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= Gender Theory Review of 'Anancy an Ratta' =

Anancy, Anansi or Bredda Nancy as he was referred to by most, is a spider trickster and a huge part of many Caribbean Tales. Bredda Nancy was very cunning and got the better of the strongest and bigger animals. Even though his many tales were brought to life by Jamaica's very own Ms. Louise Bennett, it is alleged that his folk tales originated in Ghana, where he was identified as an Ashanti Spider - god with supernatural powers. These stories were brought to Jamaica with the Slaves who were transported to the island through the slave trade. Following the period of slavery, Bredda Nancy stories were still popular and were mostly told during the night hours; this trend continued for many years.  'Anancy an Ratta' is one of the many Anacy Stories written by Miss Lou.

Miss Louise Bennett - Coverley
Louise Bennett - Coverley (now deceased) was born September 7, 1919 in Kingston, Jamaica; she was an only child. Her educational studies were centered around the Jamaican Folklore. In the year of 1943, when she enrolled in the Friend's College located in St Mary, her first poetry piece was published in the Sunday Gleaner. She was known for her radio series 'Miss Lou's View', hosting the television show 'Ring Ding', writing several books and poems in Jamaican Patois which includes 'Anancy Stories and Poems in Dialect'. All her contributions played a part in placing worldwide recognition on our nation's (Jamaica) language. Our very own Miss Lou, was always in defense of Jamaican Talk, this is very evident in one of her many pieces entitled "Bans A Killin". 

Boastfulness, Deception, Shame
The themes that surfaced from Bennett's short story, 'Anancy an Ratta', were boastfulness, deception and the minor theme of shame. Boastfulness was seen in the first stanza where Bredda Ratta was basically described as a "Highfalutin Fella", who was always well dressed in the latest styles and fashion and he behaved as if he was better off than everyone else around him. The theme of boastfulness was also brought out in the seventh stanza where Bredda Ratta not only tried to out dance everyone else at the dance but he took over the dance floor and was praised for his dancing by everyone who stopped to watch him. Because of all this praise he was receiving he decided to be more extra in his dancing as outlined in the phrase that says, ".... an Bredda Ratta dance fi de betta". It was known by many far and wide that Bredda Nancy was deceiving and cunning(two of his main traits), so deception was another clear theme that popped out in the short piece. The theme of deception was seen when Anancy decided that he was going to bring Bredda Ratta off his 'High Horse' according to Jamaican saying. As stated in stanza two, "So bredda Anancy meck up him mine fi cut dung Bredda Rat to size." Anancy spent hours trying to formulate the grand plan as to how he would accomplish his trick. After many hours of contemplation Anancy remembered that Bredda Ratta was very fond of dancing; to put his best plan into action he went ahead to throw a big get together/dance and invited everyone, even Bredda Ratta. To ensure that his plan worked out well, Anancy went ahead to shine the dance floor ensuring that it was very shining and also very slippery. Bredda Anancy knew the exact outcome of what excessive and outrageous dancing would cause, but despite that small fact he went ahead as soon as Ratta entered the dance, to play music that was very enticing. The theme of shame, though not as pertinent as the others later joined in in the latter stanzas of the story. This theme came to light when Bredda Ratta fell due to his 'extraness' and excessive dancing which caused him to rip his well put together garment. He was mocked and ridiculed by all the animals which brought about great embarrassment. This great level of was so heavy that he felt so ashamed he ran and hid in a hole, ".... Ratta shame, him shame, him shame so tell him run ina one hole go hide". With that great embarrassment, according to the writer, "An from dat day till teday Ratta live ina hole."

Extent to which Patriarchy was reflected or challenged in the chosen text.
As mentioned earlier in the brief overview of the history of Anancy the spider, the tales were introduced to the Caribbean region through Slavery by slaves transported from West Africa. Even though Anancy stories are relayed cross many Caribbean countries, he was crowned the national Jamaican Folk - hero and made the biggest impact on the Jamaican cultural society. In Jamaica it is of high belief that Anancy came down to earth in his physical form but later adopted human male characteristics. The dominant characteristics shown by Anancy are those of promiscuity, jealousy, greed, lewdness, deceit and he is perceived as being more aggressive and ruthless; all characteristics known to be portrayed by males within most contemporary society. Instead of being one who abides by rules, his patriarchal dominance did the quite opposite and he even got the better of the bigger and more dominant animals.

Within the first few stanzas of the story Bredda Rat was described as being a very 'facety and highfalutin fella' who dressed in a well put manner and was of high belief that he was better than everyone else, one would say that these are some qualities of being a dominant figure. This is the same for patriarchal dominant figures, they tend to be more egoistic and pompous. Because of this Anancy decided to challenge Bredda Rat's patriarchal dominance. Further on in the latter stanzas of the story, it shows how the two patriarchal figures clashed. Bredda Rat or Ratta is known for his craft in dancing and being dominant in this area of bodily expression, but with Anancy being the ruthless male figure that challenges everything and everyone, he decides to challenge Rat's patriarchal dominance. The mere fact that Rat behaved as if he was better than everyone in all he did, Anancy devised a plan "Fi cut dung Bredda Rat to size" in other words he decided he wanted to 'humble' him. Anancy then went about to invite Rat to the dance floor and played the kind of music that would have him coming forth to take center stage and prove his great dancing skills. Bredda Rat's patriarchal dominance was also shown when everyone stopped to watch him and praise him for his "pretty dancing". Anancy knowing what would be the exact outcome continued with his cunning and deceitful act. Even though the aim for Anancy's actions was to 'humble' Bredda Rat it is rather controversial because most would see this as Anancy just wanting the spotlight for himself or try to prove his patriarchal dominace as shown on many other different occasions with other bigger animals. In most Caribbean societies, especially in Jamaica, Anancy's actions would be classified as being 'badmind' which is a expression use to describe someone who is jealous of others and is constantly being a critic. To many Anancy patriarchal dominance would be seen as one that is extremely envious of the success of others, that plots for their downfall or failure.

How Language Shaped the Contemporary Beliefs in Society.
Femininity and Masculinity both describes gender identities. In all cultures, certain behaviors or practices may be widely seen as being either "feminine" or "masculine", despite whether they are adopted by women or men. Whether one is born male or female, there are far reaching consequences as it relates to them as an individual. Ones biological ascription at birth affects how they act in the world, how the world treats them and along with all this language plays a high roll in establishing and sustaining these gender divisions. In many traditions it is evident that men and women have a whole range of different vocabulary that they use. Language on a whole in culture is a memory bank of people in our history. The loss of one's 'mother tongue' or language often brings forth the loss of cultural identity. To keep all this alive within the Caribbean region, many writers devote their stellar pieces to keep the belief and language that shaped our society, for example Ms. Louise Bennett - Coverley.

Masculinity
Masculinity refers to those social roles, and behaviors of men within society as well as whatever meaning is attached to them. In this short story the masculine tone was of more dominance than the feminine tone. It depicts how society was back then and somewhat still is, how men tend to be the dominant beings and women were more submissive and inferior. This is somewhat linked to how does the piece challenges the representation of manhood in the Caribbean. If a closer look is placed on the short story, it does not present a female voice throughout, which shows that female voices were inferior, yes they were present but their voices were not heard through the story. Yes the piece did mention that there were others apart from Anancy and Bredda Ratta but it did not state if 'everyone' included females. It might be assumed but it was not stated. In contemporary society things are changing a bit and there is a paradigm shift where gender dominance is concerned where males and females are vying for dominance, hence the growth in feminism.

Conclusion
In concluding, folklore and these shorty stories are important and contribute heavily to language and our society because it comes from the people who previously lived in our countries. Language on a whole is the collective memory bank of the experiences of individuals from our history and loss of this will result in the loss of cultural identity. Though it is argued that masculinity and patriarchal dominance is more evident than femininity and it leaves room for more controversial discussions.