Camille Buxton

October 4, 2009

The Dialogue between Colonial and Postcolonial Texts 

The space between colonial and postcolonial texts can be bridged by bringing the two genres into a dialogue. This presents an interesting predicament because in literary studies colonial texts are viewed as the foundation of the canon, which consists mainly of English works. In contrast, postcolonial texts are often not perceived as canonical material which is proven by their relative absence from literary studies and the newness of the postcolonial studies field. This gap between colonial and postcolonial texts is difficult to close but not impossible. As examples of each genre they can be read concurrently as two sides of the same text rather than as opposing texts. A dialogue is possible because as halves of the same text, their relative positions can be stated in the following manner: colonial texts initiate a dialogue about the benefits of colonialism while postcolonial texts respond illustrating the disadvantages of colonialism. This exchange of ideas is often confrontational an attempt by both sides of the text to engage the other in a meaningful discussion. Two examples of colonial and postcolonial texts in dialogue that can be studied concurrently are Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719) and Jamaica Kincaid’s Lucy (1990). When examined within the framework of colonial and postcolonial texts, Crusoe and Lucy engage in a dialogue about a subject that affects both protagonists: the act of transnational migration.

Transnational migration is a term that has come to be heavily regarded in the study of postcolonial literature—particularly in the past two decades. The term generally means leaving a homeland for economic opportunities in another country, and bringing the customs of the old country into the new. Transnational migrants do not typically sever all ties with their homelands, but choose to live between two homes, countries, or cultures. They are able to combine aspects of both worlds into a new and original way of life that represents them as bi-national.

In Crusoe and Lucy, acts of transnational migration are similar as both protagonists leave their homelands where opportunities for economic advancement are few, and immigrate to new countries that offer more prospects. However, despite the relative similarity of the stories, there are differences between these two immigrations that cannot be ignored as they contribute to the dialogue between the novels as halves of the same text. Those differences involve the protagonists’ social classes and world views.    

In Crusoe, immigration occurs as a colonial movement of the European middle class to colonial sites of economic opportunity. Crusoe does not initially plan to immigrate, but is escaping from his father’s ambition that he live “a Life of Ease and Pleasure” (4). Crusoe’s ambitions lead him to aspire to escape from “the middle State, or what might be called the upper Station of Low Life” (5). He is guilty of a middle class striving that makes it impossible for him to accept his position between the financial extremes of wealth and poverty. In his travels, his middle class upbringing is exposed in several instances. During Crusoe’s first voyage, he faints when pumping water out of the ship and is often asked to leave his bunk to help the crew. Crusoe describes himself as having money and nice clothing on his second voyage leading to his position as the captain’s companion rather than as a working sailor. He acknowledges being treated well when his ship is captured by Moroccan pirates and taken as a slave, but is still miserable because he is removed from the middle class and forced into a position of servitude.  

As a member of the middle class, Crusoe’s goal is to rise out of his social station, which he is not able to achieve until he arrives on his island. In Crusoe’s initial isolation, he declares that he is no longer middle class but a monarch, and his monarchy is completed with the acquisition of human subjects to rule. Crusoe’s rise to the monarchy can be attributed to his middle class upbringing and his self perception as a gentleman. This awareness of class posits a social climb rather than a fall leading to Crusoe’s consistent improvement in fortune in situations where others may have failed.

In Lucy, immigration is a third world exportation of the lower or working class to first world countries to meet the demands of the upper class for a servant class. Lucy’s immigration is an escape as she is fleeing the maternal ambition for her to acquire an occupation that will financially support her family. What is significant about Lucy’s immigration is that she is sent to the U.S. to labor as a servant to work her way up from lower to middle class signified by her becoming a nurse. There Lucy’s labor is exploited by the upper class and by her family, leaving her few economic opportunities or personal ambitions. In the U.S., she becomes “the young girl who watches over the children and goes to school at night” (7) while living in a maid’s room. She is not given the opportunity to make choices about her immigration, her employment, or her future career; her life role is based on the needs of her biological family and the wealthy family for which she works.

As a result of her working class upbringing, Lucy has a lack of personal ambition resulting in dissatisfaction with her life, but no real attempts at changing her situation. As independent thinking becomes a part of her awareness she begins making decisions based on her needs and desires, enabling her to leave her working class job and find a middle class office position, which promotes her to a higher social status. During her time in the U.S. as a servant, she observes upper class behavior and adopts a disposition based on those observations resulting in her emancipation from servitude and responsibility to her family.

If class opens an interesting dialogue between Lucy and Crusoe, it also offers a different perspective on the world. The transnational migrant’s world view differs considerably depending on whether the immigrant is a colonizer who is from the middle class or formerly colonized person from the working class. Crusoe leaves England with a world view based on his position as a European colonizer including his self perception as a master. His interactions with others are based on this self perception—particularly his interactions with Friday and Friday’s father on the island. Crusoe’s role as colonizer enables him to name Friday, to establish himself as a ruler on the island, and to judge the Amerindian customs he encounters on the island within a European framework.

Lucy views the world as divided between colonizers and colonized people, but knows that her role is of a working class immigrant. She like Robinson is marooned in an alien environment when she is sent to New York to work as an au pair. Lucy begins her residence in New York as a member of the servant class, but uses this position to propel her into a middle class life that, although not perfect, is of her own creation. In spite of her new life and country, Lucy still views herself as an Antiguan, and reminds everyone of her difference. In this respect, she is much like Crusoe who continues to view himself as an Englishman regardless of the setting and his position in that setting.

 The colonial-postcolonial dialogue illustrates the differences between the colonial text narrated by the colonizer and the postcolonial colonial text narrated by the formerly colonized. The importance of the postcolonial text is that it allows formerly colonized people to relate their own stories rather than relying on the colonizer’s version of their history. Lucy is an example of a formerly colonized person’s text in which this type of character narrates the story from her perspective. The text engages in the act of speaking back to the colonizer and challenging every aspect of colonization. The ideas of the colonizer as a benevolent protector and benefactor and the colonizer’s belief that his work on the colony is an improvement are challenged. When taken in dialogue with Crusoe, the role of the colonizer becomes fluid and subject to change as Kincaid’s colonizer in this text is viewed as evil and his improvements debatable in the eyes of the formerly colonized person. However, Crusoe is not evil and some of his improvements to the island are necessary for his survival and the survival of his subjects.

Colonial texts often relate history from the perspective of the victor, and postcolonial texts relate history from the perspective of the conquered. The victor in colonial texts view the formerly colonized as childlike, indolent, ungrateful and heathenish; the conquered in postcolonial texts view the colonizer as patriarchal, controlling, greedy and evil. The establishment of a dialogue between colonial and postcolonial texts is needed to fill in the historical gaps and to give a truer representation of the events. This will allow both participants in the colonial-postcolonial text debate to converse in a less adversarial manner.