The Dragon Can’t Dance (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Earl Lovelace
- First Published: 1979
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: The late 1950’s and the 1960’s
- Setting: Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
- Principal Characters: Aldrick, Fisheye, Cleothilda, Philo, Sylvia, Pariag
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: Culture, 1960’s, 1970’s, Self-discovery, Caribbean, Blacks, Race, Music or musicians, Religion, Middle Passage, Yards or backyards, Poverty or poor people, City life, Assertiveness, Drums or drummers, Minorities
- Locales: Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
The Novel
The Dragon Can’t Dance is the story of the existence of the people of Calvary Hill and the culture they create in the process of surviving. The novel is episodic, with a greater emphasis on character portrayal than on story line. Earl Lovelace uses a prologue to focus on those special elements that are responsible for and are manifestations of the culture of the Hill’s inhabitants.
The Hill attracts people from throughout Trinidad, who are quickly absorbed into the life and culture of the Hill, except the East Indian Pariag and his wife, Dolly....
[The entire page is 2705 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
