LITR 5731 Multicultural: Colonial-Postcolonial model assignments

LITR 5731 Multicultural Literature
Colonial-Postcolonial
Final Exam Essays 2009

essay 1: overall learning

Weldon Mercer

December 11, 2009

Colonial and Postcolonial Literature: The Good, Bad, Ugly

This class was my first class to study colonial and postcolonial literature and I have gained much knowledge as well as a better understanding of my own culture. I was very excited to register for the class because I had mixed and sensitive emotions about colonial and postcolonial literature since I am part Native American and European descent. My struggle for identity was difficult in my youth. I was born and raised in a West Texas small country town that consisted of Native Americans, German/Bohemians, English/Irish, and Mexican American descent. Ironically, much that I read and discussed in the class aligned with my youth: oppression, poverty, and racial prejudice. Through social change, much that I was confronted with as a youth is no longer there. This class helped me to resolve many issues that affected me in the past; some good, some bad and some ugly. In addition, the professor and the class dialogue were effective in various individual concepts, interpretations and thoughts.

Obviously, the three texts that interested and motivated me were Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, Jamaica Kincaid’s Lucy, and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. I identified with the concept of belonging in the sense of identity. Of course, the colonizers as conquerors were motivated by capitalism, and to make a prosperous life in the new land. Whatever the consequences and how many lives they took were immaterial. The natives in the colonizers eyes were naked savages, uncivilized to their standards because the natives were altogether different. I enjoyed Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and Kincaid’s, especially in “A Small Place” by Jamaica Kincaid and Lucy gave me permission to feel the resentment. In addition, Kincaid discusses British colonialism, the corruption of the Antigua, and post colonization. Kincaid also discusses the state of race relations in the United States.

For example, as a native Texan I am an example of a multi-culture makeup, similar to Kincaid’s scarred and oppressed memories. I can understand and identify with much that the Caribbean writers are conveying about anger and resentment and being looked at as less than equal. For example, the major theme in “A Small Place” is the effects of colonialism in which Kincaid expresses her anger both at the colonist and at the Antiguans for failing to fully achieve their independence. Likewise, Kincaid discusses British colonialism, the corruption, racism, and greed in Antigua. Ultimately, Kincaid's vision of the human condition is extremely negative but her haunting, almost hypnotic prose really held me. I recommend the book to anyone planning a trip to a poor country for their own pleasure. Perhaps, soften the wounds of their oppression as well.

Consequently, the Caribbean people are filled with anger and resentment as colonization is recanted, a brutal and inhumane past. I found that from what is left of the Indian natives and African slaves that were once considered savages by the colonist and treated indifferently; migration to other countries like England and America provides a release through understanding and education of other cultures. For example, Jamaica Kincaid’s book, Lucy, a teenage girl from the West Indies, comes to North America to work as an au pair for Lewis and Mariah, and their four children. Lewis and Mariah, a thrice-blessed couple is handsome, rich, and seemingly happy. Yet, almost at once, Lucy begins to notice cracks in their beautiful facade. With mingled anger and compassion, Lucy scrutinizes the assumptions and verities of her employers' world and compares them with the vivid realities of her native place. Lucy has no illusions about her own past, but neither is she prepared to be deceived about where she presently is.

I research Conrad’s use of the word “nigger” because in my youth the word nigger was used in an accepted sense by society. I never thought that the word hurt people. According to a Lawrence University Freshman Studies Lecture given by Candice Bradley Associate Professor of Anthropology presents the question; does this mean that Conrad was a racist? Not necessarily. Conrad is not Marlow. Perhaps Conrad constructed Marlow as a racist, at least in part, by having him use such words as "nigger" or savage in a few select places in the book. If you go onto the Freshman Studies World Wide Web page, however, you will find a searchable index of Heart of Darkness. Type in the word "nigger" (do this both for the singular and the plural) to see every case in which the term is used. Surprise

Most of the times that Marlow uses the word nigger, it is when an African has been physically abused by somebody else, when the African has already been completely and totally dehumanized. Otherwise Marlow uses Negro, or Black. I really do not think that at the time of his writings Conrad was aware of the negatives of colonization nor the negatives that his writings would incur.

Of course, postcolonialization has progressed in some countries. True, there are many differences in cultures. The question that remains is in what state would the natives exist today if they would have been left in their natural state. Prior to this class, I acknowledged the injustices suffered by the colonized peoples of the world at the macro level; my beliefs were emotionally driven and based on vague notions of universal human rights conceptions. Although my conclusions were morally sound, the basis of my arguments lacked clarity and validity. With regret and humility, I must admit that objective 3 regarding American resistance to or ignorance of postcolonial criticism and issues of larger world/alternative views applied to me more than I initially realized. Colonial and postcolonial studies have truly enhanced my cross-cultural studies of literature. Reading fictional texts in dialogue is an entirely new process to me, one that has challenged preexisting ideas, broadened perspectives, and provided a fresh learning experience for me and my quest for knowledge. My conclusion is that colonialism and postcolonialism contain some good, some bad, and some ugly aspects.

I had to agree with Allison Coyle’s conclusion of her 2008 Final Exam #1:

This course has been rewarding for me because I have now been exposed to the different depths, time periods, writing styles, and directions that literature has to offer the Cross Cultural school of thought. The strategy of exposing dialogue between two texts is one in which I can’t wait to implement into my classroom. This is one way in which I can show/explain the evolution of cultures in social studies lessons, as well as attach it to reading lessons. Thematic units are great ways to connect ideas across a curriculum. From poetry to novels the endless educational possibilities are refreshing, to say the very least.

The dialogue kept me alert and motivated to hear and learn the different thoughts, and interpretations of colonialism and postcolonialism in each class.