LITR / CRCL 5734: Colonial & Postcolonial Literature

Sample Student Midterm 2003

Natalie Martinez
LITR 5734
Dr. White
9 June 2003

Tradition vs. Modernity in Colonial and Post-Colonial Texts

    When I tell people that I am taking a course called post-colonial and colonial literature, the first reaction that I get is a blank stare which lasts a few seconds but seems like an eternity. The next minute is usually followed by a babbling of early American authors with a few British names thrown around incorrectly until I finally relieve the pressure and explain in my least patronizing voice what post-colonial and colonial mean. The irony of it all is that a few weeks ago I myself would have tried to guess the contents of this course in the exact same way.  Clarification usually occurs I explain that the other title is “cross-cultural texts in dialogue”. People seem less confused by this title because the term “cross-cultural” is a modern expression used across the board. Because the term “modernity” is a cultural term and “tradition” is often associated with culture, these two terms can then be used in conjunction with the terms post-colonial and colonial. The colonizing people represent the modern cultures and the colonized people represent the traditional cultures. In the Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the conflicts between these two cultures are at the core of these novels. Studying the conflicts between the  traditional cultures and modern cultures together through examination of post-colonial and colonial literature seems to ease the difficulty in explaining the concepts of these two types of literature. Edward Said from Orientalism claims, that cultures are constructed by creating themselves in relation to others; therefore,  a close examination of the “culture wars” in both texts and in verse by Derek Walcott,  will reveal that only through studying them together can either one be understood separately.

    First, the cultural conflicts concerning tradition in the colonial text must be observed. In the Heart of Darkness, Conrad sets up a major contrast between the “pilgrims” or “savages” and his protagonist, Marlowe. All throughout the novel there are passages that illuminate the differences between the natives that represent tradition and Marlowe, who is supposed to represent modern culture.  The way Marlowe describes the natives is a strong indication of his complete alienation from them. His conflicts with the native culture stem from his inability to view them as humans. “While I stood horror-struck, one of these creatures rose to his hands and knees, and went off on all-fours towards the river to drink”(83). Marlowe describes these people as if they were animals instead of humans. He then describes the respect he feels towards the Company’s chief accountant, “I shook hands with this miracle... Moreover, I respected the fellow. Yes; I respected his collars, his vast cuffs, his brushed hair… in the great demoralization of the land he kept up his appearance. That’s backbone” (83). The accountant replies, “I’ve been teaching one of the native women about the station. It was difficult. She had distaste for the work” (83). The colonizers consider the natives sub-humans and this creates a conflict not only for the characters but for the modern reader. Through this dialogue it is very clear that the conflict between the two cultures will not be resolved.   Conrad does not reveal much of the traditions of the natives in his text. If anything what little is shown of them is used to illustrate Marlowe’s inability to connect with them. Marlowe claims that he must, “look after the savage who was the fireman” and further claims that after teaching the “savage” to work the gauges, “He was useful because he had been instructed; and what he knew was this- that should the water in that transparent thing disappear, the evil spirit inside the boiler would get angry through the greatness of his thirst, and take a terrible vengeance” (107).  Not only does Marlowe see the savage as inferior, but also as a child, who is told that the boogey man will get you if you don’t do what you are told. If Conrad had Marlowe focus on the similarities between him and the natives, he might have been able to see more clearly through his own heart of darkness. This text is considered colonial because of the place and time the novel is presented and written in; however, the narrator himself is demonstrating a characteristic of modernity, a single voice of authority, his own. Marlowe who is on a mission from the mother country becomes throughout the text his own voice of authority, he is an individual. This characteristic is really the only way that modernity is demonstrated clearly in this text.

 The real conflict of this text is the text itself, how can a real interpretation of cultural contexts in the literature occur if only one side is thoroughly presented?  Dale Marie Taylor in her 2001 presentation explains that, “Conrad provided a portrait of a nation looking in from the outside…”  This viewpoint provides the stage for many of the conflicts between tradition and modernity because it is difficult to truly understand a culture unless you have experienced it from the inside. Chinua Achebe also has a problem with the representation of the traditional culture in the Heart of Darkness. In his article, “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness,” he states, “Heart of Darkness projects the image of Africa as “the other world, the antithesis of Europe, and therefore of civilization, a place where man’s vaunted intelligence and refinement are finally mocked by triumphant bestiality”(252).  The problem with the concept of modernity as portrayed in Conrad’s novel is that it is not really represented. Racism is more easily employable rather than modernity. Achebe feels that Conrad uses Africa to misrepresent a culture, and the actual people. “Africa as a metaphysical battlefield devoid of all recognizable humanity, into which the wandering European enters at his peril. Can nobody see the preposterous and perverse arrogance in thus reducing Africa to the role of props for the break-up on one petty European mind?  The real question is the dehumanization of Africa and Africans which this age-long attitude has fostered and continues to foster in the world” (257).  Achebe reveals that Conrad’s text cannot be considered a great work of art because it “demoralizes a portion of the human race”.  Regardless of Achebe’s personal opinion about Conrad’s novel, it certainly can be used as a tool to discover a portion of the attitudes held by the colonizers. Without Conrad’s novel Achebe would not have been motivated to dispel the stereotypes surrounding the traditional cultures of the African people throughout history. In The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory, one author suggests that, “Post-colonial writing, then, is the slow, painful, and highly complex means of fighting one’s way into European-made history, in other words, a process of dialogue and necessary correction” (582). And since the novel itself is used as the defining genre of modernity, then what better way to examine the conflict through the narrative and dialogue of the text.

This leads back to the conflict between tradition and modernity in Things Fall Apart, a novel which is categorized as post-colonial. In this text, Achebe does a better job at representing the traditional culture and its conflict with modernity. Dale Taylor claims that, “Achebe provided a view of a portion of the nation from the inside looking out.” This might be why we get a clearer picture of the conflict between tradition and modernity in Things Fall Apart. One characteristic of traditional culture is that the people model their behavior on the past or their elders. Achebe tackles this characteristic by having Okonkwo’s father the very last person he would want to be akin to described as lazy and poor. Although both men follow traditional customs, it is possible to break free from them and claim some independence within the culture. Okonkwo as the protagonist demonstrates the inner conflict that a man faces with the confines of his own culture. Achebe reveals the different ways that a traditional culture handles each situation, thereby destroying certain stereotypes. For example, in modern culture there is an idealistic view of equality between the sexes, which does not exist. However, our culture seems to think that in other traditional cultures there are only barbarians who beat there women with no real consequences or punishment, and somehow this is equated to a problem within the culture. Achebe dispels this stereotype by showing that the Ibo culture is completely capable of serving justice within their own clan for crimes committed against the women. In the scene when Okonkwo beats his wife during a religious holiday he is punished by the female priest. Later the eldest man in the clan tells him that, “…in the past a man who broke the peace was dragged on the ground through the village until he died. But after a while this custom was stopped because it spoiled the peace which it was meant to preserve.”(27). Through this passage Achebe revels that the traditional cultures are able to evaluate and change their own justice systems. At the heart of this novel is the basic conflict of the traditional as represented by Okonkwo and the missionaries who represent the modern culture. Achebe has Okonkwo kill himself rather than succumb to or further watch the colonization of his beloved tribe.  Achebe’s tone in the end is indicative of his overall view of the colonizers, as inhumane as they were in Conrad’s novel.

By observing the conflicts between the traditional and modern cultures of post-colonial and colonial works, we can see that the modern attitudes concerning traditional cultures are very aggressive and less supportive of the traditional attitudes concerning the traditional cultures. The novel bridges that gap between the two and allows us to consider all points of view, which is necessary if we are to learn anything about ourselves as a multicultural nation. In Derek Walcott’s poetry a fusion of the conflict is presented in beautiful verse. For example, in “A Far Cry from Africa”, the speaker is divided between the natural images of Africa and the possibility of hybridization. “…Where shall I turn, divided to the vein?/ I who have cursed/The druken officer of British rule, how choose/Between this Africa and the English tongue I love?/Betray them both, or give back what they give?/How can I face such slaughter and be cool?/How can I turn from Africa and live?”(18).This inner conflict must plague anyone in a culture who has experienced colonization; and there is plenty to choose from. In this world we call modern it is vital to examine our past in order to move forward. The “cultural wars” that plague humanity are much better played out in literature than in real wars that we seem to migrate towards. There is a bounty of material to look for in our past that could help bridge the understanding of the “old” world and the “new”. It is sad that even in present times we continue to fuel the future generations with as much misunderstanding as before. Our only hope is to continue to read and through the trials and tribulations of cultures other than our own we may gain something more valuable than money, peace.