LITR 5734 2005 sample student final exam essay(s)

LITR 5734: Colonial & Postcolonial Literature

Sample Student Final Exam 2005

Kimberly Dru Pritchard

December 5, 2005

Challenges and Rewards:
Colonial and Post-Colonial Literature

The main idea that has traveled with me throughout the course is the blind ignorance of the white man when faced with the presence of “otherness.” I am forever frustrated with people who refuse to open their eyes and hearts to difference in today’s world. I also take issue with those who refuse to respect that difference with an attitude of deference. This idea is clearly detailed throughout the course material as we read samples of colonial and postcolonial literature where the indigenous people were never treated as equals, and more often than not, they were treated as savages who the colonizers believed were in desperate need of education and civilization.

Even today we face similar issues. I encounter this issue daily in the middle-school classroom as young, impressionable minds batter one another on issues of race, intelligence, culture, and even fashion sense. The question that pounds in my mind is similar to the question Forster asks in A Passage to India. Why can’t we just get along? Why must we continually bicker over the color of someone’s skin or the method in which one chooses to worship? Personally, there is no “other.” However, society has ingrained in us the idea that being different is synonymous with “otherness.” Of course, this phenomenon blossoms in colonial and postcolonial literature. For instance, Conrad’s natives in Heart of Darkness were without voice, and Forster’s natives in A Passage to India were forever subordinate to their British counterparts. Furthermore, both Jasmine and Lucy experienced situations laden with overt and latent racism.

So, what does this literature tell us about our society as well as our personal beliefs? How can we reconcile the horrors imposed on the early colonized lands and the present-day desire of globalization under the umbrella of subversion? Perhaps the answer lies within each of us. Through careful study and analysis of literature that promotes various cultures, traditions, and religious doctrine are we able to open our minds to divergent thoughts and beliefs. Hopefully, those of us with an open mind will enlighten those who choose “otherness” as the preferred alternative to unity in diversity.

The Psychology of the Native:
Colonialism and Its Effects

The wave of colonialism that swept across third-world countries from the 16th until the late 19^th century no doubt left indelible marks on the inhabitants of the colonized countries. The resulting post-colonial states more often than not suffered tremendous oppression from the presence of the colonizers. Inhabitants often lost their national identity and sense of self along with their individual voices in the community. In an article on the post-colonial website, author Ngugi Wa Thiong’o is quoted saying that “’the aim of any colonial mission is to get at a people’s land and what that land produces,’” and to ensure economic and political control, the colonizing power tries to control the cultural environment…hoping in this way to control a people’s values and ultimately their definition of self” (“Myths of the Native”). The resulting oppression certainly brought a good deal of negativity into the lives of the colonized, and the effects haunted these individuals no matter what path they chose. The good intentions of the colonizers to “civilize” and educate the third-world natives resulted in physical, emotional, and psychological scars that victims were unable to escape.

Post-colonial literature often highlights the dilemma of the colonized by introducing the reader to the hardships and obstacles faced during and in the aftermath of colonialism. As a starting point, E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India serves as a model of colonialism and the effects of this movement on the indigenous people. As the post-colonial era descends, authors such as Khushwant Singh, Bharati Mukherjee, and Jamaica Kincaid further illuminate the relationship of the native to colonialism and detail the effects of the movement on the indigenous as well.

A more traditional approach to colonialism and the effects on the native people begins with Forster’s A Passage to India. In this novel the colonizers view the natives as “other,” exotic and mysterious, but most of all, they are viewed as subordinate to the English. Just as Joseph Conrad’s natives in Heart of Darkness are dehumanized, without personal or national identity, Forster’s natives are not only “other,” they also seem to be categorized according to “type” as one might encounter a display of various animals from the same genus in a zoo. In Chapter 3, the Collector explains to Miss Quested, “desirous of seeing the real India,” that “you can practically see any type you like. Take your choice. I know the Government people and the landowners…while if you want to specialize on education, we can come down on Fielding” (25, 26). The absurdity of this remark only serves to reinforce the fact that the colonizers view the natives as basically subhuman, unworthy of recognition save an afternoon viewing at the local zoo.

The situation that develops from this dehumanization obviously has direct, negative effects on the colonized people. For example, when Miss Quested, completely ignorant of social and cultural boundaries in India, wrongfully accuses Aziz of an impropriety in the Marabar Caves, not only does his reputation in the community suffer, but his personal trauma cannot be measured. Even after he is acquitted, “victory gave no pleasure, he had suffered too much” (261). Aziz’s false imprisonment and subsequent acquittal appears to be a metaphor for colonialism and the subjugation of the native. The frustrating issue for Aziz, and for that matter, any colonized person, is the fact that “he was done for, he had dropped like a wounded animal…because he knew that an Englishwoman’s word would always outweigh his own” (261). Furthermore, Fielding explains that the harm incurred by Aziz “damage[ed] his health and ruin[ed] his prospects…owing to [Miss Quested’s] ignorance of [their] society and religion” (270). The colonizer, represented in Miss Quested, fails the colonized because she has entered the world of the indigenous people without proper knowledge of their society, culture, or traditions. Therefore, just as Aziz’s release from accusation leads him to attempt the reconstruction of his shattered life, so the country attempts to recover from the clutches of colonialism. In this case, India will never completely recover and maintain its original cultural perspectives as a nebulous cloud will forever dim the colonized shadowing any hope for the re-emergence of the true culture of the indigenous.

As the colonial era gives way to the post-colonial, a national or cultural literature of the colonized countries emerges. However, some difficulties lie in the creation of such literature. In the web article “The Literature of the Colonized” on the post-colonial website, the author states that “the very concepts of nationality and identity may be difficult to conceive or convey in the cultural traditions of colonized peoples.” Yet, novelist Khushwant Singh, in his post-colonial novel Train to Pakistan clearly identifies the struggle and effects of colonialism encountered during the partition of India in the late 1940’s. This novel leaves the more traditional relationship of the colonizer and the colonized as is found in A Passage to India in favor of colonization from afar.

In Train to Pakistan, although no direct relationship between the indigenous and the colonizer exists, it is colonialism that causes the senseless bloodbath of violence that sweeps through the small village of Mano Majra. Although the natives are deeply affected by the wave of violence thundering across their homeland, Mano Majra basically remains ignorant of the widespread and overwhelming violence associated with the partition until a gang of boys enters the village and proclaims, “’Do you know how many trainloads of dead Sikhs and Hindus have come over? Do you know of the massacres in Rawalpindi and Multan, Gujranwala and Sheikhupura?’” (148). The effect of this news coupled with the escalating tension present at the time causes “the entire village [to turn] up for the evening prayers at the gurdwara” (145). In other words, the natives lose their sense of security and live in a state of fear.

In Train to Pakistan, the good intentions of the colonists instead turn into a bloody, carnage-laden trail of fear, panic, and violence that will forever remain in the souls of the colonized. Furthermore, the pervading theme of dismemberment and division present in much of post-colonial literature emerges as the once peaceful village of Mano Majra is torn apart by meaningless violence and bloodshed. Perhaps the most telling consequence of colonialism in Singh’s novel occurs when “the rope had been cut in shreds. Only a thin tough strand remained,” and “he went at it with a knife, and then with his teeth…the rope snapped in the center as he fell” (181). Singh’s hero, Jugga, perilously suspended from the bridge and clutching the rope like a desperate animal struggling for safety, represents the precarious connection of the colonizer and the colonized and the resulting negative impact that this connection leaves on the indigenous people.

The final two novels, Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee and Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid, bring the concept of colonialism and its effects on the colonized to a new level as the two female characters leave their homeland and travel to America. Although they leave their native land in an effort to begin anew, the effects of colonialism are far-reaching and follow them into America and into their new life. For Jasmine, the effects of colonialism cause her to reinvent herself time and again in an attempt to find a personal identity separate from her past that locks her into a prosperous future. Jasmine, the epitome of hybridity, integrates “cultural signs and practices from the colonizing and the colonized cultures” (“The Literature of the Colonized”). As Jyoti alternates between Jasmine, Jazzy, and Jase, she attempts to shed her past, the oppression of colonialism, and her displacement of self. Several times throughout the novel Jasmine comments on the fact that she is perhaps free from her past. Yet, it is as though she explains that “the squatting fields of Hasnapur receded fast,” and that she “rip[s herself] free of the past” in an effort to convince herself that she is no longer effected by the oppression of colonialism (174, 208).

However, what Jasmine may or may not come to realize is that she will never truly free herself from the trappings of colonialism. She even admits at the end of the novel that she is “caught between the promise of American and old-world dutifulness” as she rushes out to form yet another identity with another man in another part of the country (240). With this act, although Jyoti Jasmine Jase Jazzy leaves behind still another element of her past like a trail of destruction in the aftermath of a tornado, she also takes with her the ever present elements of her colonial-infused past.

Jasmine embraces American culture and ideals as she reinvents herself, but Lucy, in Jamaica Kincaid’s novel, enters America with a preconceived attitude that jades her future beyond repair. Lucy’s vision of life in America is skewed from the onset by her ignorance of life and relationships, and the belief that by “leaving home and coming to this new place – [she] could leave behind…[her] discontent with life in general” (7). Obviously, as a young woman without experience in the Western world, Lucy deserves the benefit of the doubt; however, even as she physically matures, her emotional and psychological issues remain the same. Colonialism has definitely influenced Lucy and ultimately prohibits her from creating the life she desires. Constantly, a conflict between East and West emerges that reminds Lucy that she will never escape her colonized past. For example, Lucy talks of her hatred toward her mother because the mother reminds her of the belief system and culture that Lucy seeks desperately to escape. Ideologically, Lucy’s mother represents colonialism, and Lucy’s disgust toward her mother metaphorically represents her hatred of colonial oppression, and her insolent, attitude is synonymous to her own response to colonialism.

As different characters attempt to connect with Lucy and bridge the cultural gap, she quickly takes personal offense and this, in turn, disconnects her even further from any hope of assimilation into American culture. Mariah makes a valiant effort to connect with Lucy’s heritage thereby joining East and West. Mariah confesses to Lucy that “the reason [she’s] so good at catching fish and hunting birds and roasting corn” is because she has Indian blood in her (40). Lucy cannot fathom why a person would want to admit such a thing, and, furthermore, she interprets the statement as a personal affront. Apparently, Lucy is incapable of distinguishing between a genuine effort of friendship and a racially damaging remark all due to her colonial-infused past.

Lucy’s inability to cope with her past leads to her downfall. Intellectually, she understands that her past is and forever will be a part of her future. Emotionally, however, she is not yet ready to accept this fact and it is doubtful that she ever will. Lucy, a product of colonialism, of British rule, is a taker and freely admits this fact. She explains that she is “not the sort of person who counted blessings; [she is] the sort of person for whom there could never be enough blessings” (110). Therefore, because Lucy refuses to embrace American culture and incorporate her past into her new identity, she will forever wear a mask of servitude and consider herself “other” to the bourgeoning population of immigrants flooding across the borders and into the land of freedom.

Remarkably, through torrents of oppression and suppression, the colonized have triumphed in many ways, yet, the effects of colonialism will forever remain imprinted in the lives of the colonized for generations to come. Edward Said in his book Culture and Imperialism clearly explains the phenomenon of post-colonialism and its far-reaching effects. He states that “colonialism is mainly about political and economic relationships, some of which may or may not continue after a state gains independence. The postcolonial era, on the other hand, is about the intrusion and colonization of minds with ideas” (“Africa and Africans in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Postcolonial Critique”). This is also what Nguygi Wa Thiong’o meant when he talked about “decolonizing the mind”—that the colonizer and the colonized both carry colonialism in their minds long after the state has gained independence” (“Post Colonial Critique”).

With this in mind, the reader understands that Aziz will always bear the scars of colonialism, and the village of Mano Majra will never completely recover from the savagery imposed by the rule of the colonizers. Furthermore, Jasmine will forever reinvent herself believing that she will no longer be affected by the oppression imposed upon her people and homeland, and Lucy will never find true happiness because of her erroneous belief that she can brush off her colonized past and form an new identity separate from the old. Without such examples in traditional and modern literature, one would be unable to fathom the far-reaching effects that the colonial era imposed upon the nations it colonized.

This portion of the exam was written over a 6 hour period.