECHNIQUE of

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REPETITION is also present here. This allows the Girl to realise that her EYES ARE

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FREE meaning that even though she is physically captive, there are still parts of
her that are free.

● The Girl becomes impatient and frustrated because she is feeling the pangs of

hunger and lashes out at the Woman.

● We gain knowledge that the Girl IRONICALLY hates spiders and she kills them

herself. This is IRONIC simply because the “Spider Stories” will be the very thing
that brings her comfort in the most horrific circumstances.

● Additionally, this is the first indication of a spider becoming a character in the

narrative because the Girl calls the spider that she sees “him”. This indicates the
ANTHROPOMOSPHISED representation of Anansi the spider.

● ANTHROPOMORPHISM- the attribution of human characteristics or behaviour to a

god, animal, or object.

THE CABIN

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● As we know, the Cabin is the part of the ship that mostly highlights the interaction

between the Boy and the Captain whilst “The Hold” highlights the interaction
between the Girl and the Woman.
Mrs. K. MaharajCSEC English BAnansi

● The Boy continues to ask questions and his father continues to be quite

dismissive.

● Readers get an idea of the route/course that the ship is taking. They have left

Africa and are enroute to Jamaica where they will go through THE MIDDLE
PASSAGE and drop slaves off.

● The Boy continues to be inquisitive about what will happen to the cargo/slaves.

● The Captain divulges some information to his son but the language he uses is

purely ECONOMICAL/BUSINESS jargon and terms.

● The Economic language used includes terms like

“depreciation/loss/insurance/recompense” which is usually used to refer to assets

● IRONY is used when the Captain refers to his MASTERS in London, that is, the

people he is working for/his employers. The masters in London are the ones in

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charge of the whole operation of slavery.

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● It is ironic because the slaves were the ones who would usually have masters.

Their masters would be the plantation owners who would pay for them and
become their slaves.

● The Captain truthfully remarks that everyone has a master of some kind which

can be seen throughout the play.