The Haunted Tropics Analysis

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INTRODUCTION The Haunted Tropics- Caribbean Ghost Stories edited by Martin Munro, a professor of French and Francophone Studies at Florida State University, was published August 2015 by The University of the West Indies Press. I will be reviewing the short stories Awakening by Roberto Fernandez, The Obeahman, Obeahed by Maryse Conde and Dawn of the Dread by Geoffrey Philp. These stories identifies with Culture, Socio-economic status and Racism within the ghost story genre. Throughout the book, the authors’ incorporates Caribbean folklore in the elements of the ghost story genre. Munro states that the authors from various backgrounds such as: Anglophone, Francophone, Hispanophone as well as the United States and Canada drew on their own understanding of Caribbean time, history, place and being in an effort to renew this popular form of literary work (x-xi). Caribbean Culture can be based on language, history, economic features and ethnic groups. Each island or territory is characterized by its own distinct cultural practices, however linking us, in many ways, together as a people. The dynamics of colour, race and class within Caribbean societies from early years of colonization have been the anchor of historical research. Racism dictated the emergence of a slavery ideology. Legal freedom was a highly valued commodity, it’s sad to say it was rejected on the basis of colour, the mark of servitude or inferiority (Ed. Verene Shepherd & Hilary McD. Beckles, Caribbean Slavery in