LITR 5734:
Colonial & Postcolonial Literature
Sample Student Midterm 2005
Curtisha Wallace
Colonial &
Post-Colonial Literature
Statistics
justify and scholars seize
The
salients of colonial policy.
What is
that to the white child hacked in bed?
To
savages, expendable as Jews?
(A
Far Cry From Africa – Derek
Walcott)
I
registered for this course not quite understanding what the contents would
entail; the only description that I had was that given in the course catalog. It
was through class discussions and lecture that I finally understood what I had
gotten myself into. However, I
learned to process these perspectives by weighing the discussions with the class
text and comparing them to past reading experiences.
In the following essay, I will describe my learning curve as it pertains
to this particular subject beginning with definitions and examples from texts
and ending with course set up and usage, organization, and intertextuality.
Colonial literature
Colonial literature portrays
cultures that are a part of the undeveloped world as bestial in nature.
Notable figures believed that these worlds should be modernized and
describe their experiences while attempting to do this deed for an
“ignorant” people. “We could have fancied ourselves the first of men taking
possession of an accursed inheritance, to be subdued at the cost of profound
anguish and of excessive toil. We
are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but
there-there you could look at a thing monstrous and free.
It was unearthly…” (Conrad,).
Walcott states in his poem, A
Far Cry From Africa that the white man believed they were in the
“right.” After all, statistics
proved that colonial policy was well worth the struggle.
So men like Marlow in Heart of
Darkness continued with their mission even if they felt like an
“impostor” (16). Trading was
more valuable than these native lives, turning a profit that benefited those
European cultures and further impoverished those in servitude.
Conrad uses a lot of symbolism when referring to the natives, perhaps
sharing a common view of this culture at that time.
“Two more bundles of acute angles, his brother phantom, creatures went
off on all-fours, he lapped out of his hand, his woolly head” (21).
These figures were described as “clinging to the earth, half coming
out, half effaced within the dim light, in all the attitudes of pain,
abandonment, and despair, yet work was going on!” (p20).
Even though this hardship was witnessed by the colonizers they continued
in their efforts. As Marlow states,
“It was written I should be loyal to the nightmare of my choice” (p. 64).
According to Robert Buffum (a
previous posting), conquered nations resulting from colonization “were left
with a process term hybridization where traditions of the colonizers are
permanently imprinted onto the new culture.”
This is where Walcott falls. It
is this hybridity that causes his inner conflict.
Walcott feels torn between his European and African background.
He acknowledges that he has received from both cultures through DNA and
education. However, he does
not feel that he can face the violent circumstances surrounding colonization. “The John Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and
Criticism states that Western racism is seen as a form of scapegoating that
permits the West to cling to its power and leads to a violent reaction by the
colonized to what is known as clashes of cultures” (Robert Buffum).
It is this clash that leads me to the following analysis.
Post – colonial
literature
Post-colonial literature
describes the feelings and thoughts of those who were colonized.
It provides insight into the cultures as a back drop for their reasoning
when refusing modernization. In
Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo fights a battle to restore the “life”
of his native clan. He watches in
shame and horror as Christians come into his territory and convert his son along
with other fellow clansmen. This
becomes a growing concern as more natives convert to the Christian religion
seeking to change Umuofian beliefs (Background:
Umuofia serves several gods of nature; animism thrives in this culture
and spirits are feared because of their power over the people, yet respected
because of the gifts that are bestowed if faithful). A chain of events leads Okonkwo and the natives of Umuofia to
believe their existence is threatened. “Whenever
you see a toad jumping in broad daylight, then know that something is after its
life. When I saw you all pouring
into this meeting from all the quarters of our clan so early in the morning, I
knew that something was after our life” (203).
As a result of this cultural clash, Okonkwo committed suicide.
Everything that he worked for, that he believed in had been destroyed. His reactions, though admirable by some, were against the
clans values.
Colonization stirred up other
problems, such as dehumanization, which explains Okonkwo’s strife during this
trial. The head messenger in Things
Fall Apart shaves the heads of the clan leaders, refuses to give them food
or water for two days, forces them to sit in their own filth, and beat them on
their heads and backs after hearing that the clansmen wanted to kill the white
man. Achebe
zeroes in on this problem in his article, An
Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness as it relates to
history and the present. “Heart
of Darkness projects the image of Africa as the other world, the antitheses
of Europe and therefore of civilization, a metaphysical battlefield devoid of
all recognizable humanity, into which the wandering European enters at his
peril. The question is the
dehumanization of Africa and Africans which this age-long attitude has fostered
and continues to foster in the world” (252, 257).
Course set up
The set up of this course allows
the readers access to differing point of views on colonialism and
post-colonialism. Having these
texts to compare and contrast enabled me to better understand why and how people
subscribe to their beliefs. Thoughts
and feelings were exposed through characters, analogies, answers, and rebuttals.
Along with these insightful passages, history continued to take its form
and became a source to use when delving into the structural maze of the novels.
Usage in literature
Point of view pieces are usually
used in the classroom without a companion piece.
This does not provide students with an extensive knowledge of cultural
events as they happen in history. Rather,
it gives them a one-sided view in which they have nothing to weigh it against.
Students are stripped of the critical thinking skills and decision making
skills that are required when analyzing these texts when they are taught
“alone.” It is no wonder that
when they are given these types of passages on a test they fail to understand
the connection.
Organization
The organization of this course
heightens students’ awareness. They
learn to value other’s opinions realizing that personal experience influences
one’s view of events. In
analyzing they discover voice, tone, and authenticity.
Research is encouraged through vicarious learning, opening the doors to a
wealth of knowledge and well-rounded individuals.
Intertextuality
Colonial and post-colonial texts
talk to each other. Imagine
watching a commentary on television. Two people are sitting across from each other at a table.
One person is a European advocate, the other someone from an
“undeveloped” world (Iraq). They
talk of the conditions as they are now in Iraq and what they believe should be
done. You hear requests for
preservation of culture clashing with the “betterment” argument.
As they are conversing the audience is given a front seat, so to speak,
of two cultures voicing their opinions about the same event, yet with different
feelings about what should be done. Why
are TV audiences given this privilege? With this educative conversation the
audience can make decisions on what their involvement should be and better
understand the positions of those that are involved.
It gives voice to both sides.
Colonial and post-colonial texts
are the two people described above. The
only difference is that they are speaking to each other through their writing.
One does not know what the other will write. Portrayals of cultural events are from the eyes of those
involved either directly or indirectly. When
read together, these texts become a conversation piece, a vehicle for readers in
their exploration of the circumstances painted. Thus, in a class like ours it brings forth a lot of
discussion and weighing of issues, a strength unprecedented.