Answers to the questions on Brother Man

What are some of the narrative techniques that Roger Mais used in Brother Man?

Some narrative techniques that Roger Mais used in his novel Brother Man, were techniques such as setting, plot, characterization, foreshadowing and flashback.

How does Roger Mais develop characterization?

Roger Mais developed characterization by using humans instead of cartoon characters and by using human he was able to portray them as having real personalities and this helped in characterization and the writing of the book. Not only that, he also used everyday processes such as the setting and how the people interacted with each other.

What is the setting?

Brother Man was set in Jamaica, along a lane or valley in a very poverty stricken community.

What are some of the themes?

Some of the themes in the poem are:

• Poverty
• Obeah
• Generosity
• Anger
• Hatred
• Jealousy
• Love
• Religion
• Lust
• Greed
• Abuse
• Friendship
• Superstition

Discuss the different plots that are in the book.
Girlies’ plot to kill Papacita - Girlie and Papacita were woman and man for quite some time and during there relationship there were a number of abusive moments between the two of them. It so happened that one day Papacita Girlie decided that it wasn’t fair for Papacita to leave her like that so she developed a plan to go to Papacita’s house and kill him.
Bra Ambo’s plot to get his revenge on Brother Man - It was believed by the people in the village that Bra Ambo was dealing with obeah. It so happened that one day Bra Ambo heard a rumor that the police was looking for him to search his house and he knew that if they searched him they would have found his obeah and dealt with him accordingly. Knowing this, he went to Brother Man for help but Brother Man refused to help him because Brother Man didn’t believe in obeah. Bra Ambo got upset at Brother Man’s refusal and used Cordelia to plant counterfeit money in Brother Man’s house and set up Brother Man so he went to jail.
Papacita getting rid of Brother Man- Papacita was a covetous man that thought he could have had every woman he laid eyes on. He wanted Minette but he knew that Minette love or had a thing for Brother Man. Papacita being the scamp that he was, thought that if Brother Man went to jail he would get Minette but in the end he thought it better that if he bailed out Brother Man, Minette would come running to him.How was foreshadowing displayed?

Foreshadowing was present when Girlie and Papacita had countless fights and in the end she killed him as a result. Also, when Papacita took the counterfeit money from Fellows in the end it was used to frame someone and lastly when Bra Ambo wanted revenge for Brother Man’s refusal to help him he used Cordelia to frame him.

How was flashback displayed?


Flashback was displayed when Brother Man was writing in his little book about his passed life and how he went to prison for the first time. Also, it was displayed when the author was talking about Minette’s passed life. Comparing it to her present life assuming that maybe it was because of her passed life why she had a thing for Brother Man. Flashback was also present when Cordelia was remembering her passed life before Tod got sick and her boyfriend was arrested. Also, when the lady passed and told Brother Man peace and love, the young man and woman there was telling him about her past.

How has religion played an important role in the novel Brother Man?

Religion has played an important role in Brother Man because the whole book was practically built on religious views. You could see the difference between good and evil for example Bra Ambo and Brother Man. Not only that but you could have seen that Brother Man was a religious character in the book so that brought religion to light because Brother Man had healing powers and believed in God and told everyone he saw about God’s wonderful character. Brother Man himself was an allusion of Christ himself because in the novel he stoned just like how Christ did and suffer persecution.

The Learning Of Brother Man

Biography Of Roger Mais

Roger Mais was born on 11th August 1905 in Kingston Jamaica to a 'brown', middle-class family. He pursued the career path of being a journalist, novelist, poet and playwright.

Roger Mais had won ten first place prizes in West Indian literary competitions in the year 1951. He played an integral role in the development of political and cultural nationalism and because of this he was awarded the high honor of the 'Order of Jamaica' in 1978.

Mais launched his career as a journalist and contributor for the weekly newspaper 'Public Opinion' from 1939 to 1952. He also wrote several plays, reviews and short stories for the newspaper 'Focus' and 'Jamaica Daily Gleaner', with points focusing mainly on social injustice and inequality.

Mais published over a hundred short stories. He also wrote over thirty stage and radio plays.

Mais left for England in 1952. He ventured to Europe-London, Paris and south of France. There, he remained anonymous, by travelling by the alias Kingsley Croft, as he showcased an art exhibition in Paris. His art works also appear on the covers of his novels.

Mais first novel was called 'The Hills were Joyful Together' then came 'Brother Man', a 1954 novel. It was a sympathetic exploration of the emergent Rastafarian movement that Mais wrote. 'Black Lightning' was published a year later.

In 1955 Mais returned to Jamaica after being diagnosed and falling ill with cancer. He later died at the age of fifty.

Critics Views On The Novel Brother Man

A wide range of notables have been written about Mais from Norman Mangley, to Kamau Brathwaite to Kenneth Ramchand. John Hearne however pondered Mais' persistence.

"How significant a writer is he? To what extent is he a sociological rater than a literary phenomenon?" asked Hearne.

He continued by evaluating Mais' career by stating that as a writer he not only owned very few books, he was also uninterested in seeing plays or visiting museums. Such cultural experiences, according to Hearne, were absolutely essential to "that cultivated sensibility that is central to any artists' development and mastery of material. Roger Mais simply did not know enough and what he knew was not digested."

Hearne's citicism of Mais as a writer raises a series of questions. Hearne was possessed himself of the "cultivated sensibility he believed essential for good writing, why have his own novels not persisted to the present? Are they victims of changed sensibilities in contemporary Jamaica, or are they weak literary creations, too fixed in a distant time and space in ways that do not allow their successful resurrection today?

Hearne also stated that the author's representation of conversational dialogue stinks and he does not believe that this novel or Roger Mais is anyhow experienced or worth reading.

Religious Aspects Of Rastafarianism

Marcus Garvey, born in the year 1887, founded this federation in 1930. He directed the philosophical ideologies that would eventually grow into Rastafarian movement. In the early 1920's, Garvey was an influential black spokesman and founder of the "back to Africa" movement. He often spoke of the redemption of his people as coming from a future black African king.

Rastafarians have no official church buildings or leaders. Each individual group and person is autonomous. Ratsas used terms such as 'Babylon is Jamaica or the establishment and I and I refers to God in all or the rotherhood of mankind.

Rastafarianism is associated with dreadlocks, smoking of marijuana and reggae music. Although it began in the slums of Jamaica, Rastafarianism has spread throughout the world and currently has a membership of over seven hundred thousand.

On one occasion, Garvey proclaimed, "Look to Africa for the coming of a black king, he shall be the Redeemer". Only a few years later, that prediction would be fulfilled in the person on Ethiopia's king, Haile Selassie. It is said that Marcus Garvey is second only to Haile Selassie.

On November 2nd 1930, Ras Tafari Makomen was crowned king of Ethiopia. After the crowning of Selassie, the Rastafarian movement gained a following and officially began in 1930.

One of the key doctrins of Rastafarians had been their expectation to return to Africa.

On August 27th 1975, Haile Selassie died. Rastafarians believed that his death was a fabrication.

Currently, the Rastafarian movement has official branches in England, Canada, the Caribbean and America.

Early in the history of the movement, Leonard Howell (one of the leaders) gave the Rastafarians six principles.

• Hatred for whites
• Complete superiority of the black
• Revenge on whites for their wickedness
• Persecution and humiliation of the government and legal bodies of Jamaica
• Preparation to return to Africa
• Acknowledging Haile Selassie as supreme being and ruler of black people.

It is to this day that Rastafarians do not eat meat because Leonard Howell stated that true Rastafarians are vegetarians. A physical feature of Rastas are dreads for they did not believe in the cutting of ones hair.

Literary Terms

Forms of Prose Fiction

• Novel- a book length fictional prose narrated
• Novella- a written fictional prose narrative longer than a novellette but shorter than a novel
• Short Stories- a brief fictional narrative in prose

Elements of Prose Fiction

• Narrative Techniques- a collection of events that tell a story which may be true or not. It's place in a particular order. A method involved in telling a story
• Point of View- the relationship of the narrator or story teller to the story
• Characterisation- the methods of a writer used to reveal the personality of a character
• Setting- the time and place in which the events of either a story, novel or play took place
• Theme- the central or main point of a story, poem, novel or play that the readers can apply to life
• Plot- the sequence of events in a narrative work
• Style- the way in which the author arranges his or her words and sentences in a literary work

Literary Devices

• Imagery- the "word pictures" that writers create to help evoke an emotional response
• Symbol- an object, person, place or experience that means more than what it is
• Irony- a contrast between appearance and reality, or between what is expected to happen and what actually happens
• Satire- writing that exposes the foolish actions of people or societies
• Allusion- a reference in a work of literature to a character, place or situation from history or from another work of literature, music or art

Structual Devices

• Stream of Consciousness- individual conscious experience regarded as a continuous series of occurances rather than as seperate disconnected events
• Interior Monologue- a narrative technique or passage which suggests a character's stream of consciousness
• Flashback- an account of an event that happened before a story began
• Foreshadowing- the use of clues by the author to prepare readers for events that will happen later in the story
• Timeframe- a given interval of time in relation to a particular event
• Motif- a significant word, description, idea or image that is repeated throughout a literary work as is related to its theme
• Juxtaposition- to put side by side or close together

Literary Context

• Social- having to do with human beings living together as a group in a situation in which their dealings with one another affect their common wellfare
• Political- concerned with government, the state or politics
• Intellectual- the ability to reason or understand
• Historical- of or concerned with history as a science
• Religious- of, relating to, or concerned with religion
• Ethnic- a population subgroup having a common cultural heritage as distinguished by customs, characteristics, language, common heritage etc.
• Moral- a practical lesson about right and wrong conduct
• Cultural- of or relating to a culture

Types of Fiction (8)

• (Fiction- invented stories with imaginary characters and events, it's false and reads like a story)
• Fantasy- a story that could never really happen, not realistic
• Realistic Fiction- a story that could happen, it seems real
• Historical Fiction- a story that seems real and took place in the past. It may include actual people or events from the past, but some of the story came from the author's imagination
• Traditional- folktales, fairytales, myths and legends, passed down orally throughout history, magical
• Mystery- a story about something that needs to be solved
• Science Fiction- tells about supernatural events, based on science
• Humor- a funny story written to make you laugh
• Adult Fiction- written specifically for adults