Prose Commentary: “The Dragon Can’t Dance”

The extract from Earl Lovelaces new(a), The Dragon Cant jump, is a highly descriptive prose which reveals the feelings the fount Aldrick Prospect has for the dismission of his lodges traditional warrior mentality. The gash of prose provides us with a third-person yet exact eyeshade of how antiquated usance in Aldricks home (presumably Trinidad and Tobago, as the capital of larboard of Spain is mentioned as being a spell of his locality) argon disappearing in the impertinence of more than modern and temperate customs.Aldrick, the booster unit of the prose, yearns to reignite the masss passion for celebrating traditional amexercisingment parks, which he portrays in uniquely reddened, sinister, vivid and bustling moving-picture show. He has a horse perceive of nostalgia for the past, when bazaars were more beastly. Even with this rather austere displacement of past carnivals, Lovelace insists that antiquated traditions supersede the significance, amazement an d entertainment of modern carnivals, which demonstrate cl testifys and throw robbers. Aldrick laments at the damage of al virtually antediluvial traditions, and his sadness is impellingly conveyed in the intensely passionate prose.The passage is structured in two paragraphs, each comprising of twenty lines. The adapt equal organization of the passage aids in making it take a shiter and more coherent. Lovelace is able to all the way contrast two opposing carnivals (past carnivals and the carnival Aldrick is experiencing in the present), thus allowing commentators to make clear distinctions between them. The tone of the prose is principally solace and monotonous, with the cashier exposing a slight scent out of dread towards what has become of the famous carnival.Although the spoken communication of the passage is generally simple and film so as to give the reader a clear film, Lovelace also loans a few colloquial phrases which originate from the western Indies. In zephyr 23, for example, calypsos of rebellion is mentioned, describing Philos lost sense of tradition. In office 30, jab jabs are mentioned as being part of the present carnival, again instilling a sense that the narrator is conversing with the reader in a casual manner appropriate for the tungsten Indies.Rhythm in the passage is achieved through and through a multifarious number of methods. most(prenominal) sentences are lengthy, and pa mathematical functions are take ind with the frequent use of commas, which are regularly spaced to create a successful rhythm. It is the usage of commas in long sentences which give the passage most of its flow, as it creates a calm and slow-paced atmosphere, in which the narrator appears to be intensely contemplative. The overlook of punctuation, however, aids in speeding the pace. repeating is also utilize to create rhythm, as it accelerates the pace.Usage of this can be observe in berth 6, where and is repeated collar times, and in lin e 6 to 7, in which back is repeated twice. Rhyming, especially in melodic phrase 1, provides the prose with a swimminger flow, when the backs of these thin shacks are described. Rhyming, however, is not a precise momentous element in the passage, and usage of it is minimal. The listing of similar terms is evident passim the passage and clearly generates a rhythmic beat. termination 10 contains a quintessential example of this technique, where the village, the tribe, warriorhood and feminity are grouped.Alliteration is utilize for the same reason of creating a smooth beat, as it connects neighboring words more intensely, as is apparent in class 1, with the phrase Monday dawning. The usage of vision in the passage is very subtle, and master(prenominal)ly employ to describe what carnivals use to be like. The main symbol employ to represent antediluvian customs is the firedrake costume that Aldrick wears in preparation of the carnival. When Aldrick wears the dragon cos tume, he feels a sense of entering a tabu mask that invested him with an ancestral authority, accentuating the amount of worship that only Aldrick feels for old-fashioned tradition.In Line 19 to 2o, the dragon is again employ to illustrate Aldricks attr litigate to ancient carnivals, as the narrator describes his aspiration to reestablish grey-haired traditions like the open claws at a dragons hand, threatening destruction. The terms open claws and destruction serves to honour the link between ancient customs with hysteria and evil. Yet, even with this rather detrimental characterization of ancient customs, Aldrick urges hoi polloi to normal them, so as to let them work through their beauty, as is shown in Line 18. In this line, however, ancient customs are think with the release of beauty.The fusion of both violence and beauty to depict the carnival storied in bygone years creates a particularly strong oxymoron that enhances the mystery and manliness of ancient customs . The image of the ancient carnival as evil, violent, and mysterious is further accent by terms such as stickfighters in Line 25, warriorhood and devils in Line 26, and dismal in Line 27, which are used by the narrator to recount an actual description of the ancient carnival. The usage of imagery is a vital component of enhancing the depiction of the ancient carnival, as it adds elements of mystery and fear. embodiment is another literary device used by Lovelace for a variety of reasons. In Line 1, the narrator describes Monday as the morning breaks upon the backs of these thin shacks, giving morning the ability to physically influence the structure of shacks. The phrase exudes a slight sense violence with the use of the word breaks. With this, one is reminded of the physically violent ancient carnivals. In Line 4, embodiment is again used in a similar method, with the term awakening Hill.Bestowing a hill with a kind-hearted action gives the prose a mysterious and lively qualit y, which stands the main floor of attempting to prompt a go of primeval and violent traditions to Aldricks homeland. The main al-Qaeda of ancient carnivals in contrast with present-day(prenominal) carnivals is focused throughout the passage, partially due(p) to repetition. Rebellion is a word frequently used in the prose, and underscores the violent nature of ancient carnivals which Aldrick tries to revive. Black is another term that is apparent in copious amounts throughout the passage.The repetition of black heightens the sense of mystery and evil touch ancient carnivals. The author Lovelace, primarily to add emotion and drama to the passage, also practices the literary device of onomatopoeia. The terms crow, in Line 2, beating in Line 4, cries in Line 9, and crack and tinkling in Line 31 comprise the use of onomatopoeia, and present readers with a more dramatic narration. Onomatopoeia also amplifies the amount of efficiency which the ancient carnival contains. All these literary devices effectively give the passage a somewhat poetic quality that enriches the impression of the carnivals to readers.The passage is a narrative account of how one person (Aldrick Prospect) yearns to revive his communitys ancient carnivals, in the face of new, more cool carnivals. This ancient carnival originates from Africa, which is presumably where Aldrick and his community of people derive from. His longing for this has a certain dream-like quality, because of the mournful and monotonous tone. The of import implication is that Aldrick yearning is more a pipe dream rather than a goal, and indeed, his desire for a return to ancient traditions are unachievable in the end.The narrator reveals that ancient traditions have always been a part of the people of the community, yet it has been strangled in the face of modernization. This so-called warrior mentality has, instead, remained if not in brain, certainly in blood, connoting that people still retain a uninitiated in stinct which could be freed. The notion is starkly similar to Goldings novel Lord of The wing, in which children who were taken away from their polite atmosphere and placed in a natural environment devoid of human interference become more violent, evil, and generally primitive.In the passage, however, it is only Aldrick which retains and exhibits his primeval instincts, as he fails to make other people behave like him. As notice in Line 35, the dragon unaccompanied was left to carry the cognitive content, depicting Aldricks impairment of support. Ultimately, even Aldrick himself admits that his thirst for ancient traditions is diminishing, as it states in Lines 39 to 40 that by chance he didnt believe in the dragon anymore. The last believer in ancient traditions- the dragon, has lost not only support for his cause, but perhaps even his own heart, as the forces of modernization triumph against the peoples victor roots.The basic theme presented is the loss of socialisation a nd primitive passion, which have simply create into more pacific actions and behaviors with the progression of time. The peoples hire to rebel and fight has abated, and resultantly there is less of a need to demonstrate violence and fear. Aldrick is ostensibly a character who is trapped in an age where ancient violent traditions dungeon no practical value, thus creating a mournful atmosphere of suffering. In conclusion, I can assert that the passage from the novel The Dragon Cant Dance, by Lovelace, is not bad(p) in its depiction of one mans loss of identity.The passage utilizes a combination of polar literary devices to instill a sorrowful and melancholic atmosphere to perfectly suit the theme, which is the loss of ancient traditions. This unique theme is thus conveyed to readers in a very idiosyncratic yet effective manner, and the authors message is successfully expressed. On the whole, the passage is able to elucidate the complicated theme of the loss of tradition due to civilization in a simple and artistic and effective manner.