The poem, written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, explores the Caribbean history. The poem talks about colonization and the poet’s displeasure on the effects brought about by colonization on the Caribbean people. The poem relates to the colonization process, for example, in part one, the first stanza says “At three in the afternoon, you landed here at El Dorado”. Senior begins the poem with the arrival of the first colonialists to the Caribbean; later on she uses language, repetition and symbolism to display the harsh effects of colonization. In order to effectively comprehend the poem, we need to understand the historical background of the Caribbean’s and in this contexat, Jamaica. Originally, Jamaica was populated by various Aboriginal people, for example the Saladoid. Later, it was claimed for Spain in 1494 by Christopher Columbus. The Spanish introduce crops such as citrus, sugarcane, which is also noted in the poem, in the phrase “though after you came, plenty of bananas, oranges, sugar cane”. Sadly, a large number of the Aboriginal population died as a result of slavery, starvation and disease. In 1655, the English take control of Jamaica from Spain, they ship African slaves to Jamaica and in 1838, and they abolish slavery. Indentured laborers are introduced into the country from other parts of the world such as China and India. Lastly, in 1962, the country finally gained independence. The unfolding of this history can be seen in Senior’s poem, which uses language to describe the experience of the people (Higman2011,pg. 93).

Analysis of Section I of the poem

The poem can generally be grouped into two parts. The first describes the Spanish rule whereas; the second describes the European rule. In the first section, the poem begins with the landing of the Spanish at El Dorado. The people are innocent to the intentions of the Spanish as indicated by the phrase “But we were peaceful then, childlike in the yellow dawn of our innocence. The term ‘yellow’ is symbolically used to portray the innocence of the Amerindians. They were of pure minds and oblivious to the strangers intentions. Yellow, is also used to express the greed of the colonialists which was deemed sickly. The color yellow is often used to symbolize an infection or sickness. The poet uses it to bring out the greed of the colonialists as a sickness, this is evident in the phrase “But it was gold on your mind, gold the light of your eyes, gold the crown of the queen of Spain (who had a daughter), gold the prize of your life, the crowning glory, the gateway to heaven, the golden altar”, also from this phrase, the poet uses language to show the greed of the colonialists. Repetition of the term gold is used to convey the extreme to which they desired wealth, ‘gold on your mind, gold the light of your eyes, gold the crown of the queen of Spain’ Garcia (2009, 61). Yellow is further used to highlight on racial segregation, the persona states ‘No yellow peril here’, biological differences are also highlighted, the persona states ‘Our piss was exactly the same shade of yellow’, this phrase enables to understand that the persona understood that the colonialists were human beings just like the Amerindians and therefore it was not right for them to feel superior over the people of the land. Sarcasm and humor are also used. The writer says “Had I known, I would have brewed up some yellow fever grass and arsenic “The fever grass was culturally used as a gesture of hospitality but the arsenic was not. Garcia(2009, 81) There is a contrast here; the writer wishes she could have poisoned the fever grass, had she known earlier that their intentions were bad. Colonial trade industry of plantations is also brought out; the persona states “after you came, plenty of bananas, oranges and sugarcane, you gave us these for our maize, pineapples and guavas”.

The unfair treatment of the people is brought out in part one, the persona states ‘so in exchange for a string of islands you gave us a string of beads and the hawk’s bells. The people received worthless hawk’s bells and a string of beads in exchange for ‘their string of islands. ‘In addition to this, the conquistador’s misguided search for gold is explained. Historically, a guanine from the Taino culture was a badge worn by the chief. It was a mixture of flakes of gold and bronze that were pounded and melted together to form a disc that was worn by the chief on the neck. The persona states “you were not the last to be fooled by our patina”, this proves that the artifacts possessed by the people made the colonialists assume that silver and gold was in plenty (Mair 2012, pg. 82).

Analysis of Section II of the Poem

Section two is more optimistic as it gives the illusion of hope. In this section, the Europeans arrive and this time it’s for a different trade, tourism. The persona describes the sunshine, sand and beautiful scenery that make up the Caribbean and fuel tourism in this region, the persona says ‘a new set of people arrive, to lie bare assed in the sun wanting gold on their bodies and cane-rows in their hair’, this phrase describes the reason for the guests arrival to the Caribbean. The ant colonial attitude of the persona towards the 500 years of servitude is described. The persona says “at some hotel overlooking the sea you can take tea, at three in the afternoon, served by me, skin burnt black as toast(for which management apologizes)”The persona uses structure, tone and literary tropes to describe his/her displeasure of having to serve for 500 years, people who are visitors to the persona’s home. There is the use of satirical humor, where the persona states that management apologizes for her burnt skin. The use of amphoral repetition to show the persona’s frustration, the persona describes all that he/she has had to endure, in the phrase “I’ve been slaving in the cane rows for your sugar, I’ve been ripening coffee beans for your morning break, I’ve been dallying on the docks, loading your bananas”. Repetition is also used to create an abrupt mood within the poem to express the persona’s emotion that after so many years of servitude the visitors want more. The terms ‘want’ and ‘give’ are repeated to create the mood of tension between the people and the neo-colonial ambitions. Tourism is brought out as the new form of colonization. Just when the persona thought he/she could rest, another group of people come and want to be served. This group of people, as stated by the persona, want more, this statement refers to the sex tourism that has emerged as a result of tourism. The phrase “Look I tired now” shows the persona’s emotion regarding the excess demands put on him/her. The persona expresses his/her limit regarding the many years of service. Repetition is also used to describe the extreme of all the colonialists have taken; the persona uses the term ‘I give’ to list all that the colonialists have taken. Lastly, there is the use of feminine endings to provide a means of moving on from the perturbed feelings, for example, the persona says ‘Cathay’ instead of China. The couplet used at the end of the section shows the poet’s refrain from all the anxiety previously described.

About the Title

The title, Meditation on the yellow, is used to describe the persona’s focus on the experiences endured in the hands of the colonialists. The yellow is used to portray the innocence of the Amerindians and the purity of their minds and soul. The poet focuses on how the purity and innocence of this people were destroyed by colonization and the suffering they had to endure, from the period of colonization up to the era of neo-colonization. The poet uses symbolism to bring out the impacts of colonization, not only through the use of the title, but also throughout the poem. The poet also uses repetition of phrases, word and rhythm to express the attitude of the matter on certain issues and, as a result set the tone. Phrases such as ‘I give you’ ‘want’ and ‘I’ve been’ are some of the phrases repeated Bryan (2013, pg. I)

Conclusion

In conclusion, the poem is simply a master piece, used by the poet to bring out the issues of colonization on the Caribbean people, issues of neo-colonization particularly in the tourism industry and the poet’s attitude regarding these issues. Key issues such as sex tourism, which has impacted negatively on various local people around the world, are highlighted Ryan(2000, pg. XIV).The poet has effectively used poetry to express her emotions on the issue of colonization through the use of rhyme, sarcasm, line breaks, punctuation, humor, symbolism, repetition and language. The poem not only helps us identify with the implications of tourism, particularly to a people’s culture, morals, way of life and colonization, but also, enables us to identify the need to come up with ways to curb the negative implications of neo-colonialism. Measures should be set up to effectively manage the impacts of tourism to ensure minimum impacts are experienced. George (2009, pg. 232).Sustainable tourism should be promoted. It is also important to note that the persona states ‘I’d like to feel alive to the possibilities of yellow’ referring to the persona’s desire to enjoy the beautiful things present in their country.

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