In the novel Texaco by Patrick Chamoiseau, the concept of the Noutéka is invented to describe Esternome’s ideal community. In Esternome’s words, Noutéka is “a magical kind of we . . . [loaded] with the meaning of one fate for many,” (Chamoiseau 122). The idea of Noutéka is highlighted in the segment of Marie-Sophie’s notebook […]
Category: Community
Memory
Memory & Texaco’s Storytelling Texaco, written by Patrick Chamoiseau, is the story of Martinique native Marie-Sophie and her fight to establish a place where others like her can live peacefully in an often-brutal post-slavery world. Memory, by definition, is the faculty of the brain by which data and information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when […]
Maroons and Marronage
History Sparking from the traumatizing and damaging slavery experience, individuals, known as maroons, escape their plantation, seeking out a better life. Although the exact date is not clear, the early 1600’s is believed to be the start of slavery. As a result of the awful conditions the enslaved persons endured, they escaped from their plantations […]
Marie-Sophie Laborieux
Introduction Marie-Sophie Laborieux is a fictional character in the novel Texaco, written by Patrick Chamoiseau. She was born in the early 1900’s and passed away in 1989. Marie-Sophie Laborieux narrates the novel as an adult by retelling her family’s history along with sharing her own life experiences. For her familial history, she relies solely on […]
Esternome Laborieux
Esternome Laborieux is the deuteragonist of the novel Texaco by Patrick Chamoiseau. His life is characterized by a series of ups and downs and attempts of mediating his want for stability with his feeling of obligation for change. He is the father of the narrator, Marie-Sophie Laborieux. Esternome’s life is recounted throughout the first half […]
Knowledge
Storytelling throughout generations and with others is a powerful method that keeps our ancestors, their stories, and their wisdom alive today. From drawing on cave walls to our current social media platforms, humans have always found importance in sharing knowledge with others. Humans have always found a strength in knowledge and a weakness in ignorance […]
