Antony Mate

The Father Figure in Caribbean Literature : a Study of Michael Anthony Antony Mate

The book examines the portrayal of the father in the Caribbean family. The text limits itself by analysing selected works of Trinidadian writer Michael Anthony, who has not been given the criticism he deserves despite penning many works. The work was informed by the recurrent image of the weak and absent father in Caribbean literature especially in the low class African-Caribbean family. Though the writer is from the Anglophone Caribbean,the work is also relevant to the Francophone Caribbean because of the similar trend of the weak or absent fathers in that regions literature. The book is also informed by the growing interest of the issue of men and masculinity studies globally. Men and Masculinity studies have been so much on the periphery because of the feminist wave and a lot of attention on the girl child while omitting the boy child. Hence men have been suffering in silence because of cultural norms that forbid them from exposing their problems. The book also exposes how racial,economical and class disparities have led to the emasculation of some men. It also illustrates how masculinity is not static and the same among all men.