CRICK CRACK, MONKEY
Title.
Crick, Crack Monkey: Plot Summary
“And when at the end of the story she said ‘Crick, Crack?’ our voices clambered over one another in the gleeful haste to chorus back in what ended on an untidy shrieking crescendo:
Monkey break ‘e back
On a rotten pommerac!
Crick, Crack Monkey tells the story of a young Afro-Caribbean girl faced with an identity crisis, as she is forced to experience two different cultures. Tee, a young and innocent girl, growing up in Trinidad has been raised with no ideal, structured paternal or maternal influences. Her father has been immigrated to England and her mother is deceased. Her childlike innocence makes her vulnerable and yielding to the two worlds that she is exposed too.
Tee’s father’s immigration to England, leads her and her brother Toddan to be sent to live with Tantie. Tee’s father is the brother of Tantie.Tee quickly becomes acquainted with Aunt Tantie and Mikey, there she is exposed to an urban lifestyle. Growing up with Aunt Tantie, Tee is exposed to many different events both socially and culturally. Mikey, an influential figure in the life of Tee and Toddan; allows them to tag along on his visits to the “bridge.” The “bridge” is a place where Tee and Toddan are exposed to the indecent behavior of Mikey and his acquaintances. Tee often witnessed the degradation of women, while at the bridge with Mikey. She states “Women going past walked a gauntlet of commentary on their anatomy and deportment.” Tantie’s speech and language drip with perversity, and is a bit detestable for the ears of young children like Tee and Toddan. “Tantie’s company was loud and hilarious and the intermittent squawk and flurry of mirth made me think of the fowl-run when something fell into the midst of the fat hens (p.4). Tantie also uses foul language in the midst of Tee and her brother. In turn, this formulates a strong exterior for Tee. She is therefore hardened to any outside cultural and social influences, as a result of Tantie’s harshness amidst her. The environment that she lived in instantly became a place of comfort, and reassurance for her becoming identity.
Tee wins a scholarship at The Exhibition Examination, which leads her on a journey to the middle-class with Auntie Beatrice. Aunt Tantie always referred to Aunt Beatrice as “bitch.” ”The threat that we had come to designate compendiously as “The Bitch” hovered over every day of our lives” (Hodge 11).The battle between Aunt Tantie and Aunt Beatrice, distorts Tee’s image of Aunt Beatrice. Aunt Tantie makes an eminent claim that she has every right to the guardianship over Tee, but Auntie Beatrice exerts Aunt Tantie’s efforts to devalue her character. “Aunt Beatrice announced her firm intention to haul me out of what she termed alternately my ordinariness and niggeryness” (Hodge 105). Tee is unable to discern how she feels about Aunt Beatrice. On occasions when she comes into contact with Aunt Beatrice; she is contrary to a “bitch.” “She descended upon us and smothered us with kissing and clouds of a dull perfume that issued out from her clothes” (Hodge 12).
Living with Aunt Beatrice, Tee’s identity is essentially put to the test. Tee feels that being under the guardianship on Aunt Beatrice, her independence is hindered. “Aunt Beatrice was bending all her efforts towards forcing me in as a triplet to Carol and Jessica” (Hodge 82). It is in her utmost interest to assimilate Tee to the culture and society of the Creole middle-class. Aunt Beatrice claims that the middle-class culture is inferior to the culture of Aunt Tantie. She implies that the individual can gain social status by essentially “whitening the race.” Ultimately, Tee becomes confused about the person she has to become in order to fit into the middle-class society. She finds herself questioning her upbringing and wonders if things would be different if she were always under the guardianship of Auntie Beatrice. Tee fears that by accepting the cultural and social status of Aunt Beatrice, she would be disowning a place where she once felt secure and undeniably in touch with her identity. Most of Tee’s early childhood years were spent among Aunt Tantie and Ma, and these two women become instrumental in placing a foundation in Tee’s life. Therefore, these figures become substantial in forming Tee’s identity.
Despite the identity crises transpiring from the dual cultures of Aunt Tantie and Auntie Beatrice, school is something that Tee identifies with. She states “ I looked forward to school, I looked forward to the day when I would pass my hand swiftly from side to side on a blank piece of paper leaving meaningful marks in its wake” (Hodge 22). Through Tee’s experiences at school, the audience is also able to perceive a sense of uniformity, conformity and submissiveness to authority.
In conclusion, Tee battles with acceptance throughout the book. There is no solution to her identity crisis. “I desired with all my heart that it were next morning and a plane were lifting me off the ground.” After enduring cultural and social differences, she is left with nothing to suffice for her desire to belong. The readers are left empty handed and unsatisfied, as Tee travels back to England to live with her father.
Hodge, Merle. Crick Crack, Monkey. Library of Congress, 1970. Print.
“And when at the end of the story she said ‘Crick, Crack?’ our voices clambered over one another in the gleeful haste to chorus back in what ended on an untidy shrieking crescendo:
Monkey break ‘e back
On a rotten pommerac!
Crick, Crack Monkey tells the story of a young Afro-Caribbean girl faced with an identity crisis, as she is forced to experience two different cultures. Tee, a young and innocent girl, growing up in Trinidad has been raised with no ideal, structured paternal or maternal influences. Her father has been immigrated to England and her mother is deceased. Her childlike innocence makes her vulnerable and yielding to the two worlds that she is exposed too.
Tee’s father’s immigration to England, leads her and her brother Toddan to be sent to live with Tantie. Tee’s father is the brother of Tantie.Tee quickly becomes acquainted with Aunt Tantie and Mikey, there she is exposed to an urban lifestyle. Growing up with Aunt Tantie, Tee is exposed to many different events both socially and culturally. Mikey, an influential figure in the life of Tee and Toddan; allows them to tag along on his visits to the “bridge.” The “bridge” is a place where Tee and Toddan are exposed to the indecent behavior of Mikey and his acquaintances. Tee often witnessed the degradation of women, while at the bridge with Mikey. She states “Women going past walked a gauntlet of commentary on their anatomy and deportment.” Tantie’s speech and language drip with perversity, and is a bit detestable for the ears of young children like Tee and Toddan. “Tantie’s company was loud and hilarious and the intermittent squawk and flurry of mirth made me think of the fowl-run when something fell into the midst of the fat hens (p.4). Tantie also uses foul language in the midst of Tee and her brother. In turn, this formulates a strong exterior for Tee. She is therefore hardened to any outside cultural and social influences, as a result of Tantie’s harshness amidst her. The environment that she lived in instantly became a place of comfort, and reassurance for her becoming identity.
Tee wins a scholarship at The Exhibition Examination, which leads her on a journey to the middle-class with Auntie Beatrice. Aunt Tantie always referred to Aunt Beatrice as “bitch.” ”The threat that we had come to designate compendiously as “The Bitch” hovered over every day of our lives” (Hodge 11).The battle between Aunt Tantie and Aunt Beatrice, distorts Tee’s image of Aunt Beatrice. Aunt Tantie makes an eminent claim that she has every right to the guardianship over Tee, but Auntie Beatrice exerts Aunt Tantie’s efforts to devalue her character. “Aunt Beatrice announced her firm intention to haul me out of what she termed alternately my ordinariness and niggeryness” (Hodge 105). Tee is unable to discern how she feels about Aunt Beatrice. On occasions when she comes into contact with Aunt Beatrice; she is contrary to a “bitch.” “She descended upon us and smothered us with kissing and clouds of a dull perfume that issued out from her clothes” (Hodge 12).
Living with Aunt Beatrice, Tee’s identity is essentially put to the test. Tee feels that being under the guardianship on Aunt Beatrice, her independence is hindered. “Aunt Beatrice was bending all her efforts towards forcing me in as a triplet to Carol and Jessica” (Hodge 82). It is in her utmost interest to assimilate Tee to the culture and society of the Creole middle-class. Aunt Beatrice claims that the middle-class culture is inferior to the culture of Aunt Tantie. She implies that the individual can gain social status by essentially “whitening the race.” Ultimately, Tee becomes confused about the person she has to become in order to fit into the middle-class society. She finds herself questioning her upbringing and wonders if things would be different if she were always under the guardianship of Auntie Beatrice. Tee fears that by accepting the cultural and social status of Aunt Beatrice, she would be disowning a place where she once felt secure and undeniably in touch with her identity. Most of Tee’s early childhood years were spent among Aunt Tantie and Ma, and these two women become instrumental in placing a foundation in Tee’s life. Therefore, these figures become substantial in forming Tee’s identity.
Despite the identity crises transpiring from the dual cultures of Aunt Tantie and Auntie Beatrice, school is something that Tee identifies with. She states “ I looked forward to school, I looked forward to the day when I would pass my hand swiftly from side to side on a blank piece of paper leaving meaningful marks in its wake” (Hodge 22). Through Tee’s experiences at school, the audience is also able to perceive a sense of uniformity, conformity and submissiveness to authority.
In conclusion, Tee battles with acceptance throughout the book. There is no solution to her identity crisis. “I desired with all my heart that it were next morning and a plane were lifting me off the ground.” After enduring cultural and social differences, she is left with nothing to suffice for her desire to belong. The readers are left empty handed and unsatisfied, as Tee travels back to England to live with her father.
Hodge, Merle. Crick Crack, Monkey. Library of Congress, 1970. Print.
