the dragon cant dance
Often when one comes to the realization of delusion in the understanding of an event, anger at defeat kicks in. In this particular passage from The Dragon Can't Dance, Lovelace manages to provoke in his readers a sense of loss concerning one's roots and customs. The excerpt is extracted from a fictional novel, which deals with the slaves that came through the middle passage from Africa as chattels. Within this passage are manifestations of - the main character - Aldrick Prospects' frustration.Throughout the passage Lovelace uses several literary devices to further enhance the piece. With the incorporation of repetition, imagery, characterization, and symbols, the perfect mood is created for an event like the Carnival Monday to take place. The passage consists of two paragraphs: the first paragraph consists of twenty lines, seventeen of which compose one sentence; Lovelace uses this as a literary device to preserve the continuity of his descriptions and thought process. The mood is assembled with the images that are projected to the readers. Sacredness and the need to break loose of this restraining authority are the most controlling conditions under consideration in the first paragraph.
that goes back centuries for its beginnings, back across the Middle Passage, back to Mali and to Guinea and Dahomey and Congo, back to Africa. The fact that the yards are being swept and that there is heralding to the masqueraders' arrival gives the readers a sense of what importance this event holds to the people. The word "gone" is repeated in the subsequent lines to emphasize the abandonment Aldrick feels. " This is a terrifying recollection of one of the rituals that Aldricks' people practiced, and it serves in exacerbating the depravity of what was done during that carnival. Only through the last sentence, however, does he convey the source of his frustration. His importance in the event is stressed, and again there is reinforcement of the purpose of this carnival. He describes to his readers' the importance that lies in the memory of this ritual, and exactly what this memory consists of. The realization that he alone - no matter how significant - could not carry the message, and furthermore was being drowned out by impertinent aspects that were entering the Carnival, inevitably distresses the character of Aldrick. " (Line34) It is here that the reader understands Aldricks' feeling of being the "last one" and the "last symbol" for his people. The images and illusions Lovelace uses support and enhance this concept, and through his literary devices he is able to provoke pathos in the readers thereby intensifying the disappointment and loss of faith in ones' self in the end of the excerpt. " (Lines 15-17)Aldrick Prospect is absorbed in this spiritual link with his ancestors, and he occupies the most significant costume- or so it seems. This deviation has a purpose of separating both thoughts but not in a complete sense.
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