Post Colonial Literature

1020 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Sexual harassment all over the world essays

Post colonial’ as we define it does not mean ‘post-independence’, or ‘after colonialism’, for this would be falsely ascribe an end to the colonial process. Post-colonialism, rather, begins from the very first moment of colonial contact. It is the discourse of oppositinality which colonialism brings into being” (pL.117) The term post colonial is resonant with all the doubts and complexities of the various cultural experiences it involves. It also addresses all aspects of the colonial process from the beginning of the colonial contact. These aspects involve the development of internal divisions based on racial, linguistic or religious discriminations and the continuing unequal treatment of indigenous people in settler/invader societies. (pL..2) All these aspects confirm the fact that post-colonialism is a continuous process involving resistance and reconstruction. As Gilberts and Tompkins have written in Post Colonial Drama that “Inevitably, post-colonialism addresses reactions to colonialism in a context that is not necessarily determined by temporal constraints: post-colonial plays, novels, verse, and films then become textual/cultural expressions of resistance to colonization (p.2). Postcolonial literature usually focuses on race relations, the effects of racism, the mass extinction of peoples, such as the Aborigines in Australia and often indicts white and/or colonial societies. In Alan Lawson’s words, “post-colonialism is a ‘politically motivated historical-analytical movement (which) engages with, resists, and seek to dismantle the effects of colonialism in the material, historical, cultural-political, pedagogical, discursive , and textual domains’(1992:156),(P.2). In simple words post-colonialism is a proc... ... middle of paper ... ...ation and in the hospital. She experiences sexual harassment at work. The exploitation of Aboriginal labor involves the ideological and legal construction of Aborigines as Other. Their separate and inferior legal status facilitates exclusion, confinement, and control as a separate class subject to special treatment (Pettman, 1992:88). Joe also shows his opposing attitude toward sexual harassment. “Bastard, I kill him”, said Joe about Mr. Neal, the White who seduces Aboriginal women. Gran also represents a traditional Aboriginal woman, like post colonials she dislikes the new 'white mans' ways and strongly believes in the importance of family. She is the matriarch of the family and supports her son, daughter and grandchildren. When sergeant told her that they will not be getting soap, sergeant target that her sons are lazy and are” afraid to look for it in case they

Show More
Related

  • Lorenzo Veracini's 'Introducing Settler Colonial Studies'

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his introductory article, “Introducing Settler Colonial Studies,” Lorenzo Veracini makes the case for a distinction between colonialism and settler colonialism and attempts to argue for the necessity of making distinctions between them. Veracini marks the distinction between colonialism and settler colonialism through saying that colonialism is a matter of the Settler proclaiming “you, work for me” and settler colonialism “you, go away.” Though, these simple distinctions are misleading and require a much deeper analysis of what constitutes “work” and what constitutes “going away.” It is also worth thinking about how the Settler comes to be shaped by the demands themselves and how the Settler as ontological position becomes different in the demands.

    Read More

  • Todd Shepard's Voices Of Decolonization By Todd Shepard

    1144 Words  | 3 Pages

    The cornerstone that anti-colonialism was built upon in the years after World War II is the general consensus among the world that each man and woman is entitled to a basic level of freedom to live their lives that is not unique to any one nation. This ideal is solidified in the preamble of

    Read More

  • Decolonization and Indigenous Peoples of Canada

    2326 Words  | 5 Pages

    In addition, decolonization in this paper will mean the reverse cycle of the colonizing process, but also understanding culture is always changing and Indigenous peoples need historical traditions and ceremonies but our culture also evolves and there’s a mixture of Indigenous ways of knowing and being and also incorporating western ways of knowing and doing. All perspectives offer benefits such as these two diverse perspectives. Colonization will be used, this word’s meaning for this paper is the idea that Europeans came over to what we now call North America and claimed the land and stated they discovered a n...

    Read More

  • Colonialism In Doris Lessing's Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass

    740 Words  | 2 Pages

    Post-colonialism expresses the opposite idea of colonialism. Hence, post-colonialism literature is a consequence of colonialism. Post-colonialism continues to be a process of hostility and reform. One scholar suggested that although most countries have gained independence from their colonizers, they are still indirectly subjected in one way or another to the forms of neo-colonial domination. (Ashcroft et al.

    Read More

  • Colonialism In Craig Santos Perez's From Unincorporated Territory

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book “From Unincorporated Territory” [Saina] , by Craig Santos Perez, is an interesting story because it shows how colonialism is the destruction of the author’s culture and identity on his native island Guam. It forced the author’s family and himself to make a drastic change in their life and migrate from Guam to America on an outrigger. After leaving in the year 1995 and not returning until 2008, the author depicts to the audience what has changed due to colonization. My thought on colonialism is firm. That I am confused about it. The reason for my confusion is I believe it is necessary for a certain purpose most people cannot see. Even though know that it is wrong; I know it destroys somewhat the vast majority of the colonized culture but I can’t help to think that the author has a message of that purpose most people cannot see. After reading the book, what I just admitted even to me sounds a little cold hearted, but reading his point of view in this book, it made me realized I’m not too wrong for making such a confession. I believe the author has a hidden message about it. Once I had a gut feeling I wanted to expose that message in my essay.

    Read More

  • The Colonies of Culture:The Postcolonial Self in Latin America and Africa

    2368 Words  | 5 Pages

    The colony is not only a possibility in the geographical; it is a mental dominance that can imperialize the entire self. Entire continents have be domineered, resources completely dried, and at colonialism’s usual worst, the mental devastation of the indigenous culture has left a people hollow. Indigenous culture is no longer that. In the globalized world, no culture is autonomous; culture cannot breathe without new ideas and new perspectives, perspectives that have traditionally come from the people who have lived within the culture. But, the imposition of dominant cultures has certainly benefited from culture’s own vulnerability, as global similarities now exist throughout most different, yet not separate cultures. Postcolonialism is imperialism with a mask on, nothing less. As Franz Fanon puts it “that imperialism which today is fighting against a s true liberation of mankind leaves in its wake here and there tinctures of decay which we must search out and mercilessly expel from our land and our spirits.”

    Read More

  • Effects Of Colonisation On Indigenous Culture

    1333 Words  | 3 Pages

    To completely understand this impact of colonisation on indigenous cultures however, we must first define the meaning of the word ‘colonisation’. We will then examine the various effects, both positive and negative that colonisation has had on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

    Read More

  • Colonial American Literature Of Colonial America

    1277 Words  | 3 Pages

    While the United States was forming as a country, its literary identity was forming as well through a melting pot of writers including Benjamin Franklin, St. John de Crévecœur, Thomas Paine, and Phillis Wheatley. This included a number of forms of literature including the epic, political pamphlets, and poetry.

    Read More

  • Effects Of Colonialism In Africa

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    Today colonialism is still active, known as Neocolonialism, which has devastating effects on global cultural groups. To begin, the term colonialism is defined in the dictionary as “control by one country over another and its people”. Throughout history colonialism has confounded and damaged numerous cultures and people. Indigenous people have undergone a series of massive modifications to their culture as well as spiritual beliefs and morals and obligations they’ve held since before the first coming of Western cultures. In regards to this, there are many concerns of loss of culture among several different groups.

    Read More

  • The Impact Of Colonialism In Canada And North America

    1818 Words  | 4 Pages

    Racialization of Poverty becomes concentrated among racialized group such as the Indigenous and inevitably it is socially constructed. In addition, “ colonization is the word most often used to describe the experience of Indigenous encounters with Settler societies.” In country like Canada, colonialism is the domination over Indigenous People by European colonizers and constructing that they are inferior. Furthermore, “ colonialism is the act of claiming sovereignty over the lands and resources of subject people.”(Burger, 2013) This manifests that the aboriginal are being targeted and they experienced terrible violence in the fight of natural resources, lack of power, and suppression with the states. Indeed, The more white settlers occupy, the more marginalized with the indigenous people. Comparing to the first nation, a white settler society continues to be structured by a racial hierarchy. Race and identity is interrelated among groups peculiarly like the First Nation. Most of the indigenous people still live a society which they are separate to the rest, but self- determination is rather essential. After huge assimilation, even though they are not self- governing, self- determination such as “ the right to determine [their] own membership; the right to protect [their] own culture and language; and the right to educate [their] children in accordance with the values of your people” ( Coe, 1994). Although their identity is socially constructed, it is critical for them to maintain their own culture because they are allow to identify themselves upon their interest and perspectives. Research by Eisenberg (2013) says that “in Canada, most Indigenous actors criticized the state for failing to be faithful to the treaties and not recognizing the Indigenous right to sovereignty and self-determination.” For instance, he mentioned that they should have the right to survive

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Imperialism In Literature

    1254 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imperialism, is it the big, bad master who enslaves the good, little child or is it the good, big master who protects the bad, little child? As history has shown in the past; sometimes, it is both. Through examination of three important pieces of literature “Shooting an Elephant by G. Orwell, White Man’s Burden by R. Kipling, and The War Prayer by M. Twain, it becomes obvious that there are serious consequences in supporting imperialistic ideals. Three very important ideas about Imperialism can be gleaned from these writings, which then provide a distinct concept about the subject.

    Read More

  • Cry , the Beloved Country: Post-Colonial Literary Theory

    569 Words  | 2 Pages

    The finer details of the book are what can really be looked at in terms of post-colonial theory. The fact that a native Zulu, Stephen Kumalo, is a priest of Christianity and speaks English, communicates how the colonized are living. Neither of these practices are native to his land, but they are treated by all as if they were. Small sentences are woven into the plot to further this point, such as the reoccurring European greetings.

    Read More

  • Modern Colonization Essay

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is easy to fall for the propaganda styled argument that patrons of colonialism constructed to support their actions, but looking at actual evidence sheds light ...

    Read More

  • Hybridity and National Identity in Postcolonial Literature

    2599 Words  | 6 Pages

    Every human being, in addition to having their own personal identity, has a sense of who they are in relation to the larger community--the nation. Postcolonial studies is the attempt to strip away conventional perspective and examine what that national identity might be for a postcolonial subject. To read literature from the perspective of postcolonial studies is to seek out--to listen for, that indigenous, representative voice which can inform the world of the essence of existence as a colonial subject, or as a postcolonial citizen. Postcolonial authors use their literature and poetry to solidify, through criticism and celebration, an emerging national identity, which they have taken on the responsibility of representing. Surely, the reevaluation of national identity is an eventual and essential result of a country gaining independence from a colonial power, or a country emerging from a fledgling settler colony. However, to claim to be representative of that entire identity is a huge undertaking for an author trying to convey a postcolonial message. Each nation, province, island, state, neighborhood and individual is its own unique amalgamation of history, culture, language and tradition. Only by understanding and embracing the idea of cultural hybridity when attempting to explore the concept of national identity can any one individual, or nation, truly hope to understand or communicate the lasting effects of the colonial process.

    Read More

  • Postcolonialism And Colonialism

    1777 Words  | 4 Pages

    Colonialism describes the domination of one nation over another nation of lesser means. Postcolonialism explores what happens to the substandard nation after the parent, dominating nation leaves. In relation to the definition of colonialism/postcolonialism, common aspects of colonialism/postcolonialism include: racial and cultural inequality between ruling and subject people, what’s left behind when the parent state leaves, the occupiers, move out, and exploitation of the subject people. The stories, On Seeing England for the first time by Jamaica Kincaid, Civil Peace by Chinua Achebe, The Divorcee by Ken Saro Wiwa and The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn 't Flash Red Anymore by Sherman Alexie, display these aspects in some form.

    Read More

More about Post Colonial Literature

Open Document