BY HAZEL D.CAMPBELL
The Jamaican lady hated poor people; she showed her frustration in meeting them through her reluctance to go by the poor region. She cannot stand the idea of being confronted by poor people. The poor people near the factory were angry towards the rich for their arrogance. They didn't like to tolerate their authority and rebelled against them. The lady was afraid to be attacked. She was more interested in her appearance and wanted to show off her wealth to her friends.
The lady was arrogant and proud of her wealth and status. She wanted to make her friends jealous and thus, satisfy her vanity. Even the car into which she travelled had to be part of her pride. She liked to be praised by her friends and make them envious. She liked to indulge into gossips thus intimidating the others who had less chance than them.
The lady gives the impression that she was the one who had the authority in the house and she gave orders to her husband. The lady was afraid of poverty and could not bear to see poor people. She was also afraid to be contaminated by it.
The husband was also status conscious. He could not imagine himself to part off from his car which could make him grand. The journey towards the factory was very fearful for the lady as she was afraid that she might face a bad end. She was reproaching her husband who has made her come along the dangerous roads and for not protecting her.
The lady was imagining all kinds of dreadful consequences during her journey. She was trying to reassure herself. She found faults with all the people in the villages and complained about their habits. For her poverty was an unreality. She had never lived in poverty therefore she was criticizing their way of living.
The lady reflected on different billboards, she passed by and thought about their futility in places like those regions where the people were the opposite of them. She wanted to immigrate to Canada to get away from the poor regions. She didn't want to face the overcrowded population in Jamaica anymore and wanted to live in a posh country. The lady's journey was going on through all kinds of reverie. She was imagining things to make her journey more comfortable.
She was trying to live her illusion, so that reality doesn't barge in and make her anxious. The car showed their status and thus the poor were angry to find them in their region as they didn't show any mercy towards them. The lady lived her life according to her choice and didn't like to think what the others were thinking about. For her, her family was important and what Carl would think was important.
The people were more interested to destroy the things which provided comfort to the wealthy ones. The lady was extremely nervous and afraid in the situation she was in. she wanted to continue living in her illusion. What Carl and the lady had achieved was invested in the car; therefore the lady was regretting its distraction.
In the end, the lady had been taken care of by the poor people. Once her car was burned, it gave the impression that her own status was snatched from her. The reality or the truth of poverty and the outside world became apparent to her. She, who was trying to hide behind her status, finally had to be saved by the common people. Her journey through the roads could be interpreted as her own downfall and journey to reality from illusion
