Spivak's Can The Subaltern Speak

The memoir starts with Orwell describing the tendency of defiance and disobedience that had grown in India since it became a British colony. Indeed, “the anti European feeling was very bitter” (256) among the native population. Orwell who was on the frontline of this crisis could testify about how “the young Buddhist priests who had nothing to do but jeer at Europeans” (256) were causing him trouble. However, as surprising as it is, Orwell himself is opposed to Imperialism. He thinks that for Imperialism to sustain, there is a “dirty job” of mistreating and terrorizing the natives on an everyday basis that policemen like him were responsible of. Imperialism seeks for imposing its conformity to the Indian population by gaining their compliance.

Edward Randolph’s description of the colonist-Indian conflict depicts the English in a negative light, which would cause Englishmen to have less support for the colonists. One quote, “The English have contributed very much to their misfortunes”, shows that Randolph is directly blaming Europeans for their problems (McClintock 1888). Although the colonists were actually to blame for many of the conflicts with the Indians, this piece would have given

The land of the freedom for new settlers from England and Europe was for many seen as an opportunity to open new frontiers of prosperity, and land to own. The strong clash of culture, customs, religion and language was without a doubt a challenge not only for new settlers, but also for natives Americas in how to live from then on. English colonial women faced also this challenge when some of the women were abducted by Natives Americans and some of them decided to stay, due to the lack of rights, husband’s oppression, illiteracy, the inequality of jobs and gender roles.

Some topics that pertain to postcolonialism can oftentimes be somewhat difficult to grasp because of complexity that is required to describe them. Rudyard Kipling makes understanding a topic a whole lot easier because of his ability to write short stories and connect them to any postcolonial topics that he so chooses. For example, his short stories “Haunted Subalterns” and “The Mark of the Beast” have allowed me to better get a hold on the idea of the postcolonial topic of the subaltern. Along with them, I have found a few scholarly articles that have also contributed to improving my knowledge and understanding of what the subaltern really is. Ultimately, the question that I would like to grapple with is: Can the subaltern theme in Mark of the Beast be compared to that in Haunted Subalterns? The postcolonial definition of the subaltern from a postcolonial lens is the subordination of native people to the point where they are left powerless and without a voice. The subaltern in postcolonial studies is a very interesting topic because it can be intriguing how a native person can be stripped of the credibility that their words have and the power that every human being should be granted due to the way that colonizers can make them feel. Throughout the paper I will include an in depth description of what the subaltern means and other ways that it can be interpreted. Also, as I previously stated, I will analyze two of Rudyard Kipling’s short stories and connect

‘Silence’ is a recurring theme in post-colonial literature. It is a form of communication. It is a notable concept in Literature that attracts many readers. Not all silences sound same. The expression of silence reveals different meaning s to different persons on different situations. Silence arising in the midst of a conversation can sometimes be comfortable and meaningful, whereas in other situations they remain as an obstacle between the communicators. Especially silence of women may express agreement without any objection, fear, pain, suffering, endurance or a means of protest.1

For this essay I have chosen to use the identity lens for the postcolonial theory review. There are three literary works I will be analyzing: The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Tempest, and The Heart of Darkness. Each of these literary works introduces us to characters dealing with struggles impacting identities. The identity lens will show the connection between the colonizers and colonized and better define the struggles of the colonizer.

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.

First I want to say these two essays “ speaking in tongues and Search of our Mother’s Gardens” are very strong stories were it reflect the struggles of the women in our society by giving an idea and feeling of their lives. The essay “Speaking in tongues: a Letter to third world women writers by Gloria Anzaldua”, it really got my attention in different ways. It is a very strong essay how I mention before were it portrays the common problem that all these different woman’s cultures face in our society, by telling us how Latinas, Asia’s, Indians and black women, are know to be categorize as “dumb dangerous beast”. I can have a voice, plus I do agree with Gloria Anzaldua, were she say that only ignorant people with no education have these wrong

The Marxist critic on literature focuses on the historical context of a piece of writing and looks for class differences and relations as well as the implications and complications of capitalist systems. Marxist critics look for any class struggle, a theme that is very evident in Jeanne’s memoir. This type of literary criticism therefore aims to answer questions such as: “What characters are oppressed, and to what social classes do they belong?” (Bressler 179) It is sensitive to issues that involve power or money or any

For this assignment, you will, first, need to find one passage from the short story you’ve selected that can speak to the focus and concerns of one specific literary theory of your choice (e.g. Marxism). Your job is to fuel discussion, make connections, and analyze.

Mr. Cook makes a strong case in his attempt to understand the causes and contributing factors behind the segregation along race, class and gender lines which were so prevalent in British ruled India, but also strictly observed within Britain and her other colonies. In “Conflicting Ideologies in British India, 1875-1900” he cites factors both specific to India, in particular the suppressed revolt of 1857, and those more external, like the “hardening racism” in Europe. The substantial losses, both financial and in human lives, associated with the revolt of 1857 resulted in a significant decline in trust and an increasing hesitancy to risk “antagonizing Indian sensibilities”. Since the revolt was viewed as retaliation for British attempts to Westernize India, this fearful reluctance to continue along the path previously envisioned by some which ultimately resulted in Britain’s empowerment, modernization and civilizing of the native Indians to a place of independent governance and administration, became less appealing but also served as additional justification for European society’s changing perception of race. The elite Anglicized Indians had not only dared to challenge British authority and administrative processes, but they had dared to utilize their Western teachings to do so. This clearly barbaric application of treasured knowledge, which the British perceived they had bestowed upon the fortunate Indians as a gift, was viewed as further proof of the inability to

The six texts that I have chosen for this anthology link to colonisation and show how race and power can take shape in different forms. When thinking of race and power in relation to colonialism, the obvious form it takes is the white European power of the colonisers over the non-white natives of the lands that are being colonised.

She speaks about her visits with women in Denmark, Africa, Indonesia and India and the inequality that they have experienced. For years she has pushed women’s rights and as a speaker, she is confident,

As poststructuralism would have it, human consciousness is constructed discursively. Our subjectivity is constructed by the shifting discourses of power which endlessly speak through us, situating us here and there in particular positions and relations. In these terms we are not the authors of ourselves. We do not construct our identities, we have it written for us; the subject cannot be sovereign over the construction of selfhood. Instead the subject is decentered, in that its consciousness is always being constructed from positions outside of itself. It follows then that the individual is not a transparent representation of the self but an effect of discourse. Spivak argues that surprisingly for these figures, when Foucault and Deleuze talks about oppressed groups such as the working classes they fall back into precisely these uncritical notions of ‘sovereign subjects’ by restoring to them a fully centred consciousness. In addition they also assume that the writing of intellectuals such as themselves can serve as a transparent medium through which the voices of the oppressed can be represented. The intellectual is cast as a reliable mediator for the voices of the oppressed, a mothpiece through which the oppressed can clearly speak.

Orientalism is a study of language and traditions of the people and their culture in the Middle East. These studies are mostly done by people outside of the culture that is being looked at, and mostly the studies are being performed by white western men. Edward Said believed that there was a problem with the way in which other people were studying and writing about his culture. He was upset and spoke up when he wrote a booked called “Orientalism,” in his book he points out many reasons why the study of orientalism is hurting the cultures in which they are studying. The study of other cultures and countries better known as the Orient has become a popular discussion since Said’s book on orientalism was published. This paper will take a look