Selvon’s Bush Coolie: Producing Backwardness in “Cane is Bitter” and The Plains of Caroni

Drawing on Lisa Lowe’s and Radhika Mongia’s studies of the intertwinement of liberalism and indentureship, I argue that Selvon’s “Cane is Bitter” and The Plains of Caroni extend the liberal narrative of modern progress. In both texts, Selvon valorizes the modern East Indian’s choice to forget all that is associated with the village in order to pursue self-realization in the city. Selvon does so, however, by conjuring the bush coolie, the backward East Indian of the village against whom the modern East Indian is defined. Selvon’s dependence on this figure negates the value of a sociological reading of both texts. Instead, “Cane is Bitter” and The Plains of Caroni allow for an examination of the production of difference within post-indentureship portrayals of East Indians. I consider the implications of Selvon’s emphasis on consent, ethical individualism, and geographical distinction, and I argue that Selvon’s affirmation of the future of the modern East Indian necessitates his production of those unfit for that future.