LITR 5734: Colonial & Postcolonial Literature

Sample Student Final Exam 2005

Aaron Morris
12/07/05        

Post-Colonial and Colonial Literature Final Exam

Essay 1:  How to Use Knowledge Gained in POCO Lit at the Gas Station

I must admit, prior to taking this course my knowledge of Post-Colonial and Colonial Literature was limited (practically non-existent may be a more accurate phrase).  I found myself truly rewarded by some of the texts that were read in this class.  Most students enroll in a Literature program based on their love of books and reading.  So, the act of reading new and interesting texts is often the most rewarding aspect of a course.  Particularly, when the books are thoughtful, entertaining, and complement the other works chosen for the class.  This rendition of Post-Colonial and Colonial Literature selected some outstanding novels.  Among my favorites were Things Fall Apart and White Teeth.  A more challenging aspect of this course has been my attempt to compose essays with several texts entering into a dialogue with each other.  As was brought up in class, there are limited critical approaches to Post-Colonial Literature and we often find ourselves repeating many of the same literary theories in our essays and discussions.  Composing an original essay is a challenge.

In regards to my entrenched American thoughts, I am not sure that I have balanced my nationalistic and isolationist ways of thinking.  I find myself so deeply embedded in American Culture that I am not sure I can be extricated.  I feel that the introduction to Achebe’s novel and White Teeth may have helped me to understand and appreciate the viewpoints of colonized people and develop a greater sensitivity towards their plight; however, it still seems distant from my everyday thoughts and actions.  Being exposed to some of these concepts and reading the texts is the first step in a greater understanding of the world around me, but there is still much to learn.

Admittedly, I have much to learn, but I am trying to implement what knowledge I have gained during my vicarious travels outside of this country’s borders.  While I was fueling my truck yesterday, I noticed that the owner of the service station was a Sikh gentleman.  I know that he was a Sikh because I recognized the Physical Articles of Faith.  He was wearing Kesh, a Dastar, and Kara.  Of course, I learned about the Physical Articles of Faith from a review of Sikhs posted on Dr. White’s webpage.  While I could not muster the courage to ask about his sense of identity or belonging in America, I am now knowledgeable enough to understand more of the colonized viewpoint.  That understanding did help me to offer a hearty, “How ya doin’ today?  I had sixty bucks on pump four.”  Perhaps, the tone of my voice and accompanying smile helped him to feel welcome in his hometown.  The novels and course of Post-Colonial and Colonial Literature contributed greatly to his feeling of belonging.

Log Time: 7:30-8:06 p.m. 12-06-05

Essay 2:  The Sense of Home in Post-Colonial and Colonial Literature

We often speak of home in the sense that it is a place where one belongs.  It is a feeling of belonging to the community and a feeling of comfort in one’s home.  Occasionally, a person that has moved to another state continues to refer to their former residence as “home” for a period of months and perhaps years.  That adjustment period is defined by a sense of belonging.  Once the person has established new friends and community relationships, they begin to feel that they belong in their new location and will begin to refer to their new residence as home.  This process is longer and more complicated for a person that moves to another country and must adjust to a second language, culture, and community.  Once the immigrant feels that they belong in America, then they begin to call it home.  Unique viewpoints regarding the concept of home were presented in A Passage to India, Train to Pakistan, Things Fall Apart, Jasmine, and Lucy.  When presented with new surroundings and political conditions, both the colonizers and the colonized search for a sense of home.

In A Passage to India, Miss Quested and Mrs. Moore are disappointed to see houses that resemble British bungalows and longs to see the “real India.”  At this point, the women’s view of home is literal and the bungalows they are seeing are no different than those in England.  The British that have been in India longer than Miss Quested and Mrs. Moore are beginning to realize that home is more involved than the style of house.  The British citizens that have been in India longer have a feeling that they do not belong.  As Lisa James said in her 2003 final, “When the club members hear the Anthem of the Army of Occupation, it “reminded every member that he or she was British and in exile” (26). They build bungalows with the architecture of England and create social events just like the ones they had at home. “India isn’t home,” is an idea that has been passed on to younger officials as if that alone would keep them connected to England or, rather, the idea of England.”  They try to create a sense of belonging by building dwellings identical to those in their own country and creating clubs to socialize in a familiar manner.  As Forster wrote, “The English recreate England wherever they go.”

A sense of home is clearly displayed by the villagers in A Train to Pakistan and Things Fall Apart.  Even with a mixed demographic, which does not represent the current political ideal, the villagers in A Train to Pakistan have a strong sense of belonging.  Many are reticent to leave the village during the repartition even when commanded by authorities.  They do not view another part of India or Pakistan as their home even when it is occupied by people who share the same thoughts, beliefs, and religion.  The villagers identify their home as the village with mixed people where they feel that they belong.  Similarly, the villagers in Things Fall Apart display a strong sense of connectedness with their home village.  Okonkwo continues to fix his identity with his home village even after being exiled for several years.  He is preoccupied with returning to his home and restoring his status.

Two additional novels that were very similar in respect to the notion of belonging and home are Jasmine and Lucy.  In Jasmine, the main character continually changes her home and her name.  She moves from rural India to urban India, then on to Florida, to a recreation of India in the United States, Iowa, and finally on to California.  She never acquires a sense of belonging, so she compensates by constantly moving on to another location.  At the end of the novel one is left to wonder if she even belongs in California.  Perhaps, she will never belong and thus she will never feel at home. 

Likewise, Lucy never seems to feel at home in the Caribbean or in America.  The idea of home as a mental state is suggested in Lisa James 2003 essay, where she writes, “[Lucy] never seems to be truly happy in either her island home or in the United States. She says that when she was in home the idea of the United States “had been a comfort…” (7). However, in the United States she finds that she “did not even have this to look forward to…”(7). While she did leave home for a better life in the United States, her exile seems more internal.”

Home is where we feel that we belong.  The desire to belong affects colonizers, colonized, and post-colonial immigrants.  By reading Post-Colonial and Colonial Literature we can begin to appreciate the problems that all groups face and this will aid us in our daily lives as we work to cooperate with other people.

Log Time: 8:06-8:30 p.m. 12-06-05, 6:00-7:00 a.m., 10:00-10:30 a.m. 12-07-05