Revision of The Same Waters, Different Land

       The stories “Little Cog-Burt” and “Cotton Candy” both take place in the Caribbean, though on different islands. Therefore, it would be safe to say the stories involve people who were colonized by other world powers. The island of Dominica in "Little Cog-Burt" was settled by the French and then later the English. This is different than Cuba, featured in the latter story, which was colonized by Spain.

       An ocean separates the two islands, which accounts for difference in attitude, as well as subject matter. For example, in “Little Cog-Burt” we are thrown into a scene where the characters are

struggling to communicate and exist with the other inhabitants, with race playing a part in the tension. Richard, one of the main characters, wants to keep to traditions in order to better the morale of his plantation workers. A hint of seclusion is depicted throughout the story, but most clearly at the Christmas party. At this party we see the workers sitting in silence to a point where a pessimistic character, who didn't even want to have the get together, began to make attempts to liven the scene up. All of this differs from the story “Cotton Candy”, which expresses an attitude quite different.

Even though both stories were told, and or written, around the same time period, the feeling of division and dread are almost lost in “Cotton Candy”. We experience more of a community in the

story. We hear of children and their exchange of puppy love. An unlikely friendship, based on a business transaction with a local prostitute, helps showcase the lack of seclusion in the story. This also shines through as the story progresses and shows the main character interacting with everyone at her new job at the zoo. They all seem to enjoy one another's company and feel almost like a family, as seen in the playful teasing of the main character.

Even racial tensions appear to be flipped with the main characters of the two stories. “Cotton Candy” ends with the main character, who can be assumed to be Cuban, fawning over a black man who seems to flirt with her. This interracial attraction differs from what is told to us in “Little Cog-Burt”, where one of the English main characters often displays disdain towards what she calls the “dark” children and their parents. These stories can not speak for every aspect, situation, or person surrounding their originating islands, however they are an example of how storytellers from the same region but different islands lived in two different worlds.

*Stories taken from the collecting Green Cane and Juicy Flotsam