ENG 121-T: F. Fajardo-Acosta

Spring 2005

FINAL EXAM

Winslow Homer, The Gulf Stream (1899)

(click on the image above to see a larger size one)

One of the sources of Derek Walcott's inspiration in the writing of Omeros was a painting, The Gulf Stream (1899), by the American artist Winslow Homer. Examine closely both the painting and Walcott's poem and write an essay explaining the possible relations between the two. While you are free to determine the specific focus of your essay, you may wanto to consider some of the following questions:

How is Homer's painting relevant to the concerns of Walcott's poem? How may one interpret the images of the black man in the boat surrounded by sharks? Do these images have symbolic meanings? How are the characters and situations in Walcott's work similar to the images in the painting? Why does Walcott say that he sees Achille in Homer's painting? (Ch. XXXVI, p. 183). How are Homer's and Walcott's works relevant to the history of colonialism, postcolonialism and the experience of the peoples and nations of the Americas and the Caribbean? Can the concept of the "Gulf Stream" be symbolically related to the history of sea voyages, discoveries, conquests, and trade between Europe, Africa and the Americas since the Renaissance? How specifically might the painting and the poem capture the essence of the colonial and/or postcolonial situation? What do they have to say about history, past, present and future? Do you recall similar ideas/images in Voltaire or other writers we have studied this semester? How do images like Winslow Homer's compare to Walcott's own paintings of Caribbean scenes? Yes, Walcott is a painter also, see samples of his work at:

http://www.albany.edu/museum/wwwmuseum/island_still/walcott.htm

Some background: The word Omeros is derived from the name of Homer, the ancient Greek poet author of the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey (Homer of course is also the last name of the painter of The Gulf Stream). The Iliad and the Odyssey deal with episodes in the lives of the warriors and kings involved in the fight that led to the conquest, sacking and destruction of the city of Troy by the Greeks in the 13th century BC. One of the reasons why the Greeks supposedly attacked Troy was the desire to recover Helen, reputed to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. In reality, the attack on Troy had much to do with the fact that Troy was one of the richest cities in the world. Walcott borrows many names (Achille, Hector, Helen, etc) from Homer's works but his characters are humble fishermen and women living in the Caribbean island of St. Lucia in the 20th century. Walcott has often said that his epic poem is an attempt to glorify humble people and celebrate their capacity to endure and survive in spite of the difficult circumstances of their lives and their history.

Consult notes and study questions on Walcott and Omeros at:

http://fajardo-acosta.com/worldlit/walcott/index.htm

http://fajardo-acosta.com/worldlit/walcott/omeros.htm