To understand the postcolonial readings of Amitav Ghosh’s novels let us begin by understanding what postcolonial literature is. In this chapter, I will try to understand what the postcolonial literature does by theorizing the entire process of imperialization or colonization. In the following chapters I will try to understand the postcolonial perspective in Amitav Ghosh’s fictional works.
As Peter Barry observes in his Beginning Theory, postcolonial criticism emerged as a distinct category only in the 1990s. It has gained prominence through the influential books like In Other Worlds (Gayatri Spivak, 1987), the Empire Writes Back (Bill Ashcroft, 1989), Nation and Narration (Homi Bhabha, 1990) and Culture and Imperialism (Edward Said, 1993). A recurring feature of postcolonial writing is the attempt to identify the differential cultural identity. As oppositional discourse, postcolonial literature seeks to undermine the European discursive tradition that has promoted the entire process of imperialization. The postcolonial theory challenges system of conceptualizations and representation that justify and help maintain imperialist power during and after the age of colonization. As a means to achieve this end, the postcolonial theory seeks to establish a differential identity in an impulse to decolonize the mind. It challenges and resists the Western cultural hegemony. Over the last few decades postcolonial theory has evolved through different stages to encompass a variety of
As an anti-imperialist writer, the author explains his hatred and guilt toward the arrogant system that cause him to denounce British Imperialism by demonstrating the incompatible relationship between the powerful
The reader gets a rare and exotic understanding of a totally foreign and ancient culture experiencing the growing pains of colonial expansion during the British domination
Title:- A study on Postcolonialism in Khaled Hosseini’s novels The kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.
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.
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.
In her work, she joins her disapproval of the abuse against women, non-Europeans, and the poor by the wealthy west. Spivak faces in her essay “epistemic violence” done by sermons of knowledge that shape the whole world. This epistemic violence is like a curse over subjects of discourses. It is similar to Edward Said idea(1935-2003; public intellectual and founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies).(4)His idea of otherness in “Orientalism” display the bigotry of western scholars who write in a biased way about the East in order to create “
Imperialism is a policy used by political leaders to extend their authority over foreign entities as a means of acquiring and maintaining empires. The extension of authority would create an opportunity for the imperialists to exercise political and economic control on other countries. George Orwell argues against the taste of imperialism and its abuse of power in his narrative “Shooting an Elephant”. It is essential to show concern in resolving racial discrimination because of the integrity and viability of individuals. Imperialism involves exploitation of the natives, the oppressed and squeezing them to from different angles for example restricting the freedom of the oppressed. George Orwell expresses anger and disgust against any kind of oppression and tyranny to the less advantaged individuals (Alam and Sarwar, 55). The imperialists burdened the poor natives by inflicting on them hatred and torment. The imperialists considered the Asians as culturally inferior as they humiliate and subjugate them as racially inferior individuals. George Orwell desired to rescue the poor natives from the exploitations by the imperialists (Doyle and James, 15). The Orwell’s narrative “Shooting an elephant” is a demonstration of George Orwell’s argument against the taste of empire-building and its abuse on the poor natives.
However, to solely conceptualize colonialism as a set of governance projects based on the dispossession of indigenous peoples from their spaces for the purposes of installing settlements and extracting resources would be a gross simplification of colonialism. To do so would be to ignore how the colonization of indigenous territories by European settlers was an ideologically and culturally contested process as much as it was a material one. As explained by Said (1995), imperialism and colonialism were both supported by ideological formations that were comprised of notions that indigenous peoples and territories require and beseech domination (p. 9). Expanding on this analysis, Jacobs (1996) discusses how racialized notions of the Self and the Other were the building blocks for the hierarchies of power under colonialism, as negative constructions of the
Postcolonial scholars examine and ultimately seek to undo the historical structures that originally created, maintained and continue to reproduces the oppression of the colonial experience. Otherness, the term introduced by Edward Said, pointed out that non-western cultures are seen as object for study. Seeing from the submissive cultures, power dynamic of imperialism is dominant. Western looks and explains things in western way. However, another essential theme in post-colonialism is hybridity which is the space between two cultures.
Postcolonial criticism analyzes literature created by cultures that developed in response to colonial domination. This type of criticism defines formerly colonized people as any population that has been subjected to the political domination of another population. Readers analyzing literature in a postcolonial critical way will seek the political, social, cultural, and psychological understanding of the colonialist and anticolonialist. Authors, like Ralph Ellison, address the problem of cultural identity using postcolonial critical theory through their works of literature. In “Battle Royal” (Chapter 1 of Invisible Man,) Ralph Ellison discusses a number of postcolonial issues such as control, race, and double consciousness.
In Jean Rhys’s “The Day They Burned the Books” and George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”, the protagonists in the respective works explore the implicit and explicit influences of imperialism and colonialism in society and how it affects their characters. Rhys and Orwell dwell into various distinctions of power dynamics, ranging from racial power structures to cultural power structures, which are presented in how Rhys and Orwell portray the colonizers and colonized, and both authors illustrate how imperialism affects their characters’ beliefs and understanding of the world at large. Through a close examination of Jean Rhys’s “The Day They Burned the Books” and George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”, Jean Rhy and George Orwell reveal the economic,
All cultures change at one time or another or a variety of reasons. This neo-colonial world we live in is evidence that the identity of decolonised peoples, which is drawn from the coloniser’s conception of cultural knowledge, continues to play a role in how we understand the international society. The affect of colonising powers dates back for centuries, effecting the cultural, national and ethnic identities of the colonised. These developments influence the types and strengths of the relationships not only in the national sense amongst members of each particular society but also internationally. Paradoxically, decolonisation did not necessarily mean that former colonies are independent, but that they may still be subjected to the ‘outward trappings of…economics systems and thus political policy is directed from outside’ (Nkrumah 1965: ix). The identity of the periphery states has been shaped by their subjugation to the economic super powers of the world. This statement is also true for the identity of super powers, whose ideologies are shaped by their dominant stance in the international society. The neo-colonial perspective clarifies that despite decolonisation and countries gaining nominal power over their territorial boundaries,
Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is a modern example of postcolonial literature and is one of the most influential pieces of its genre. Postcolonial writing presents important themes and lessons of justice, equality, and freedom that can be applied to present times. It reminds us of how important our freedoms are and why we need to protect them. The colonized write about their exploitation and show how there is persecution in their colonized society. Postcolonial authors use specific methods to undermine their colonizers and reveal their backward logic. Things Fall Apart has various examples of meta-narrative, decolonization struggles, and colonial discourse worked in throughout the novel. Chinua Achebe’s writing styles showcase these techniques to subvert his European colonizers.
E.M. Forster’s classic novel “A Passage to India” tells the story of a young doctor, Dr. Aziz, and his interactions with the British citizens who are residing in India during the time of the British Raj. Throughout the novel, the reader gets many different viewpoints on the people and the culture of India during this point in history. The reader sees through the eyes of the Indian people primarily through the character of Dr. Aziz, and the perceptions of the British through the characters of Mr. Fielding, Adela Quested, and Mrs. Moore. Through the different characters, and their differing viewpoints, the reader can see that Forster was creating a work that expressed a criticism that he held of the behavior of the British towards their Indian subjects.