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.
Symbols & Motifs
Pebbles
At the end of the narrative, G. plays with a pebble on the beach. He grows attached to it and hides it, but the pebble is gone the next day. The pebble’s disappearance affects G. and his outlook on life: “I held it long and felt its shape and saw its texture until it was no longer a pebble. It had become one of those things one can’t bear to see for the last time” (214). For G., the pebble represents something solid—a constant state of being. A pebble doesn’t change shape. G.’s attachment to the pebble indicates his fondness for the status quo, for the security of things that don’t change without his permission. The pebble’s disappearance symbolizes how much change is upending his life. Though G. wants to grow and educate himself, he’s afraid because there are so many “pebbles” in his life that are disappearing and that will disappear when he leaves, including Trumper, the village, his mother, and Pa.
Crabs
The crabs that G. and his friends watch on the beach are constantly moving; they either fight, work, have sex, or flee, all activities that the villagers engage in. The crabs also face the pitfalls of the waves, which are similar to the floods that the villagers endure. G. likens crabs on the beach to human beings: “And they were covered with wiry bits of hair like a man’s hand […] It made the pattern we might have drawn with a finger. They moved forward slowly and uncertainly like old women, crouching and sprawling in turn” (128). Likewise, crabs arrive with the floods, and they can be dangerous because of their pinchers. Despite their danger and potential for violence, G. notes that “crabs’ eyes seemed so much like a man’s hand. A man’s hand that moved about like a machine that was left to work following its own instructions” (129). As such, crabs are symbols of violence, volition, human struggle, toil, and journeying.
Little England
Barbados is also known as Little England, and the villagers are proud to be considered allies of England. They’re reminded of their allegiance time and again:
But, remember, my dear boys, whatever happens in any part of this world, whatever happens to you here in the island of Barbados, the pride and treasure of the Empire, we are always on the side of peace. You are with us, and we with you. (38)
Despite their hardships, the villagers feel that they should be grateful for England’s benevolence, even though the effects of slavery and discrimination still haunt them in ways they don’t even realize (because slavery isn’t taught in their history books). Readers, however, understand the effects of colonialism at play: The villagers have been conditioned to think that their masters are great and mighty friends, and that they too are great by relation.
Cooking
Cooking is something that brings families and friends together. For Trumper and G.’s mother, the preparation of meals defines both food and people. Trumper doesn’t like that Americans get food from vending machines because he likes the idea of preparing one’s own food and knowing where it comes from. As he tells G. and Boy Blue, “Seems to me all these little things make food what it is” (169). Likewise, G.’s mother doesn’t think that America or Trinidad can match the heart and soul she and other islanders in Barbados put into their cooking. Cooking is an expression of love, and if it isn’t done properly, people might have full bellies but still be starved of love.
The Concept of Change
Change is a motif seen throughout the narrative. One of the most notable changes takes place because of war. War erupts in Europe in the latter half of the narrative, and it isn’t long until it affects Barbados. The island’s infrastructure is gutted, with train tracks and trees shipped away for the war effort. As G. notes,
Everything had happened because of the war. The train had stopped coming and the lines were taken up. Finally the trees were felled. […] The village was contributing to the victory that which would be Big England’s as well as Little England’s. No one seemed sure whether it was a matter for pleasure or protest. (229)
G. learns about war in the village school, and he learns more about war while in high school, but its reality changes his lackadaisical view of historical events.
Change also arises in the transition from childhood to adulthood. G. and his friends go from troublemakers and schoolboys to men with jobs. For G., this change is compounded by the fact that he is leaving Barbados to teach in Trinidad. His memories of home are bittersweet, however, as G.’s higher education causes a rift between his old life and his new one. Throughout the last few chapters, G. struggles with the fact that he’s likely seeing many things for the last time. Even though he’s committed to the next chapter of his life, change still frightens him.
