and there on his desk he finds the wedding invitation for Sylvia and Guy. As he thinks about Sylvia's position in the yard as the symbol of youth and hope, he remembers Aldrick's love for her, but also Guy's taste for young women and his ability to get what he wanted. Philo thinks to himself: "Marriage to Guy was a horse of different colors." He remembers a discussion about Sylvia and Guy that he had some time ago with Miss Cleothilda, and her undying faith in their life together. Cleothilda explains some of Sylvia's side love interests, one man whom identified strongly with Africa, another that spoke passionately about Cuba, Vietnam, China and Trinidad's potential for revolution. The youthful exuberance of these boys always enticed Sylvia greatly. Remembering the yard troubles Philo while he waits for one of his young girls to come by. He looks back on his youth, his family. She arrives and Philo decides to be forward with her and asks to have sex. Afterwards, he feels guilty for being so straight with her. Later that night, he decides to drive to Calvary Hill to see everybody. He is greeted warmly at a bar near the yard, and later decides to go and see Miss Cleothilda. She meets him at the door and tells him to come inside, that he knows where the bedroom is, but, even him forgetting that wouldn't surprise her very much "with the way the world is going". Themes In the novel The Dragon Can't Dance, author Earl Lovelace expresses several reoccurring themes that illustrate fundamental psychological losses, which the characters are trying to rediscover and re-establish on a personal, and community level. Aldrick and his compadres are striving to find meaning and locate connectedness in something other than their involvement in the Carnival experience that occurs annually in their city of Port of Spain. In spite of their efforts, their multi-generational lack of roots and culture prevent them from developing productive attachments. This undermines their sense of identity on a personal and societal level. The first theme that emerges is characters longing for acceptance. Pariag [the Indian] feels this way about moving to a new location to be part of a bigger group and community. This in turn makes him feel more worthwhile. Pariag says, "The main reason he [Pariag] had come to the city to live was so that he could