47 pages • 1 hour read
George LammingIn the Castle of My Skin
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1953A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 3-5Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 3 Summary
The chapter opens on May 24, the queen’s birthday—also known as Empire Day—with a description of four different corners of a village square. “In one corner a palm-tree, and in the others three shrines of enlightenment that looked over the wall and across a benighted wooden tenantry” (35). The first corner houses the schoolyard, which is made up of the palm tree and rocks. The second corner houses the school itself, while the third corner houses the church (though the school isn’t a church school, the buildings share much of the same space). The last corner contains the head teacher’s living quarters. Two English officials occasionally visit the school: the school minister and the inspector. The school minister is considered harmless, but the inspector instills fear in everyone. Because it’s the queen’s birthday, parades and celebrations are held at schools across the island. The schoolchildren love parades, and they are exceptionally happy to see all of the Union Jack flags. Everyone is proud to be a part of the British Empire, especially as they are known as Little England. As the schoolchildren at G.’s village school wait in assigned squads, the inspector arrives, signifying the start of the festivities.
Each grade level comprises a squad that marches around the school quad. Three of the grade levels compete publicly for the inspector’s shield by performing songs and skits. The head teacher gives a speech about the wonderful work the boys are performing. When someone laughs, however, his mood changes and everyone notices. The boys always receive pennies on Empire Day, and the inspector leaves during this portion of events. When he does, the head teacher berates the boys. He then asks who laughed. Finally, a boy stands, but he’s unable to speak. Though he moves to the front, he tries running away. “No one knew whether he was the offender or whether he was informing on someone” (43), but the boy is disciplined until he can’t stand on his own. Bleeding and still mute, four boys take him away to clean himself up.
The ailing boy admits that Boy Blue is the culprit, but he ran because he could see that it didn’t make a difference. The other boys have never seen the head teacher beat someone so badly, and they ask the innocent boy if he’s going to tell his father. As one boy admits, “I’d tell my father. Takes a father to deal with that sort of thing. With me it couldn’t end at that” (44). The innocent boy believes that a father would just side with the head teacher, and so the boys say they would tell their mother instead. Yet mothers are bound to tell fathers, so the boys ruminate on the “stupidity” of mothers. The boys then plan to stone the head teacher, though the innocent boy doesn’t think it’s safe to harm him. The head teacher drinks a lot but he’s respected in the village. If he’s harmed, worse harm might befall those who hurt him. One of the boys then relates a story about how the head teacher is henpecked by his wife (he lost some of her money one night and was afraid to go home), which is probably why he drinks.
Back in the quad, the boys wait to be dismissed. They discuss the king’s face and how they can recreate the pennies they received. Another section of students discusses the queen and her role in history. A student overhears older people mentioning that the queen set them free, but this puzzles the boy. The boys can’t fathom not being free, so they assume the old people were once convicts. When one student brings up the topic of slaves, a teacher tells them that slavery happened long ago, suggesting that it’s no longer relevant. The concept of one human owning another is comical to the boys.
In another part of the quad, the class 4 teacher attempts to give an envelope to the class 5 teacher. The class 5 teacher, Mr. Slime, is young, smart, and fashionable. But Mr. Slime is in such a hurry to get to the restroom that the envelope falls from his pocket. A student picks up the envelope and wonders what to do with it, while another student sees and asks him about the envelope.
The boys get into an argument, which alerts the head teacher. The boy who found the letter brings it to the head teacher, hoping for money as payment (instructors often pay the boys often deliver letters to the head teacher). When the head teacher opens the envelope, two pictures fall out. The first is of his wife with another man, and the second is a pornographic picture of a couple having sex. A handwritten note on the back of the photo implies that his wife and the man have engaged in the same lewd act. The head teacher is incensed, and all he has to go on is the name Stephen, which both the class 4 and class 5 teacher share. When he notices that Mr. Slime is gone, he deduces that he’s the culprit. And yet the head teacher doesn’t quite know how to handle the situation: “He felt a strange impotence of action. He wanted the teacher to return, and in the same train of thought he wished he wouldn’t” (64). He knows that he can dismiss Mr. Slime, but he doesn’t want word of his personal issue going around. He’s respected, and he doesn’t want people laughing at him. Moreover, if he lets the teacher go, then the teacher’s family will also suffer. And he can’t tell another teacher—or the inspector—because they might gossip.
The boys again speculate about the meaning of slavery. One boy asserts that they are all still slaves because of Lucifer’s fall. The angels that fell were slaves, and they didn’t want God’s love. Likewise, those who don’t accept God are slaves to the devil. The boy then connects this to England, suggesting that God’s garden and the Garden, which is England, are now one and the same. Therefore, they must accept England to be united with God. In this way, they are all in bondage, but it’s a good bondage. The head teacher eventually dismisses the boys, the weight of what he now knows still fresh on his mind.
Chapter 4 Summary
Pa reminisces about the floods that swept through the village and caused destruction. When he mentions that they will be memorable for children, Ma accuses him of trying to make trouble. She doesn’t like when he talks in such a way, and earlier he vexed her by talking about how old the landlord is. Pa admits that he thinks about change often, but even more so now that Mr. Slime has left the village school. When Mr. Slime left the school, he started two institutions, the Friendly Society and the Penny Bank, of which Ma and Pa—and most of the villagers—are part of. Pa can’t help thinking about the change that Mr. Slime will bring about. Ma agrees that he’s doing well for himself and the village, but she warns Pa to leave matters in God’s hands: “I pray the grace of God go with Mr. Slime in all what he do or don’t do, but bank or no bank, the riches o’ this life is as naught in the sight of my Saviour” (77). When Pa likens Mr. Slime to Moses, Ma warns him not to misinterpret scripture. Even though Mr. Slime wants to help the village through politics, Ma warns that the devil is sneaky.
Pa wonders why Mr. Slime left the village school. He was beloved by all the boys, and he’s well-liked in the village. Pa then recounts how Mr. Slime wants to make them all owners of the land. Again, Ma warns Pa: “He goin’ to make you an’ me owners o’ this lan’ an’ he ain’t say yet what he goin’ do ’bout Mr. Creighton. ’Twill be enmity ’twixt them both” (79). As Ma sees it, Mr. Creighton’s family have been landlords for generations, and they aren’t going to let Mr. Slime disenfranchise them. Pa wonders who is a better man, Mr. Creighton or Mr. Slime? Ma tells him that she leaves such matters to God. Evening falls, and when the landlord’s light goes off in his mansion, they get ready for bed as well.
Pa feels anxiety about many things, which is often prompted by the darkness. He has strange dreams that Ma calls bad omens. When Pa remains staring at the darkness, Ma closes the door and talks about God’s goodness. But Pa is still thinking about how times change, and it frightens him. He recalls his life in Panama, when he was well-to-do. Ma reminds him that he was once great, like Mr. Creighton, and that the village needs another Panama to secure the younger generation’s future. Pa tells her that Mr. Slime foresees the next Panama as America, but that it will be better than Panama. Ma warns him about placing all his faith in Mr. Slime. He should stop worrying himself with earthly matters and place his faith in God. When Pa admits that he wonders what it’s like to die and what will happen after death, Ma comforts him by reciting a prayer.
Chapter 5 Summary
A man named Savory owns a food cart that he pushes around the village. Crowds often get rowdy, and as they wait, they comment and joke: “Talk was humorous, censorious and often filled with gossip” (92). One woman brings up a rumor about a girl named Cutsie. Supposedly, Cutsie is making love to Boysie. The women quarrel and suggest that the church is covering up the scandal. Meanwhile, Cutsie plays with a stick, and Bob makes music with a comb. When Ma arrives, the crowd parts so that she doesn’t have to wait in line.
A group of men stand in the shoemaker’s shop and watch the crowds in front of Savory. The group includes Mr. Foster, Bob’s father, and the overseer’s brother (who is Trumper’s father). The men are tense because they’ve gone on strike. Mr. Slime, who’s won a seat in the general election, is their representative. He’s meeting with the shipping authorities to get them better wages and is expected at the shop with news at any moment. “They trusted Mr. Slime. But the experience was very exciting and in a way dangerous” (95). As they wait, the men discuss Mr. Slime’s merits. Not only is he helping them earn better working conditions, but he’s also helping the village by creating institutions like the Penny Bank. The group’s resolve, however, is tested when they realize that their failure to unload cargo will result in hardship for the landlord. The shoemaker encourages them to remain strong, even though he won’t be affected if the strike doesn’t work.
The shoemaker has been reading the work of a man named J. B. Priestley. Priestley examines the effects that temporary power has on colonial governors. When these governors are no longer in power, they “could convince themselves that what was merely a temporary privilege should become a permanent right” (99). The shoemaker connects this abuse of power with the riots and protests happening in Trinidad, and imagines they can also happen in Barbados because people are upset with their lives. He makes a big speech to the others about stepping up and taking matters into their own hands, bringing up Marcus Garvey and Alexander the Great as examples of men who didn’t wait for things to happen. Another issue the shoemaker brings up, however, is the fact that blacks don’t like to associate themselves with people from Africa. This separation keeps them from uniting as brothers.
Outside, a fight breaks out between a woman named Baby Parker and another named Shelia. The women argue about the earlier topic concerning Boysie’s affair (and how many months pregnant his lover is). The insults turn personal, with Baby Parker accusing Sheila of being a man killer and unclean. The women get into a fistfight and the crowd eggs them on: “The dialogue had blazed into a petulant outburst. It had become public property” (105). The constable finally arrives and breaks up the fight. He derides the villagers for not being as peaceable as Belleville. Mr. Slime also finally arrives and tells the men to return to work. The shipping authorities are discussing the demands and will pay them a higher wage, though the matter is far from over. Though mostly good news, the men feel that the entire ordeal is anticlimactic. Moreover, they wonder if the landlord will retaliate.
Chapters 3-5 Analysis
Chapter 3 delves into the complicated history of Barbados and England. Though readers will understand that Barbados was colonized by England, the villagers see England as a benevolent ally. This is highlighted in the chapter when students can’t understand what slavery is or what its effects are: “Imagine any man in any part of the world owning a man or a woman from Barbados. They would forget all about it since it happened too long ago. Moreover, they weren’t told anything about that” (58). It’s also later revealed that controversial topics like slavery aren’t really taught in history books. The interaction between the head teacher and the inspector from England also dramatizes the entire relationship between England and its territories: “It was pleasing to watch them talk in that way the villagers called man to man, although it didn’t seem altogether a case of man to man. They watched each other at times as a cat would watch a mouse, playfully but seriously” (39). Even the schoolboys understand that there’s mistrust between the white inspector and the black head teacher; this represents the larger mistrust at play.
Chapter 4 effectively fleshes out another dichotomy in the village. Pa represents those who place their faith in man, while Ma represents those who place their faith in religion and God. Pa used to have money, and he sees a chance for prosperity once again in Mr. Slime’s political machinations. He even likens him to Moses. Ma, however, is weary of anyone who isn’t ordained by God. Ma’s take on the matter is entirely prophetic, for, later on, the reader learns that Mr. Slime is true to his name and acts more like a devil than an angel. Death and the afterlife also come up in this section, and Pa frets about these philosophical narratives while Ma simply leaves it all to God.
Mr. Slime’s political dealings are brought up again in Chapter 5, when the reader learns that he’s negotiating workers’ rights for villagers who’ve gone on strike. Like Pa, the men believe that Mr. Slime is a good man who has their best interests at heart. More than anything, these chapters show just how much the village is changing. Barbados is following in the footsteps of world events, and politics are entering the lives of the villagers despite them not knowing how to navigate the political tides on their own. The lack of knowledge displayed here will prove fatal by the end of the narrative.
