The Legacy of Colonialism: Existential Crisis in Garth St. Omer’s Another Place, Another Time

Abstract

This article examines Saint Lucian author, Garth St. Omer’s Another Place, Another Time, which depicts Derek Charles, the protagonist, and other minor characters, as exiles due to colonial education and/or the colonial experience and mentality that were passed down from their enslaved ancestors. As a result, the characters suffer from a pervasive existential crisis. They question their existence and suffer anguish, bad faith, somnambulism and a number of other issues. But St. Omer indicates that the only way to overcome such psychological and emotional turmoil is to negate what was taught before and choose a different kind of life.

Keywords

• colonial experience
• Garth St. Omer’s
• psychological impact