Day: November 29, 2020

In Chapter 2 of The Pagoda, Lowe, who is devastated by the burning down of his shop and the death of his associate (and perhaps past lover) Cecil, avoids walking outside due to his hallucinations of grotesque, deathly scenes. Among these ominous images are “the heads of black cats teeming with maggots dangling from guava trees” (21). Lowe is already struggling with a secret history that he yearns to convey to his estranged daughter; the sudden loss of his shop and Cecil places an additional burden on his already distressed mind.

Guava trees, in the above quote, serve as a vivid indicator of setting. The appearance of these trees in Lowe’s hallucinations grounds the novel’s current setting in Jamaica. These trees, more shrub-like than tree-like, have seemingly forever been associated with the tropical regions of Central and South America as well as the Caribbean Islands. In fact, guavas have been distributed so widely for so long that the place of origin is uncertain. Some archeological sources trace the guava fruit to Peru as far back as 800 B.C.E. From there, the guava spread rapidly through Central and South America, and it is thought to have reached Mexico by 200 B.C.E., then shortly afterwards to the Caribbean Islands. Propagated around the world by Europeans around the 16th century (as with most other crops from the Americas), guava trees are now grown in many tropical areas globally, such as South and Southeast Asia.

Guava fruits, which have been consumed extensively as food and medicine, bear a thin skin that surrounds soft, sweet outer flesh with an inner core of yellow seeds. I imagine that these seeds may under certain circumstances look like the maggots that have infested the black cats of Lowe’s hallucination. Putting aside the clear symbolism of the ominous black cat, perhaps this hallucination has its basis in rotten guava fruits that have blackened, either infested by bugs or with the seeds falling out. Regardless, the guava trees in this section of The Pagoda help establish an eeriness that is ingrained in its tropical setting by its very nature.

 

Works Cited

“Guava.” American Indian Health and Diet Project, https://aihd.ku.edu/foods/guava.html

Powell, Patricia. The Pagoda. Harcourt, 1998.

Morton, Julia F. “Guava.” NewCrop, Purdue University, 2020, https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/guava.html

“Wooden shelves leaning against the wall, holding cakes of soap and boxes of detergent and oats and bottles of beer and stout… the closet filled with spiced buns and bread and water crackers, two unopened tins of New Zealand cheddar…”  (Powell, 18)

When I searched up “spiced buns,” one of the first results that came up was of Jamaican spice buns, which I thought might be what the author was referring to given the setting of The Pagoda. Now eaten throughout the Caribbean and typically associated with Easter, Jamaican spice buns are a derivative of hot cross buns, which in turn originated in Europe; their creation demonstrates the unceasing spread of religion and tradition through colonization and imperialism. Common ingredients for the Jamaican variation include beer, molasses, and dried fruits and surprisingly, it is also usually eaten with slices of cheese. The alcohol and cheddar are also two foods that are including in the inventory described in this excerpt of the book, showing their commonality and use in some parts of Jamaican cuisine. Spice buns are an extremely important part of Jamaican culture and their use as goods in Mr. Lowe’s shop shows his assimilation. Despite this, the destruction of his shop and death of Cecil show that he is still viewed as an other, an outsider, and though he may have lived in Jamaica for decades now, he is still not seen as “one of [the people’s] own” (19).

Citations

Blackwood, Michelle. “Jamaican Spice Bun,” healthier steps. 20 Nov 2020, https://healthiersteps.com/recipe/jamaican-spice-bun/

Imma. “Jamaican Easter Spice Bun,” Immaculate Bites. 02 May 2020, https://www.africanbites.com/jamaican-easter-spice-bun/

Pierola, Taylor. “Jamaican Traditional Easter Bun and Cheese,” culture cheese mag. 12 Aug 2013, https://culturecheesemag.com/blog/jamaican-traditional-easter-bun-cheese/

When describing the contents of his shop after it’s destroyed, Mr. Lowe states: “Wooden shelves leaning against the wall, holding cakes of soap and boxes of detergent and oats and bottles of beer and stout, aerated water, white rum, boxes of clothes peg, hairpin, button, phensic, tins of condensed milk and mackerel in tomato sauce, corned beef, sardines in vegetable oil…” (Powell 18).

Condensed milk is a type of concentrated milk containing added sugar in which “60% of the water content has been removed” via evaporation (Foster). When condensed milk is processed, the sugar concentrates and gains a caramel-like flavor. Although condensed milk has a high sugar content, it has important nutrients and minerals such as protein, carbohydrates, calcium, and potassium, which are vital for people of all ages and children especially (“What is Condensed Milk?”). Moreover, the sugar extends the shelf life by preventing the growth of bacteria. Across the world, this rich, sweet product is used in recipes for baked goods and desserts.

Before the 1850s, milk frequently caused diseases due to the lack of refrigeration. In 1856, Gail Borden developed condensed milk to combat food poisoning and diseases associated with the improper preservation of fresh milk. Moreover, Borden’s brand—Eagle Brand—decreased the “infant mortality rate” and eventually became a “household name” as a result of The Civil War (“Our History”). In order to ensure that soldiers were adequately nourished, the U.S. government ordered Borden’s product in large quantities.

Inspired by Borden’s success, George and Charles Page created their version of condensed milk in Cham, Switzerland, under their Milkmaid Brand. By 1868, the Page brothers had sold “over 364,000 cartons of condensed milk,” with the majority of their demand coming from Great Britain and its colonies (“A condensed history: the Page brothers and Anglo-Swiss”). Their success eventually led to the beginnings of the company, Nestlé.

Sources:

“A Condensed History: the Page Brothers and Anglo-Swiss.” Nestlé, 31 Mar. 2016, www.nestle.co.nz/media/pressreleases/allpressreleases/condensed-history-page-brothers-anglo-swiss.

Eagle Family Foods Group LLC. “Our History.” Eagle Brand, https://www.eaglebrand.com/history

“What Is Condensed Milk? Glossary, Uses, Benefits, Recipes with Condensed Milk.” Tarladalal, 23 Nov. 2020, www.tarladalal.com/glossary-condensed-milk-672i.

In The Pagoda by Patricia Powell­­, Lowe angrily recalls all that he feels he has given the villagers as the shop burns. “…hadn’t he fed them? There wasn’t one funeral he had missed. He locked shop early and attended every wedding with a box of hard-dough bread and a carton of white rum underneath his arm” (13). Hard Dough bread, or simply “hardo,” is a Jamaican staple that some believe was first made in the 1920s by a Chinese migrant. Today, it’s made using a special tool called a “dough break machine,” which you’d be hard-pressed to find outside of Jamaica, Cuba, or Haiti. Hardo is sweet – it’s basted in sugar water, and has a shiny crust. It’s cheap and accessible, though some bakers today have elevated the simple bread with hands-on techniques and practiced skill. Hardo is commonly used during Easter and Christmas for the bread in Christian rituals (i.e. the bread as the body instead of a wafer). As Prof. Goffe explains in a Vice article, hard dough bread is starchy and calorific, which made it a good source of energy for the laborers and enslaved peoples working on plantations in the heat. Indian and Chinese people migrated to Jamaica on the promise of good jobs and housing but ended up in indentured servitude despite the abolishment of slavery in Jamaica in 1834.

Knowing hard dough bread is a cheap bread lends some credence to the grumblings that Cecil is cheap: “You know how much weevil me find in the cornmeal. And that bad rum him sell. Mix with water,” we hear an unknown stranger complain (15).

Reference:

Joseph, Chanté. Confronting the Colonial Past of Jamaica’s Hard Dough Bread. 2019, www.vice.com/en/article/a3xgdk/confronting-the-colonial-past-of-jamaicas-hard-dough-bread.