Surrealist Tendencies in Cesaire_ Bianco

        In Aime Cesaire’s Notebook of a Return to The Native, Cesaire expresses the theme of colonialism through the usage of surrealist techniques throughout the poem. A particular theme found is that of duality. Cesaire structuralizes the poem to be a mix of prose and poetry that defies the regular literary rules. In just the structuralization, Cesaire demonstrates the theme of duality. Duality is the philosophical concept that both mind and body are separate, yet intertwined. Throughout the poem, Cesaire continuously fluctuates between anger and resignation. In doing so, Cesaire recreates what seems to be a constant flow of thought. For example, Cesaire states, “Beat it, evil grigri, you bedbug of a petty monk. Then I turned toward paradises lost for him and his kin, calmer than the face of a woman telling lies…”(Cesaire, 35). However, the stream of thought creates tension throughout the poem. Streaming thought is a demonstration of free will, the ability that one has to express oneself in a continuous fashion without bias. This demonstrates surrealism in that surrealism aims to express the subconsciousness. The subconsciousness, is known for the intermingling of reality and fiction, of which occur in an uninterrupted manner. For instance, Cesaire states, “At the end of the wee hours, the morne forgotten, forgetful of leaping. At the end of the wee hours, the morne is restless…” (Cesaire). Cesaire uses repetition to create the tension between the flow of thought. The repetition also creates the theme of disjointedness in the poem, which in turn creates juxtaposition. 

       Cesaire also juxtaposes the past and present throughout the poem. In such a manner, Cesaire pushes the boundaries, which demonstrate surrealist tendencies. In doing such, there is no creation of history; there is no future, only the present. This creates the theme of disjointed time, instead of limited by time itself, his poem becomes ‘out of time’. This becomes symbolic of the African American’s position in society, during this time of colonialism; African American’s were viewed as short time individuals. Yet in Cesaire’s poem they become timeless, there is no limit in their existence. For instance, Cesaire states, “I follow you who are imprinted on my ancestral white cornea”(Cesaire). In such a statement, African Americans and the colonialist become intertwined in the imagery of the white cornea. Instead of having separate ancestral histories, they become intertwined into one.

         Cesaire also focuses upon the creation of a cultural identity. Cultural identity is created by ones situation in a specific societal sphere or cultural heritage. However, Cesaire focuses upon the situation of the African Americans in colonialism. In particular, he focuses upon westernized cultural events that have separated itself from African Americans. For instance, “It had agoraphobia, Christmas did. What it wanted was a whole day of bustling, preparing, a cooking and cleaning spree, endless jiters…”(Cesaire, 40). Christmas as a cultural event has no meaning to the African Americans other than a holiday, which they must work during. In such a description, it sheds light on the different ways the colonizers have situated themselves from the African Americans, and the cultural identity each one has built.