Tantie at de Oval

“Tanti at the Oval”, is a story which was written by, Paul Keens-Douglas. Paul Keens-Douglas is a Trinidadian playwright, author and a performer. Paul Keens-Douglas is one of the most eloquent raconteurs and social commentators in the English-speaking Caribbean. He was born in September, 1942 in San Juan, Trinidad, but he spent his early childhood in Grenada, where his family resides, and where he attended Presentation Boys College. He became a self-published author since the year 1972. Over 30 years, Paul Keens-Douglas narratives have been aired on many radio stations. Paul Keens-Douglas wrote the short story “Tanti at the Oval” to give the readers an insight of the lifestyle in the Caribbean. Tanti at the Oval was written in first person as the narrator tells the tale of Tanti Merle, and her first visit to the Queens Part Oval in Trinidad to watch an important cricket match amongst Trinidad and the combined islands. With the aid of vibrant illustrations by Joan Camps-Campin, Paul Keens-Douglas expresses how Tanti Merle embarrassed herself and her companion at the Oval. Aspects of Caribbean life was highlighted in the story “Tanti at the Oval” are the significance of cricket, the dialectal language, the companionship and the competition adopted by local sports.

The narrator of the story, “Tanti at the Oval” was really annoyed with taking Tanti Merle, to the cricket match. He did not appreciate her bad attitude towards the younger people and her surroundings. In my opinion, Tanti Merle acted that way, because in her generation she grew up in a diverse environment with people who had mutual understanding with her. The generation gap influences not only the way the younger generation thinks about Tanti Merle, but the way she acted towards the younger generation. For example, when Tanti Merle asked the thug in the oval stands to take off his hat, she did not care who he is, because she expected him to respect her since she is older than him. When Tanti Merle and the...