Essay about The Epic Poem Omers by Derek Walcott - 959 Words

In the epic poem Omeros by Derek Walcott is a literary piece that calls for a lot of attention. This poem can be dangerously confusing at time because it is written in a universe that has so many different things going on. Omeros is a racial, ethnic, and political poem that captivates the reader for a couple of reasons. Wolcott intentionally doesn’t put the poem in anytime of chronological order. He uses many different cultures/religions such as African gods, Greek gods, Caribbean gods, and the Christian God. Wolcott talks about complexity of being both Afrocentric, Eurocentric and shows how these principles/ideologies distract us as human beings. His characters show signs of displacement in society trying to assimilate between culture and†¦show more content†¦Walcott takes the hardships of one race and makes them applicable to almost everyone. An example of this would be of Achille who struggles to find his cultural identity even though he has his racial identity. I n his metaphorical trip to Africa and ends up talking to his father about how he lost himself. â€Å"[Afolabe] Achille. What does that name mean? I have forgotten the one that I gave you. But it was , it seems, many years ago. What does it mean? [Achille] Well, I to have forgotten. Everything was forgotten, you also. I do not know. The deaf sea has changed around every name that you gave us, trees, men, we yearn for a sound that is missing. [Afolabe] A name means something. The qualities desired in a son, and even a girl-child; so even the shadows called you expected one virtue, since every name is a blessing, since I am remembering the hope I had for you as a child. Unless the sound means nothing. Then you would be nothing. Did they think you were nothing in that other kingdom? In this quote Walcott takes the pain of Achilles not knowing who he is and combines it with the loss of his ancestral history, ultimately showing the wound history has created. By Achille not knowing what his name meant he had no place in society. The idea of the name is important in both Eurocentric and Afrocentric cultures but also applicable to many other cultures. Naming in the Americas for slaves illustrated slavery thus Afolabe saying to Achille the slave