Findings of Cambridge

I think that the book Cambridge is a bit boring and sometimes hard to read but through this story the reader is able to gain an insight into the hierarchical structure of the Caribbean Plantation society and England how privileged persons like Emily views it. Caryl Phillips utilizes several narrative techniques in order to develop his story.  One main narrative technique that is evident in the text is setting. This is the place and time in which the narrative is laid. The setting at the beginning of the book is aboard a ship bound for The Americas and the later on Emily's father plantation. Point of view is also used my Phillips where the book gives one character's view of the story , this character is Emily which is the narrator. The book is presented in a very detailed manner, this overly detailed description of surroundings within the book tends to make it somewhat of a bore. A significant narrative device used within Cambridge is characterization, this is the process of depicting character and personality in a narrative so that the characters seem real. Emily, who is one of the main characters in the narrative is a Caucasian woman from England who has came to The Americas to visit one of her father's plantation. Caryl presents this character as morally-blinded, this is seen through her acceptance of slavery. Upon arrival she meets several blacks and immediately refers to them as "niggers", a very derogatory term. However, although Emily is presented in this way readers may be able to be understanding towards her behavior because it's the way in which she is raised and what she is accustomed to. Another main character in the book is the slave Cambridge who is quite aware of the prejudices which come along with being a black slave. He has a profound sense of justice, however as a black slave this is self-destructive.