LITR / CRCL 5734:
Colonial & Postcolonial Literature
Sample Student Midterm 2003
Kayla Logan
LITR 5734
June 6, 2003
Midterm Essay: The Power of Language and the Lie of Imperialism
If postcolonial literature is the “process of dialogue and necessary correction,” of misconceptions concerning colonialism, then a comparative study of colonial and postcolonial works is essential for attaining a full understanding of the far-reaching effects of European imperialism (Groden and Kreiswirth 582). Reading colonial literature in dialogue with postcolonial literature engenders a more complete interpretation of the effects of imperialism by creating a point of reference from which to begin the revelation and the healing of cultural wounds resultant from European colonialism. Postcolonial literature reveals the lie of imperialism by suggesting that colonization was unsolicited by and unjustly administered to indigenous peoples; it seeks to assert that the “help” these cultures received from European nations during the colonial period had far-reaching and detrimental affects on the language and identity of traditional societies. Derek Walcott’s postcolonial poem, “The Season of Phantasmal Peace” (1981) presented in dialogue with Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1910) and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958) brings to light the powerful role that language played in executing the lie of imperialism on colonized peoples and the implications that this exertion of power has had and continues to have on the postcolonial world.
In his poem, “The Season of Phantasmal Peace,” Derek Walcott seems to present a postcolonial view by challenging the notion that colonialism was primarily a means for European nations to impart a higher quality of life and morality to individuals in primitive countries. For example, colonizers in Africa claimed to be spreading the light of civilization to traditional (and they assumed, inherently inferior) cultures. Walcott’s poem asserts that this “season of light” was merely “phantasmal”—that it was an illusion that made colonialism seem right and produced a way to justify the rape of foreign lands and the suppression of native cultures by European nations.
In “The Season of Phantasmal Peace,” Walcott attempts to debunk the lie of imperialism. The poem, in the form of a poetic fable, tells of the time when “all the nations of birds lifted together / the huge net of the shadows of this earth” (1-2). Walcott’s birds may represent the colonizers who came from many different nations and brought with them “multitudinous dialects” (3). The specific birds that Walcott mentions geese, ospreys, starlings, and killdeer are all migratory birds that nest in colonies. Like the European colonists, the birds travel many miles to enjoy the abundance of natural resources in warmer climates. Walcott’s poem seems to address the temporary nature of the colonists’ occupation of native lands and mourn the permanent effects that the disruption of native culture incurred. Walcott writes, “this season lasted one moment…but for such as our earth is now, it lasted long” (33-35). The fact that the birds only periodically nest together in a particular area could address the temporary occupation and the historical flight of imperial nations from colonized lands. The purpose of Walcott’s poem seems to require the reader’s honest consideration of the long-term effects of European imperialism on colonized peoples and their descendants.
Walcott’s poem not only addresses the enduring, and often negative impacts of imperialism and European colonization, but emphasizes the importance of language in perpetuating the lie of imperialism. The birds have a net that has “multitudinous dialects, twittering tongues, stitching and crossing it,” yet their approach is silent and virtually undetectable (3-4). Walcott describes “the net rising soundless as night, the birds’ cries soundless, until / there was no longer dusk, or season, decline, or weather, / only this passage of phantasmal light / that not the narrowest shadow dared to sever” (8-11). The repetition of the word “soundless” may refer to the language of the colonizers. The approach of the colonizers is “soundless” for two reasons, because it is a foreign language and incomprehensible to the native population and because it is written language that cannot initially be effectively read or heard by the colonized people. The soundless approach of European nations was difficult to guard against; the inability of the native people to hear and understand the quiet encroachment of imperial nations marks the beginning of the slow death of their indigenous culture.
The disruption of development faced by traditional civilizations during colonialism seems to be intrinsically tied to the power of language in Walcott’s poem. Images of dying out or fading away, such as “evening,” “yellow October” and the “ember-circling chough” in the final stanza of his poem suggest the end of something once great. In addition, the image of “a mother drawing / the trembling gauze over the trembling eyes / of a child fluttering to sleep” may represent the suppression and near extinction of the traditional beliefs and practices of fledgling civilizations (17-19). Walcott’s images of approaching death and expiration might suggest that imperialism came very close to completely extinguishing the original cultures of the colonized. Although the language of the colonizers is silent because it is at first incomprehensible to the colonized people, it is a powerful force in Walcott’s poem because it composes the net that “lift[s] up / the shadows” of the traditional culture, simultaneously suppressing the native people, who are described cynically as the “wingless ones / […] who shared dark holes in windows and in houses” (4-5, 29-30). New languages, new technology, and new religions have the power to decrease the important role of native language and customs in colonized communities. Walcott’s poem points to the important role of language in the subordination of the colonized peoples, a concept that is also present in both Conrad’s colonial novella, Heart of Darkness and in Achebe’s postcolonial novel, Things Fall Apart.
Joseph Conrad, writing during “the season of phantasmal light,” addresses the lie of imperialism by asserting that the colonization of land along the Congo River was motivated by the promise of profit from the regions’ abundant resources and not from the European’s earnest desire help the Africans. European moralists, represented by Marlow’s aunt were under the impression that their nations’ roles were those of “an emissary of light” with a “heavenly mission to civilize” (76, 70). Marlow’s descriptions of the blundering and backbiting “pilgrims,” the enslaved African workforce, and the destruction of land serve to discredit the claim that colonization was for the good of the native population. But even though Conrad’s novella reveals a very cynical view of imperialism, it is colonial in its treatment of the native people along the Congo and fails to recognize what postcolonial writers strive to establish – the validity of the language and customs of the colonized people.
Conrad’s Heart of Darkness fails to recognize the values of African culture. By denying the Africans a valid voice he denied them a valid cultural identity. As mentioned in Dale Marie Taylor’s presentation on the course webpage, language characterizes the collective values of those who speak it, thereby forming “the basis of a people’s [cultural] identity” (Thiong’o 289). As Achebe notes in his 1977 article, “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness,” Conrad’s Africans speak rarely and when they do, it is to utter a savage or bleak phrase in broken English, like “’Catch’im […] Eat’im,’” or “Mistah Kurtz, he dead.” Achebe writes that the few but savage and insulting words that Conrad puts into the mouths of his Africans “constitute some of his best assaults” on traditional African culture (255). Indeed Conrad’s descriptions of native Africans are insulting and one-sided. Although he discredits the possibility of philanthropic motivations for imperialism, Conrad denies the Africans in his novel effective and intelligent language. Consequently Conrad’s novella perpetuates the lie of imperialism that presupposes the superiority of European language and identity.
Conrad elevates the “soundless” language of the European colonizers through his treatment of written words and texts. When Marlow finds the Russian’s book he treats it as an “amazing antiquity with the greatest possible tenderness, lest it should dissolve in [his] hands.” To Marlow the book is “astounding,” “wonderful,” “something unmistakably real.” To stop reading it is “like tearing [himself] away from the shelter of an old and solid friendship” (108). Marlow treats the written word with respect because to him it represents the reality and validity of his European cultural background. The almost sacred treatment of the book makes clear that Marlow never imagines that the comprehension of written language could occur in the primitive and evil reaches of Africa. Furthermore, Kurtz’s visage grows “satiated and calm” as he touches the letters and papers in his room because they represent what Europeans view as a strong foundation, an order created and maintained by the permanence of words (136). Marlow and Kurtz’s extreme valuation of the written word reveals the arrogance of European colonizers in the midst of an oral culture. Conrad’s elevated descriptions of the book and other allusions to the written word are important because they represent the myth of Europeans’ cultural superiority upon which the lie of imperialism is based.
The postcolonial works, Things Fall Apart and “The Season of Phantasmal Light,” explore the social and lingual aftermath of imperialism. Both Walcott and Achebe address the conflicts that arise when the colonizers withdraw from a colony where new allegiances and languages have developed and have unavoidably affected the traditional culture. The “seasonal passing” of imperialism was short-lived in the grand scheme of human history, yet its implications were “made seasonless” or permanent in that they imposed European culture on traditional societies, altering and deprecating the perceptions of traditional ways of life. By addressing the permanent impacts that colonization has had on traditional cultures, Walcott’s and Achebe’s works are examples of the “’hybridization’ through which indigenous traditions combine with imperial remnants to create something newly post-colonial” (Makaryk 156). The fact that the characters in Achebe’s novel speak English attests to the enduring legacy of British imperialism on the African culture. Additionally, Achebe reveals the far-reaching detrimental effects on traditional Ibo culture through the tragic character Okonkwo, who commits suicide rather than witness the extermination of the time-honored traditions of his clan.
Achebe’s pre-colonial/colonial setting in Things Fall Apart and his inclusion of strong African characters presents a direct postcolonial challenge to Conrad’s depiction of Africans in Heart of Darkness. Achebe attributes the following thoughts to the District Commissioner:
The story of this man who had killed a messenger and hanged himself would make interesting reading. One could almost write a whole chapter on him. Perhaps not a whole chapter but a reasonable paragraph, at any rate. There was so much else to include, and one must be firm in cutting out details. He had already chosen the title of the book, after much thought: The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger. (191)
The title of the District Commissioner’s book, although perhaps slightly less offensive than Kurtz’s “report on the ‘Suppression of Savage Customs,’” bears the same arrogant suggestion that Africans need to be pacified or suppressed (150). Like the District Commissioner, Conrad manages a “reasonable paragraph” about the Africans in his story, but Achebe goes beyond the “whole chapter” and writes an entire book. His book presents a traditional society greatly affected by the lie of imperialism. Achebe’s inclusion of meaningful African folktales and proverbs in his work contributes to the portrayal of Ibo people as part of a traditional society that has a strong sense of community based on oral forms of language. The elaborate development and description of the traditional culture in Part One of Things Fall Apart creates a stark contrast to the serious social and emotional effects of British occupation in the concluding chapters of the novel. Unlike Conrad, who fails to recognize the validity of African language and culture, Achebe reveals the strength and the potential for progress of pre-colonial African cultures.
While Conrad’s Africans are depicted as ignorant and superstitious at best, Achebe’s African characters reveal differing attitudes about the changes occurring as a result of colonization. Okonkwo represents the traditional way of life; his inability to change seems to cause his subsequent suicide. The presence of wise characters like Obierika and Uchendu suggests that the Ibo culture had potential for modern development through a natural progression and without the “help” of European nations. In the way that Okonkwo is the antithesis of his father, Unoka, Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye is the opposite of a traditional tribesman. It is possible that Nwoye’s struggle with his father in some way mirrors Achebe’s struggle with his dual heritage, but Nwoye certainly represents the hybridization of cultures that is a potentially disruptive but an inevitable conclusion of colonialism.
Writing from a postcolonial viewpoint, Achebe addresses the hybridization of African and European culture through his character, Nwoye. Nwoye is representative of the younger Ibo generation and is very much in tune with the nuances of language. He loves to listen to Ikemefuna’s stories. Even though he knows the stories already, he still appreciates that Ikemefuna tells them with the “a new freshness and the local flavor of a different clan” (36). As discussed in Dale Marie Taylor’s presentation on the webpage, Nwoye is fascinated by “the poetry of the new religion” and even desires to go to a school “set up […] to teach young Christians to read and write” (142). Unlike his father, Nwoye wants to hear and understand what Walcott poetically calls the “soundless” language of the colonizers. To some extent, Nwoye buys into the lie of imperialism because he converts to Christianity and fails to remain loyal to his native language and his native identity.
Reading Conrad, Achebe, and Walcott in dialogue produces a more complete picture of the cultural implications of imperialism. Achebe and Walcott both produce work from the vantage point of several years after the colonial presence in Africa and after the development, deconstruction, and reconstruction of nations created in the wake of those colonial powers. While Heart of Darkness addresses the lie of a primarily moral motivation for imperialism, it seems extremely obvious when contrasted with Things Fall Apart that Conrad was “strangely unaware of the racism on which it sharpened its iron tooth” (Achebe, “An Image of Africa”). Walcott’s “The Season of Phantasmal Peace” provides some very eloquent post-colonial terms to use when discussing the permanent effects of the imperialists’ “seasonal passing” that was “made seasonless.” Imperialism requires the mixing of cultures and with the mixing of cultures it seems that traditional cultural identities have been lost. In Walcott’s poem the net of languages lifts and then the “betrayals of falling suns” occur. In the same way that “the pause / […] between fury and peace” may seem brief, the ill will and the emotional residue of the many disruptions and injustices associated with the occupation and subsequent withdrawal of colonial powers will remain in the silent memory of the colonized and their families (32-34). It seems to be of little surprise then that the children of colonization feel that they were betrayed out of their original heritage and need to address the pressure that they feel as they attempt to reconcile opposing cultural identities.
A theme inherent in postcolonial works is the “working through” of conflicts associated with opposing cultures and identities. In “English and the African Writer” (1965), Achebe admits that writing in English “looks like a dreadful betrayal, and produces a guilty feeling” (348). Postcolonial studies emphasize how very important it is that writers like Achebe, Roy, and Kincaid continue to record their experiences in order to give validity to the voices and new identities of the descendants of colonized peoples, whose cultures are multifaceted and unique.
The new voices are important to read and evaluate and they gain meaning and intensity when read adjacent to the old canon of colonial voices. In “An Image of Africa,” Achebe states that a work such as Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, “which celebrates […] dehumanization, which depersonalizes a portion of the human race,” should not be called great art (257). But “great art” or no, Conrad’s book and other colonial works should not be ignored. In “Passage to India” (1871), Walt Whitman seems to anticipate the postcolonial view as he expresses his desire for the “past [to be] lit up again” and “the retrospect brought forward” (126-27). It is through the consideration and reconsideration of “the flowing literatures, tremendous epics, religions, [and] castes” of the world that humans may “launch to those superior universes” of a new worldview (134, 205). Reevaluation of colonial works reveals our progress and educates those who may assume that they are far-removed from the effects of imperialism simply because they live in the 21st century.
Conrad, Achebe and Walcott reveal the lie of imperialism in their works. By creating a conversation with the texts, one may come to more fully understand the problems caused by the European domination of traditional African societies. Although some aspects of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness serve to refute the moral cause for colonialism, the novella clearly reveals a racist view of Africans. Achebe’s Things Fall Apart responds to Conrad by giving the Africans a voice and revealing more effectively the extensive harm that imperialism brought to the development of a traditional culture. Achebe’s novel and Walcott’s poem, “The Season of Phantasmal Peace,” both address the important role that language had in enforcing imperialism and how language is now an example of the hybridization of cultures that has occurred as a result of colonization. Colonial and Postcolonial studies are essential in order to foster the emergence of a postcolonial worldview so that the differences that are present among all people may be not only tolerated, but also respected and valued.
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.” Heart of Darkness: A Norton Critical Edition. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton, (1988). 251-262.
---. “English and the African Writer.” Anniversary Issue: Selections from Transition 0.75-76 (1997): 342-349.
---. Things Fall Apart. New York: Ballantine, 1959.
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer. New York: Signet, .
Makaryk, Irena R. Ed. Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory: Approaches, Scholars, Terms. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1993.
Thiong’o, Nguigu Wa. “The Language of African Literature.” The Postcolonial Studies Reader. Ed. Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin. New York: Routledge, (1995): 285-290.
Walcott, Derek. Collected Poems: 1948-1984. New York, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1986.
Whitman, Walt. “Passage to India.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Eds. Nine Baym, et al. 4th ed. V.1. New York: Norton, (1994). 2137-44).