Caryl Phillips The Nature of Blood Essay -- Caryl Phillips Nature Blo

Caryl Phillips' The Nature of Blood On its most immediate level, Caryl Phillips’ The Nature of Blood narrates several stories of the Jewish Diaspora, using the familiar Shakespearean character Othello to provide a counterpoint to the others’ experiences of displacement. The Nature of Blood thus initially seems to fit awkwardly among texts by other West Indian authors who use the Caribbean as the setting of their work or incorporate West Indian characters into their work. Through his multi-stranded narrative, however, Phillips creates a geographical setting that mirrors the multi-regional influence of the Caribbean. The triangular space of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa shaped by the character’s stories parallels the historical and cultural exchange among Europe, North America, and Africa: the triangular trade which produced the African diaspora. Unlike people of African descent in mainland North America, those of Caribbean background have historically had a more fragmented allegiance to home, negotiating between African and European influences. Likewise, The Nature of Blood illustrates its characters’ discomfort in claiming one particular space as home and in maintaining ties to one space as they move to another. Each of the characters in The Nature of Blood illustrates the challenges that geography, culture, and memory pose to claiming a singular home. Moshe and Eva, both affected by the Holocaust, convey ambivalence as they seek literal geographical spaces in which to rebuild their lives. Malka’s relocation includes the additional obstacle of cultural and racial differences which mark her past home and prevent her from assimilation in her new space even as she attempts to leave her old one behind. And, Stephan ... ...of such futile negotiation between past and present, The Nature of Blood thus issues an admonishment against the shunning of hybridity. Although issues of geography, culture, and memory continue to burden the Caribbean, its embrace of hybridity places the region on the path to resolving its identity and mapping its destiny. Works Cited Danticat, Edwidge. The Dew Breaker. New York: Vintage, 2005. Ledent, Bà ©nà ©dicte. â€Å"A Fictional and Cultural Labyrinth: Caryl Phillips’s ‘The Nature of Blood.’† ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature 32:1 (January 2001). 185-195. Levy, Andrea. Small Island. New York: Picador, 2004. Marshall, Paule. The Chosen Place, The Timeless People. 1969. New York: Vintage, 1992. Phillips, Caryl. The Nature of Blood. New York: Vintage, 1998. Selvon, Samuel. The Lonely Londoners. 1956. White Plains, NY: Longman, 1983.