Post Colonialism Essay

Deborah Gray White graduate from the University of Illinois at Chicago. While at the University, she wrote Ar’n’t I a Woman? as her doctoral dissertation. She also earned B.A. from Harpur College at the State University of New York at Binghamton and her M.A. from Columbia University. She has also written other books with a similar theme. Some are Freedom on My Mind: A History of African Americans with Documents, Vol.1& 2: Since 1865 and Too Heavy a Load: Black Women in Defense of Themselves, 1894-1994 .

The American literary canon presents a one sided view of women, due to the dominance of male authors. Classic American books generally present images of women in a male-centered viewpoint, creating a biased representation of women in literature. In “Feminist Literary Criticism: From Anti-Patriarchy to Decadence,” Anne Barbeau Gardiner states that the American literary canon is “strikingly narrow…prepared by white men whose judgment was prejudiced and whose language was full of gendered meanings.” (Gardiner 395). Gardiner

In the monograph, Ain’t I A Woman: Black Women and Feminism, the author describes the complexity of black womanhood from a black women’s perspectives. This book shows the impact of sexism on the lives of black women, discussing the persistent racism of the women’s movement. Even with the many present issues, “scholars in this field are in a unique position because of their ability to explore the intersection of race, sex, and class as experienced by black women in ways that are impossible for other segments of the population” (Sheftall

Black history has taught us that the black community has been seen as “servants” a lower class in communities of white supremacy therefore, genocides against women, children and men have been carried out through history and how “colonization” has played an important role in the white supremacy actions against black. Cesaire cites in “Colonial Discourse” “The colonial encounter in other words requires “reinvention of the Colonized” the deliberate destruction of the cast, in other words what Cesaire calls “Thingfication”, colonialism works to ‘decivilize” the colonizer, torture,

Everyone faces challenges; however, not everyone faced the two pronged sword that the New Negro Women faced during the Harlem Renaissance. Not only did they have to find a way to define New Negro Woman to the New Negroes in the facially masculine Harlem Renaissance, but they also had to find a way to participate and connect with her new womanhood throughout discriminatory New Woman movement. Many New Negro women wanted to be able to have a private and public part of life - have a family and be able to work. However, they both had to face the trials of gender inequality and the tribulations of racial discrimination in the workplace. This question of “allegiance to race or gender” became a common theme in the works of the New Negro women.

A good text should be crafted in such a way that it commands a certain extent of rhetorical force in a bid to acquire the expected influence on the intended audience. This force exudes from the sensitivity of the issues addressed in a text, the language used, the credibility of the facts used, and the ability of the author to present the ideas in a manner that passes the test of time. The four texts reviewed in this essay manifest great rhetorical force in the way they handle the concept of postcolonialism. The varying authors used different methods to reinforce their views by appealing to various groups of readers and contributors in postcolonial discussions.

Postcolonial critiques of literary works are often accomplished by reading and interpreting the work with a specific theme in mind or a ‘lens’. By allowing oneself to use a ‘lens’ when reading specific works, it allows the reader to interpret the effects of the themes and the changes throughout the writings. The goal of the critical lens is to seek to understand the behavior of characters or the society ("Post Colonialism," 2016). A few of the most popular themes used to view literary works are identity, oppression and power; applying this ‘lens’ can give the reader a different perspective and experience while reading the writings.

Although the level of health inequality within Indigenous children and youth are high, the level of access to health services is unpleasantly low. Thus, it reflects that although health is related with every aspect of their lives, many Indigenous fail to engage in services and therefore social workers are essential in the process of helping them address the inequalities, whether through direct practice or on a systematic level. As discussed, the problem relating to current health issues are all tied to colonisation, and extensively racism; many find using anti-colonial discursive framework as an effective Anti-oppressive strategy. Taiaiake Alfred (2004, p. 89) states “the true meaning of colonisation emerges from a consideration of how we

Writing is an escape, a way to challenge societal issues. It allows readers to gaze through the lens of the storytellers (questia.com). The writings of African-American women have showcased the triumph of the African-American community over adversity by exceeding their boundaries and limitations. Historically, African-Americans have used writing as a means of sharing their struggles and victories in a way that encourages survival and self-discovery. Countless African-American authors have influenced their culture with works, which highlight the struggle of what it means to be an African-American in both the past and present. These writers continue to grant their readers permission to use the experiences of their heritage, tribulations, triumphs, struggles their very lives as examples, influencing generations to come.

In American literature, women have been portrayed differently depending on the sex and race of the author. Henry James who wrote “Daisy Miller: A Study” (1878) characterized Daisy as a tramp who breaks expatriate social customs. When a male writes about a woman, she is sometimes portrayed as a troublemaker and often up to no good. On the other hand, in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” (1892), the narrator is trapped by domestic life. When a woman writes about women, they are usually victims of their society. James and Gilman each seem to display women differently because of their own sex, personal preferences, and experiences.

Through research, you can learn that postcolonial discourse is an “academic discipline that analyzes the cultural legacies of colonialism and of imperialism.” It is made up of theories found amongst “history anthropology, philosophy, linguistics, film, political science, architecture, human geography, sociology, Marxist theory, feminism, religious and theological studies, and literature.” An understanding of postcolonial discourse could be what colonized societies handed down to succeeding generations after them that has become significant to their culture.

The books use what is known as anthologies which are historical narratives helping readers understand whom they think they are, whether they know their originality, and where they think they are headed. In this perspective, the anthology is based on Black women, explaining their cultures, experiences and visions. The aim of the anthologies here is to refute, defend and recommend to give an understanding of the past and the future as far as Black women are concerned. The two books are instrumental in understanding the centrality of black women in fighting for their freedom with much courage and determination. This gives us the understanding of being modern, in a new world where women are treated equally

In comparing the three authors and the literary works of women authors Kate Chopin (1850 -1904), The Awakening, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's (1860-1935), The Yellow Wallpaper, and Edith Wharton's (1862-1937) Souls Belated, a good number common social issues related to women are brought to light and though subtly pointed out are an outcry against the conventions of the time. In these three stories, which were written between 1899 and 1913, the era was a time in which it seems, that women had finally awaken to realize their social oppression and were becoming rebellious in their pursuit of freedom from

Throughout history, women have been fighting for equality and personal freedom in patriarchal societies. One avenue that feminist activist used to speak out against female oppression was literature. As G.H. Lewes put it in his 1852 literary work “The Lady Novelists,” “The advent of female literature promises woman's view of life, woman's experience: in other words, a new element” (Lewes). This new element was definitely propagated by two literary leaders for women’s rights in the Victorian Era feminist movement, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Kate Chopin. These women were both part of the realism movement that rose to prominence in American literature during the 19th century and used their stories to shed light on the problem of female

The postcolonial era presents various issues for the decolonized nations, like the reconstruction of a government and the maintenance of an economy. In addition to that, the individual identity of the colonized people is a complex issue that they must cope with as well, and it is an issue that is still present today. Compared to the other issues of postcolonialism, the construction of one’s identity might appear trivial; however, there are many problems of postcolonial identity, including the obligation of one to perceive themselves as people do from the outside through stereotypes, and the difficulty of unifying two conflicting identities: one that is created by outside sources, and one that is created through personal experiences.