All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible.
To preface his play, Walcott provides us with the following quotation:
Thus in certain psychoses the hallucinated person, tired of always being insulted by his demon, one fine day starts hearing the voice of an angel who pays him compliments; but the jeers don't stop for all that; only, from then on, they alternate with congratulations. THis is a defense, but it is also the end of the story. The self is dissociated, and the patient heads for madness.
Sartre: Prologue to "The Wretched of the Earth" by Franz Fanon
Why does this quote provide us with a major hint as to what Dream on Monkey Montain is about?
Walcott tells us his play is meant to be taken as a dream. If so, a good starting question is, where exactly does the dream begin?
In a dream, not just the characters, but the setting is symbolic of dreamer's state. What does the setting suggest about Makak's state?
The play begins and ends in a jailhouse setting. What's the significance of the jailhouse setting?
Is there a point to the fact that when we first meet Makak he's drunk and can't remember his name?
Is there any significance to the fact that he's called Makak in jail?
Taken as a dream, Makak is the dreamer and all of the other characters can be taken as reflections and refractions of his personality. If his name meaning "monkey" is significant, what about the meaning of the the following other names?
Tigre (tiger)
Souris (mouse)
Moustique (mosquito)
Lestrade (the straddler)
Keeping in mind that all of the characters are meant to be taken as a dream, what is the significance of the following moment in the play (p. 208):
Basil:
You have one minute to repent. To renounce.
Corporal:
Repent? Renounce what?
Basil:
You know, Lestrade. You know.
Corporal:
My mind, my mind. What's happened to my mind?
Basil:
It was never your's Lestrade.
Again, keeping in mind that all of the characters are subsumed with the overarching consciousness of Makik, what is the significance of Souris' view of God?
Why does Makak refuse to look in a mirror?
Late in the play, Makak says, "we are black, ourselves shadows in the firelight of the white man's mind." What does he mean by this?
What is the significance of the fact that Makak's dream centers around the vision of a white woman?
Explain the significance of the fact that Makak uses the image of "diamonds" to interprete his dream.
The love of the white woman gives him a sense of identity. Isn't this a good thing?
What is the significance of the fact that the white woman is associated with both the moon and the drum?
What is the significance of the spider imagery?
The white woman inspires him to reconnect with his African heritage. Why does this happen, and why isn't it an ultimately positive tendency?
With all this whiteness of praise around him, why does Makak as emperor proclaim whiteness to be bad?
What are the ramification of Makak beheading the white woman?
What's the symbolism inherent in the leprocy references?
What's the significance of the Corporal saying, "I got the white man work to do," and then later saying, "I got the black man work to do?"
What's the significance of the "crossroads" location?
What's the significance that Makak is a charcoal seller?
GOT AN IDEA FOR A
GREAT DISCUSSION QUESTION?
SUBMIT A POTENTIAL DISCUSSION QUESTION
AND IF YOUR QUESTION IS SELECTED:
YOU'LL WIN 5 POINTS,
EQUAL TO 1 PERFECT QUIZ GRADE.
DREAM
Photograph and Biography of Derek Walcott
THE SHAPING OF THE CARIBBEAN IDENTITY
SEND YOUR WINNING QUESTION NOW!
Go back to TOP of page
Go back to PREVIOUS PAGE
Go to NEXT PAGE
BACK to: MAIN MENU