Triumph C.L.R James

 Triumph is a short story about women in Trinidad. It story discussed three main women who were Mamitz, Celestine, and Irene. These women lived in the barrack yards. This was a place of lower-class people in society. "A narrow gateway leading into a fairly big yard, on either side of which runs long, low buildings, consisting of anything from four to eighteen rooms, each about twelve feet square. In these lived the porters, the prostitutes, catermen, washerwomen, and domestic servants of the city" (C.L.R James, Triumph). The women in this society were very oppressed and given the jobs that nobody wanted to do. The women in the story have to rely on men in order to stay afloat within their society. The women in the story would have been better off all staying together instead of going against each other in certain parts. The women would be stronger together and not have to rely so much on the men in society if the women worked together. Mamitz is almost like an instigator in the story that lights some of the fires between the women. This would be the point when the women would go against each other like then they went through the clothing line. The story as a whole was a little difficult to understand because of the different languages. I believe that it reinforced the authenticity of the social classes within the story. It shows more of an authentic West Indian identity to the reader to make the story more accurate.    

Comments

  1. BryceF112September 11, 2020 at 12:44 PM

    These women are oppressed and given the jobs nobody wants yes, and they also fall into subclasses in Trinidad. The women put up with less than satisfactory treatment that you feel sorry for them at first but as the story goes on you kind of lose that feeling of sorrow and you feel that they are hopeless in that they don't stand up directly to their oppressors.

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  2. whatSeptember 11, 2020 at 12:44 PM

    I think it's almost sad how the society as a whole is lower class and may have been "othered" from more well to do societies, yet they still "other" people, aka women.

    -Carmen Fugate

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  3. Ian MillerSeptember 11, 2020 at 12:45 PM

    I find it interesting how the idea of social class was an idea implemented by European nations in countries during colonization. They brought their ideas of what and who belongs in what class, and when they left the countries were stuck with this ideology. However, I would argue that the idea of class structure always has and will be present.

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  4. Mary PurcellOctober 4, 2020 at 3:30 PM

    I think the fractured relationships between the women was intentional in that it shows how a lack of solidarity among an oppressed group only lends power to their oppressors. Their arguments stood in the way of them being able to stand up to the men that mistreat and abuse them, and this was encouraged by the men who don't want to see their power threatened. I also agree that the use of different languages was used to show the different identities.

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