According to the article History of Carnival, in the past, Carnival was a tradition celebrated on the eve of Lent. As stated in the History of Carnival article, “Hundreds of years ago, followers of the Catholic religion in Italy began the tradition of holding a wild costume festival just before the first day of Lent. Because Catholics aren't supposed to eat meat. during Lent, they called their feast carnevale, which means “putting away the meat.” The French, who emigrated to Trinidad, brought this tradition with them. As a result, Africans enslaved by the French adapted the carnival and incorporated aspects of their culture into the carnival. The carnival that takes place today in Trinidad has a different meaning. a method of self-expression for Trinidadians. Carnival is a way to define Trinidadian identity, and through Carnival, people transcend into the characters they wish to become. Trinidadians use carnival as a way to escape reality and transform into characters. that they believe really defines them. Carnival is not so much about tradition as it is about self-representation. In the book The Dragon Can't Dance by Earl Lovelace and the film Mas Man by Dalton Narine, there are examples of people embodying these characteristics. obtained thanks to the characters they play during the Trinidad carnival. In the story, The Dragon Can't Dance, Aldrick is a poor Trinidadian who resides on Calvary Hill. Aldrick lives in a small room with almost no space for himself. He is an unemployed man and his only goal in life is to play the character of a dragon, which he becomes during the carnival. Aldrick invests a lot of time in making his dragon costume for the carnival. In re...... middle of paper ......val. Not only do they identify with these characters but embody their existence. Carnival has become a way for people to discover their identity and realize who they are. Works Cited: Green, Garth L. and Philip W. Scher. Trinidad Carnival: the cultural politics of a transnational festival. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2007. Print. Lovelace, Earl. The dragon can't dance: a novel. New York: Persea, 1998. PrintMas Man. Real. Dalton Narine. Perf. Peter Minhall. Caribbean Film, 2010. DVD. Works Cited: Green, Garth L. and Philip W. Scher. Trinidad Carnival: the cultural politics of a transnational festival. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2007. Print. Lovelace, Earl. The dragon can't dance: a novel. New York: Persea, 1998. PrintMas Man. Real. Dalton Narine. Perf. Peter Minhall. Caribbean film, 2010. DVD.