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Literary Speculation_Tan-Tan and the Rolling Calf


Nalo Hopkinson's Tan-Tan and the Rolling Calf isn extremely interesting piece. Taking place in the Caribbean it encompasses traditionally African folklore, specifically the tale of the trickster story teller Anansi. The way the piece is written is also a point of interest as the entire thing is in a specific dialect. The thoughts and actions of the characters, not just the speech, maintain this accent. This really helps to ground this piece and the people in it to the place they are and the shared kind of mindset that the people have. What I found really interesting was the robber speeches at the end of the piece that change accents little. When Tan-Tan begins to tell her true tale almost tint he from of a robber speech she is even heckled because it is in her normal speech rather than the almost eloquent style that the actors and actresses were using. This is the only time the piece that this is broken. 
      Not only this but the piece does something very interesting with its fictional parts. Instead of creating a realistic world and telling a tale of the rare instance of a magical fictional story- the world that Tan-Tan inhabits is already a mystical one. She can talk to her bird, has to face off and eventually raise a dangerous herbivore. There is clearly something fantastical here but it isn't a major part of the story. It is only background information. The story being told is actually quite realistic. The only portion that I still question is her curse and how she got it. It seems mystical at first, and by the end of the story it seems it is a mechanical worm whispering things inner ear. 
      All of this makes it extremely difficult to tell which genre this piece pertains to. At first it seems very fantasy, however the robber who does good with a sad backstory seems almost like a western, and the ending gives it a very science fiction feel to it. Despite all this I don't think the genre is important to this piece. It isn't necessary to understand the story and I think confining this piece to one specific genre would limit it greatly. I think it works well outside of genre and I really enjoyed the diversity in the story telling. 

 Bridgette Olavage

Comments

  1. Abby FitzgeraldDecember 4, 2017 at 12:16 AM

    Writing that incorporates dialect always makes for a more vivid feel when characters speak, helping support the setting and as you said, "ground" the piece. I love fables like that of Anansi, and overall this seems like a great story!

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