LITR 5734: Colonial & Postcolonial Literature

Sample Student Final Exam 2005

Curtisha Wallace

December 6, 2005

To Be or Not to Be Acculturated

            The most challenging aspect of this course for me has been creating a dialogue between the texts.  Although it has proven to be difficult, it is a good exercise in critical thinking.  The connections that I have made to the texts because of the history minilessons, has been rewarding.  As a reader, as the perception of the events unfolded in the story I was able to derive new meaning.  I experienced that moment of enlightenment when one feels as if they have just discovered a new trick to use for reading development.  Because history affects the author’s writing style, I will make sure that my students are provided pertinent background information for the stories that we read in class.  This will help them to comprehend the events in the novel and realize its importance. 

            This connection to history is what led me to take a closer look at the effects of colonization on those who were colonized.  So I reviewed my notes and reflected on previous class meetings over Lucy, Jasmine, and A Far Cry from Africa.  Do these characters embrace the new culture they are immersed in or resist it and try to hold on to their heritage? Does this cause the characters to struggle with their identity? Colonization has had a grave impact on its “victims,” one of which enforces those that are colonized to either adapt to new ideals and culture or rejects its influence.  Unfortunately, this effort of acculturation causes some problems with self-identity amongst those who are colonized as they strive to survive in a world that is different from their own.

            Lucy refuses to accept any association with her culture.  She will not read the letters she receives from her mother.  As a matter of fact, she feels burdened by her mother’s love.  “I had come to feel that my mother’s love for me was designed solely to make me into an echo of her; and I didn’t know why, but I felt that I would rather be dead than become just an echo of someone.  That was not a figure of speech” (Kincaid 37).  As April Davis stated in her essay, “Lucy’s romanticized visions of her homeland are marred by the effects of colonization.” 

Although Lucy doesn’t exhibit a sense of pride in her homeland, she doesn’t accept being acculturated into the United States either.  Lucy criticizes everything about American culture and does not seem to delight in any of the pleasures that Mariah does, such as snow.  The snow makes Lucy think of the beauty of nature, how the world is “soft, lovely, and nourishing.”  This was too much for Lucy to bear for it reminded her of the joy that she no longer could experience when gazing out at her own land.  Kincaid also makes a reference to Lucy’s stark reaction to daffodils.  Lucy questions Mariah’s personality since she appreciates daffodils bowing to the grass.  Metaphorically speaking, this is similar to Lucy having to bow down to the colonizers.  To give up everything that she knew in order to become a part of the American ideal. How does a person get to be so proud of their culture that they force it on others as if it is superior?

            Where does Lucy fit in? She doesn’t.  This is a struggle that she must fight daily.  Lucy no longer knows who she is.  Is she American or is she Indian?  “Lucy attempts to forage an identity by living in the very lands that destroyed her native culture” (April Davis 2003).  Tired of being confined to her station in life, Lucy saves her money so that she can move out.  Thus, by the end of the novel, Lucy rejects society for individualism. She finds an apartment and decides to room with one of the friends she met while at the park.  Looking for a job, she realizes that she has to adapt to American culture in order to do her job well.  “Peggy had show me how to behave when applying for a job, how to show the proper amount of respect, submission, eagerness to please, even though in my heart I would not mean any of those things; she said that as soon as I had the job and was safely in it, I could let my real personality come out” (Kincaid 157).

            Lucy rejects the influence of American culture and resists associations with her heritage.  She has a conquered mentality and struggles with self-identity.  This nihilistic attitude pushes her into individualism where she can be who she wants to be without any constraints on her life.  Not every character shares Lucy’s lack of enthusiasm to acculturation.  Jasmine embraces colonization and its effects. 

            Every time that Jasmine encounters an obstacle in her life she reinvents herself in order to adapt to the changes.  When Jasmine’s husband dies she has to decide if she will return home.  Her choice? Jasmine embarks on an adventure to pursue her husband’s educational goals in an effort to receive the benefits of colonization.  Jasmine learns to walk like an American and dress like one.  Although she feels that there are better opportunities for women in America than in her culture, Jasmine still incorporates her heritage into her lifestyle.  When cooking for her second family, she introduces her adopted son to pilaf.  However, Jasmine dives into the American culture head first, causing a stir with each experience that she is introduced to.  The reader then begins to see less of Jasmine’s culture breaking through her daily activities.  It’s as if the Hanaspur community has disintegrated as Jasmine celebrates her triumph in America.

            Jasmine finds her identity in America and is happy with her choice to remain there.  Unfortunately, Walcott, who is part European and African, doesn’t share this feeling of satiation.  He is torn between both sides of his culture and feels as if his hybridity is fatal.  In A Far Cry from Africa, Walcott recalls the effects of colonialism.  Readers are given a grave view, “corpses are scattered through a paradise,” as Walcott informs us of the lack of sympathy colonizers had for those who were being colonized.  “The violence of beast on beast is read as natural law, but upright man seeks his divinity by inflicting pain.” In the beginning of the poem, Walcott does not seem to agree with the effects of colonialism, but by the end of the poem he feels as if he might be a traitor.  He doesn’t know if he should make a choice between the two cultures or even how to make this choice.   Should he turn his back on Africa and the slaughter that resulted during colonization for selfish gain? “How choose between this Africa and the English tongue I love? Betray them both, or give back what they give?” 

            Walcott ends his poem searching for an answer to who he is.  He is confused and hurt, yet grateful and full of pride.  Although Walcott does not accept the deaths that occurred during colonization as necessary, trying to figure out his identity is more than he can deal with.  Thus Walcott writes a series of poems that have this search for identity interweaved through the plot.

            Colonization has various effects on those who experience it first hand.  Some embrace the acculturation process leaving their past behind, others reject its influence and go through a psychological exile from their homeland.  No matter what the response, colonization leaves a permanent mark on the natives lives as they search for truth, and struggle with identity in a world that is different from their own.

Log:

Outline – Dec. 5  10:00-11:15pm.

Essay – Dec. 6  6:54-8:47pm.