Cαrnivαlesque Resistαnce, Performing identity and cultural reclamation in earl lovelace’s the dragon can't dance

Assi .Lect Khalid Salman Sakar

doi:10.31185/eduj.Vol60.Iss2.4471

Authors

Assi .Lect Khalid Salman Sakar The General Directorate of Education in Thi-Qar

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31185/eduj.Vol60.Iss2.4471

Keywords:

لأدب ما بعد الاستعمار ، المقاومة الثقافية ، الكرنفال ، تشكيل الهوية ، إيرل لوفلاس ، التنين الذي لايستطيع الرقص.

Abstract

This research examines Earl Lovelace's The Dragon Can't Dance through the theoretical lens of Mikhail Bakhtin's Carnivalesque, exploring how carnival functions as a site of cultural resistance and identity formation in postcolonial Trinidad. Through close textual analysis of key characters—Aldrick, Philo, and Sylvia—this study investigates how Lovelace portrays the carnival as a means of temporarily subverting colonial power structures and a potentially transformative space for cultural reclamation. The research reveals how Lovelace's narrative complicates simplistic notions of resistance by demonstrating both the liberatory potential and the commodification threats facing Caribbean carnival traditions. The findings contribute to post-colonial literary discourse by illuminating the complex intersection of performance, resistance, and cultural identity in Caribbean literature.

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