Chapter 10: Stir It Up Summary and Analysis

On Christmas morning in 1964, the Wailers gave a show that was the hottest ticket in Kingston. A fight breaks out at the show and for it, prominent church leaders and civil leaders name the Wailers as scapegoats for the problems.

Just before Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King arrives on the island, the Wailers release a single called "Rude Boy" to describe all the discontent to be found on the streets in Jamaica. In general, there is unrest in Jamaica with the futility of their lives and possibilities for a better situation in society. During the third annual independence parade in Kingston, the militia is preemptively called in to prevent upheaval and the upper classes are dumbfounded when total chaos does not occur. These fears, however, symbolize the state of the country at the time.

Ciddy...