Abstract
Williams begins his autobiography with the poverty of Trinidad and Tobago—the result of exploitation by colonial powers. It is a situation he proposes to rectify as the first prime minister, providing the direction to lead the country into political and economic prosperity. The narrative, therefore, becomes a textual space for the study of character, motivation and context in the construction of the image of the leader. Taking the idea of conceptual metaphors as developed by Lakoff and Johnson (Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1980), a central argument of the present analysis is that conceptual metaphor becomes a specific, directed means of demonstrating the record of “social action” that this autobiography is devoted to presenting and explaining. Together with an application of Gronn and Ribbins’ (Educ Adm Q 32(3):345–358, 1996) stages of leadership, the outworking of the conceptual metaphor A LEADER IS A TEACHER in the accession stage of Dr. Williams’ autobiography will be examined to provide insights into how leadership ideals are worked out in the early post-independence context of Trinidad and Tobago.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
Highlighting again the importance of an understanding of ‘narrative truth’ within the autobiography, Plummer (2002) defines narrative truth as the perspective of the subject and the strategies used to enable the reader to see the subject’s perspective even if this view does not match the outward reality.
- 3.
Reference to Williams’ hearing aid
- 4.
Nowhere in his autobiography does the protagonist give any role or acknowledgement of other individuals like Robinson (2012) who contributed to securing independence. Robinson, in his own autobiography, In the Midst of it, portrays himself as central to the crafting of the PNM manifesto and advising Williams of the strategy that would ultimately force the colonial office to grant independence, but in Williams’ narrative, the struggle for independence is presented as the fruit of one man accepting responsibility and develo** his vision for his country.
- 5.
See p. 3 for an explanation of the qualities of the Accession Phase of Leadership.
- 6.
In 1948 Williams was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Caribbean Research Council of the Caribbean Commission with responsibility largely for the preparation of conferences and special studies. He soon became embroiled in conflict between himself and the Dutch Secretary-General which jeopardized his job security.
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Sanderson Cole, K. (2024). Taking Responsibility: Conceptual Metaphor and the Accession Stage of Leadership in Eric Williams’ Inward Hunger: The Making of a Prime Minister. In: Durgasingh, R., Selvon-Ramkissoon, N. (eds) Caribbean Discourses. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45047-1_5
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