Sugar Cane Alley

Sugar Cane Alley is heartbreaking but inspiring at the same time. The story is about a young boy who has very little, but ends up making the most of his life by getting a good education and having the chance to get out of the sugar cane slavery. He lives in a village where all the adults are slaves who work on the sugar cane plantations. They are clearly not treated well, and the segregation is very prominent and hard to avoid. They practically live on the edge of survival, which is why it is so insipiring that Jose makes a life for himself. Out of all the children, Jose is the luckiest one because he is able to work hard and end up going to a good private school in the Fort-De-France. Jose’s success wouldn’t have been possinle without his two parental figures in his life.

His Grandma, M’Man Tin, is his main supporter. Without her, he probably would have followed in the path of slavery and never made it out of the sugar cane colony. She inspires him every day to learn something new and to never give up. Even though she was a very poor woman, she did everything she could to completely support Jose even though she knew it would be a strain financially. Jose was also supported and influenced by Carmen, a determined young man who dreams of being an actor. He pushes Jose to learn to read and educate himself, and Jose does what he says. Sugar Cane Alley shows how influential an empire can have on a certain community, but also proves that with the right people pushing you to succeed and inspiring you every day, one can truly get out of the system and start a new life for themselves, away from what the empire has created.