My Introduction

St. Martin is a small island in the Caribbean located next to Antigua and Barbuda. The lush tropical forests coat the mainland while the border is touched by white sand beaches and crystal clear blue water. A popular vacation destination, St. Martin was visited by more than 500,000 different tourists in 2016. The island is an oasis that seemed to be untouched by man or at least it was until recent years. With the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma in 2017  along with the rising number of tourists every year, the Island’s wildlife is diminishing as pollution and overfishing are destroying the ecosystem.

Orange: Hook
Blue: Bridge
Yellow: Thesis

My Research progress....so far

Positive future for the ecosystem:

I have found through multiple sources that pollution control or waste management is not at the one of the main concerns for Sint Maarten though its northern counterpart St. Martin, does have waste management methods in place. Of course the government will prioritize other issues such as hurricane relief first since the island is still recovering from Irma last year. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the people of the island have no regard for pollution. Sint Maarten has recently decided to put more waste management methods in place like their French counterpart. Though measures are being made more issue that have been swept aside are being brought to light.

The main areas affected:

The beaches on the island are suffering as well as the Coral reefs. The coral reefs that surround the island are homes to hundreds of different marine life. Fewer Coral reefs means that there are less fish in ocean. Hurricane Irma alone destroyed around 70% of the coral reefs and if more are dying off there will be no fish at all in the waters around Sint Maarten / St. Martin.

Difficulties with finding research material:

One of the main difficulties I had while researching the increasing pollution issues on the Island of Sint Maarten/ St. Martin is that I had to narrow my search. Sites and articles for other islands would pop up in my results making the process slower as I had to cycle through unrelated content. Luckily using advanced search options and different online databases, I was able to find what I needed and narrow down my results to the pollution issue of St. Martin and not the entire Caribbean as a whole.

What’s Next?

I have found hard numbers and statistics relating to the increased pollution of the island but the sources that I found do not state a probable or finite cause to the increasing amount of pollution in the oceans and beaches. I will need to research causes to the pollution and what potential outcomes there are for the island if the problem is not solved soon. In addition to causes, I also need to research the economy. Through researching the economy I might be able to link certain industries to the increasing damage to the ecosystem.

Analysis of "Little Cogburt" and "Cotton Candy"

The stories: “Little Cogburt” and “Cotton Candy” are similar and different. They both shed light to the voices of the unheard but little differences set them apart. Both stories push the boundaries and give a different perspective from what is known about the culture and social life of the locals in which they take place. Little Cogburt and Cotton Candy give insight which is great but they aren’t necessarily the same.

To begin with are the similarities. Both stories provide a narrative and insight to marginalized people. These are individuals who are either outcasts to society or lack a voice to represent them. In “Little Cogburt”, written by Phyllis Shand Allfrey, is a narrative which surrounds the hard working impoverished people of Guadeloupe. “Cotton Candy”, written by Dora Alonso, is a story about a young woman dealing with being trapped in a belief that was forced upon her by her mother. While the general premise of both stories are different what they represent are the same.

Both stories give a perspective that sheds light on social issues that aren’t really heard or have a voice so that they can be heard. The main social issue in “Little Cogburt” is the representation of the hard working laborers and their children. Phyllis Shand Allfrey was a social activist that really pushed for workers rights. The story takes place during christmas and the owners are throwing a Christmas party for the children of the laborers. The main theme portrayed is change. The wife at first is very reluctant to throw the party as she is homesick and wants to spend time with her children that are sent off to boarding school. As the story continues she begins to see that these children are just children. Her perspective changes because she realizes that they are kids born into the situations that surround them.

The same could be said about the story “Cotton Candy”. The main social issue is that Lola, the main character, struggles with achieving her dream due to her mother pushing beliefs on her. While the story is different while the premise is the same. Lola was born into a lower class home where she is surrounded by women who work as maids, in shops, or in prostitution. There is an overarching theme between the two stories that these people are born into adversity and have to overcome it in order to achieve their dream or happiness in Lola’s case it was overcoming her mother’s values that were forced upon her.  

The main difference is that “Little Cogburt” was meant to portray the harsh lifestyle of lower-class laborers as in the end it states that his hands will never get “bigger or stronger” meaning that his parents can’t support him financially enough for him to grow.

These two stories give a lot of insight to problems that are usually considered insignificant to our day to day problems that are in the spotlight. The main difference between the two is issues themselves.

Analysis of "Tétiyette and the Devil"

In the story “Tétiyette and the Devil”, the author conveys several messages. Though short, there’s a lot of contexts

hidden in the story.

            In the first paragraph, it is established that the young girl is of marrying age and that two other men have tried to take the daughters hand. I think the first message the author is trying to convey is to not judge a person based off of their looks. On page one, two different men have tried but the daughter refused both.

            “I want nothing to do with him, make him go away, he eats grains!” (page 1) and then she follows up the next responding to next man, “-I want nothing to do with him.” (page 2). She has already turned down two different men just based off of their appearances. This shows how subjective the daughter is. In the story, it is stated that the devil roamed around waiting for his opportunity to take and eat the girl. So, seeing her act in a manner of turning down the first two based off of their looks gave the devil insight on how to deceive her.

When the devil shows up, he’s dressed really nice and covered in gold instantly winning the daughter’s hand in marriage. This backfires but leads into the next message the author is trying to convey.

            The next message the author is trying to convey is trusting your family. On page two, the mother warns Tétiyette of the well-dressed man saying he might be the devil. So she gives her a needle and a cloth and says, “ – at night after you go to bed, you will stick your husband with it. If blood flows, he’s a human being but if slime oozes out, he’s a devil.”(page 2). Tétiyette pokes him with the needle and slime runs out instead of blood signifying that he is the devil. Tétiyette ignores this and wash the cloth and marks it with her own blood the ease her parents.

            They marry but on the first night, he begins to eat Tétiyette piece by piece as she cries for help from her parents. They refuse to help as they had already warned her previously but she ignored their warning. As she cries out for help, she calls out to her brother. Whom of which saves her before she is completely eaten. It is evident that the author is conveying the message of trusting family as shown when the brother saves her in the end. Even though her parents ignored her plea, someone who still loved and cared for her came to her rescue.

            The overall message of this short story is an analogy to real life relationships. The daughter was eaten by pieces similar in a toxic relationship you begin to turn into someone else. But before she was swallowed completely by the relationship, her brother came and saved her. Signifying that even though we get sucked up and lost in these relationships we can still make it out before it’s too late.