Conflicting Worlds (continued)

Da-duh and the little girl seem to have a certain bond even though through this bond they only manage to convey to each other the distinct and favourable features of their worlds. It is as if, from the beginning of their encounter with each other they are in constant competition to prove the positivity and greatness of their worlds. Although, it may be added that this determination was more from Da-duh than from the little girl as she wants to prove to herself the importance of her “natural” world. Da-duh’s constant repetition of phrases like, “I know they don’t have anything this nice where you come from” and “I bet you don’t have these in New York” is a way in which she tries to highlight the distinct and unique quality of her world and its natural benefits. She does this with great determination, bordering on stubbornness. Parallel to this, the girl with the same level of stubbornness and determination seeks to talk about her “developed” and mechanized world “of steel and concrete and machines”.  

Da-duh has lived eighty years of her life in Barbados and is ignorant to the great developments of the world. She lives in her own world of natural surroundings with basic facilities. She has appreciation for the fruits and foodstuff which grow in the plants and trees which surround the ground near her simple dwelling place. She has seen and experienced the time of slavery, when Africans were made to work on sugar-cane fields for long hours by the British during colonial rule. Even after emancipation of Africans in 1838, the British were still in control. Therefore, when the girl tells Da-duh that she “beat up” a white girl in her class, it comes as a great shock and she has a tone of incredulity as she is still under the impression of different opportunities existing for different races. Her difficulty in accepting this magnitude of change in times is evident when she says that the “world’s changing up so I can scarce recognize it anymore.” Whereas, it can be noted that such an incident or act (beating up white people) was taken as a casual or normal reaction by the granddaughter. This shows the wide generation gap and her ignorance about the history of slavery, similar to Da-duh’s ignorance about the developments in society and it further presents the conflict between the two characters’ views of their worlds.