In “XIV,” Derek Walcott reflects on his encounter with a local storyteller to reveal the power of her stories. Through his use of personification and similes, Walcott reveals how the stories’ allure unified the people. “The speckled road, scored with ruts, smelling of mold, twisted itself and reentered the forest where the dasheen leaves thicken and folk stories begin.” This depiction of the road twisting its way into an ominous forest gives the storyteller’s residence a mysterious quality, so it causes gives the storyteller an alluring personality. Similar to a haunted house, the creepiness makes one want to seek out an answer to why it is in such a condition. The storyteller draws people in because they want to seek an answer to why she lives in such a creepy spot. “Then- lucent as paper lanterns, lamplight glowed through the ribs, house after house- there was her own lamp at the black twist of the path.” By comparing the lights to paper lanterns, Walcott reveals that the path…show more content… “Her leaves were the libraries of the Caribbean.” The storyteller was keeper of the history of the island, and she shared her knowledge through the use of storytelling, so she was providing everyone with their link to one another. The one thing everyone has in common is the history of the world, and her stories were the only accessible recollections of this. To emphasize this point, the author shares his and his brother’s experience from listening to one of her stories. “She was the lamplight in the stare of two mesmerized boys still joined in one shadow, indivisible twins.” Her stories made the boys one being in the moment. When Walcott compares the storyteller to lamplight, he reveals that she fueled their desire to fall deeper into this state of unification. Similar to how the lamplight lured the boys to her home, the storyteller’s stories lured the boys to understand their connection to one another
