Before looking at what Postcolonial is, one must understand the whole concept of colonialism. ‘Colonial’ is derived from a roman word ‘colony’ which means settlers. However, colonialism means an encounter between cultures or settlement of people who do not belong to the native country. The concept of colonialism is not a homogenized process; it is different in different countries. For example, English education in Africa was introduced very late, whereas, it was introduced in India at an early stage in 1930s.
Postcolonial is referred to the period after the formal end of colonial rule. Post colonial scholar Robert Young in a book called Postcolonial: an historical introduction defines post colonial as- “A transformed historical situation and
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The birth of Indian literature in English can be traced back to the works of India authors such as Raja Rao, Mulk Raj Anand, and R.K. Narayan among so many others. Drama as a genre emerged out during the British raj, though its origin can be traced back to Vedic period. Indian drama emerged with the establishment of the Kendriya Natak Sangeet Akadmi in 1953 and national school of drama set up by Sangeet Natak Akadmi in 1959. With these academies drama grew in almost all the Indian languages. The Year 1972 gave Indian theatre playwrights like Baal Sircar, Vijay Tendulkar, Mahesh Dattani, Girish Karnad, Habib Tanvir and many more. These postcolonial writers worked on bringing back the cultural essence of India. Their works also highlight the conflicts that a postcolonial writer goes through while writing about the colonial effect on postcolonial era. Young actors, directors and playwrights like Girish Karnad has explored new techniques, styles and themes which has contributed a lot to the growth of Indian …show more content…
One of them is the man of intellect and other is the man of body, respectively. Both of them dream about a girl named Padmini. Devadatta marries Padmini and then things become all complicated as she and Kapila both drove towards each other. Padmini is attracted towards the masculinity of Kapila as he is a wrestler, his physic attracts Padmini and she does not even want to compromise on the intelligence of Devadatta. Here also we see that karnad plots the confusion of two cultures through Kapila and Devadatta’s characteristics. And Padmini acts as a writer who is longing for the mix of both worlds. Further, the confusion gets doubled when Padmini transposed their heads. She found both Kapila and Devadatta dead in the temple of kali. On seeing them both dead she felt that her life is of no use now, and she decides to kill herself. But soon enough the goddess Kali arrives and Padmini asks her to bring Devadatta and Kapila back to life. Kali grants her this wish and she asks Padmini to put their heads back on their bodies and bless them both with a sword. Padmini in excitement of getting her husband and her lover back, puts the wrong head on the wrong body. When they both get up, all three get stunned to see the transposed heads. But Padmini gets happy on seeing Devadatta (with Kapila’s body) as she always wanted this. However, Kapila (with Devadatta’s body) claims that now that he has the body of Devadatta he
Post-colonialism is a discourse draped in history. In one point in time or another, European colonialism dominated most non-European lands since the end of the Renaissance. Naturally, colonialists depicted the cultures of non-Europeans incorrectly and inferior. Traditionally, the canon has misappropriated and misrepresented these cultures, but also the Western academia has yet to teach us the valuable and basic lessons that allow true representations to develop. Partly in response, Post-colonialism arose. Though this term is a broad one, Post-colonialists generally agree on certain key principles. They understand that colonialism exploits the dominated people or country in one way or another, evoking inequalities. Examples of past inequalities include “genocide, economic exploitation, cultural decimation and political exclusion…” (Loomba 9-10). They abhor traditional colonialism but also believe that every people, through the context of their own cultures, have something to contribute to our understanding of human nature (Loomba 1-20). This is the theme that Lewis prescribes in his, self described, “satirical fantasy”, Out of the Silent Planet (Of Other 77).
Colonialism as defined by OED (2013 p.217) refers to “the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.” Therefore, post-colonialism is sometimes assumed to refer to “after colonialism” or “after-independence” (Ashcroft et al. 12) describing the wide range of social, cultural and political events arising specifically from the decline and fall of European colonialism that took place after World War II (McEwan 2009, p.18)
At the start of the 17th century, England was ruled almost entirely by gentlemen – those who could live everyday life without an ounce of manual labor. Even Englishmen who were not extremely poor, such as merchants or small land-owners, had little influence on politics. Due to primogeniture laws, younger sons could not inherit any land from their fathers. The New World was their solution, their hope to building their fortune. As these Englishmen, rich or poor, traveled to the colonies across the Atlantic, they brought with them English culture. The colonies in New England, Middle Colonies, and Southern Colonies all attracted Englishmen and therefore aspects of English culture. However, the New England colonies were the most significant group of colonies of the New World in establishing an outpost of English culture along the Atlantic coast of North America in the 17th century. The middle and southern colonies played their roles as well, and the differences in regional culture are evident today. Everyday Life in Early America is a chronicle of colonial American history written by David Freeman Hawke. In it, he gives several examples of how each individual group of colonies established their communities with culture traced back to England. There are a few major, unavoidable issues that can be used to compare the culture of the three groups of colonies, including education and the court system.
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.”
Chinua Achebe was an influential Nigerian author during the 1900’s who was credited with his three essays which have been fused together into the book “Home and Exile”. In his stories he discusses things such as his own Igbo people, the problems with colonialization, the strength that stories can have and many more topics. A big part of his essays are on his thoughts of colonialism, the impact it has had on his home of Nigeria, and how stories written by others either helped justify colonialism or rejected it. Chinua argues that stories have their own power to fight, and while stories themselves do not have the ability to directly fight colonialism; they do, however with their power of words, stories can motivate and encourage people to stand up against colonialism. In proving this thesis to be a true statement, I will be providing evidence of the how, why and the extent to which stories can fight colonialism.
Colonialism has plagued indigenous people worldwide and has spelled disaster for countless cultures, languages, and traditions. Over the past 500 years there have been different phases of colonization in Africa as well as other various parts of earth. There were many reasons behind exploration and colonization including economic and tactical reasons, religion, and prestige. Colonialism has shaped the contemporary understanding of individuals from Niger as well as other parts of Africa and other places too, like the Chambri and Tlingit people; mainly in economics. Because of the colonial past of so many cultures, numerous indigenous people today face many issues. Today colonialism is still active, known as Neocolonialism, which has devastating effects on global cultural groups.
Postcolonial criticism, as suggested in the textbook, “has developed because of the dramatic shrinking of the world and the increasing multicultural cast of our own country” (1603). As described by Andrea Smith in his book “From Heteropatriarchy and the Three pillars of White Supremacy”, “The
Post modernism is a very difficult concept to define. A French philosopher once defined post modernism as an "incredulity toward all meta narratives," which basically means a skeptical attitude toward all claims of absolute truth. Post modern writers use elements and techniques that provoke the reader to question their reading experience and scrutinize their own personal understanding of life and the values of their society. There are excellent examples of post modern writers using elements of post modern writing, such as irony, magic realism and fragmentation in the short stories read in Ms. Reynolds's English 4U class. The use of post modern elements in these short stories forces the reader to further their reading experience by going more in depth into the writing and figuring out how the story is significant to them and their view on the world.
...balisation can turn into colonisation with the spark of a desire for power. It promotes the idea of globalisation and sheds light to the situation found three centuries later in the present day, for globalisation is a post-colonial phenomena as well as the spark that started colonialism. It is true the age of colonies are over, but its ghost still continues to haunt the former colonies under the name of globalisation, especially those which were mostly exploited at the time.
Bibliography w/4 sources Cry , the Beloved Country by Alan Paton is a perfect example of post-colonial literature. South Africa is a colonized country, which is, in many ways, still living under oppression. Though no longer living under apartheid, the indigenous Africans are treated as a minority, as they were when Paton wrote the book. This novel provides the political view of the author in both subtle and evident ways. Looking at the skeleton of the novel, it is extremely evident that relationship of the colonized vs. colonizers, in this case the blacks vs. the whites, rules the plot. Every character’s race is provided and has association with his/her place in life. A black man kills a white man, therefore that black man must die. A black umfundisi lives in a valley of desolation, while a white farmer dwells above on a rich plot of land. White men are even taken to court for the simple gesture of giving a black man a ride. This is not a subtle point, the reader is immediately stricken by the diversities in the lives of the South Africans.
This essay will be about a comparative study of the representation of colonialism as a positive or negative force. The texts that are being used are my core text ‘Heart of Darkness’ by Joseph Conrad and ‘Collected Poems’ by Rudyard Kipling. The partner text will be ‘Swami and Friends’ by R. K. Narayan.
Colonialism, which was a major cause of the north-south gap that occurred in the period following the Second World War, is the takeover by a nation of foreign territories; making them part of it to aid its own economical, social and political structures. The mother countries succeed in doing that by using the colony’s natural resources, money savings, and their lands, which leads the colony to rely on the mother country and therefore, leaving the country underdeveloped. Hence, the world wide scramble for colonies, particularly in the late 19th – early 20th century, had a tremendous negative effect on the economic, social, and political structures of indigenous, non-industrialized peoples.
Postcolonialism is the continual shedding of the old skin of Western thought and discourse, and the emergence of new self-awareness, critique, and celebration. With this self-awareness comes self-expression. But how should the inhabitants of a colonial territory, or formerly colonized country or province see themselves, once they have achieved their independence?... ... middle of paper ...
the prefix "post"....implies an "aftermath" in two senses - temporal, as in coming after, and ideological, as in supplanting. It is the second implication which critics of the term have found contestable: if the inequities of colonial rule have not been erased, it is perhaps premature to proclaim the demise of colonialism. A country may be both postcolonial (in the sense of being formally independent) and neo-colonial (in the sense of remaining economically and/or culturally dependant) at the same time. (7)
Aschcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin, eds. 'The Post-Colonial Studies Reader'. London; Routledge, 1995.