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Wretched of the Earth Essay

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Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon explores the roles of violence, class, and political organization in the process of decolonization. Within a Marxist framework, Fanon theorizes and prophesizes the successes and failures of independence movements within colonized nations. He exalts the proletariat as a revolutionary class that is first to realize the necessity of violence in the removal of colonial regimes. Yet the accomplishment and disappointments of the proletariat are at the hand of men. Fanon neglects women in terms of the proletariat’s wishes and efforts. In spite of this exclusion, Fanon nonetheless develops a theory that could apply to the proletariat as a whole, women included. For although Fanon failed to acknowledge women’s…show more content…
Such an attitude entails drastic and violent methods. Through this violence the revolution can succeed. Yet even after the colonial regime is removed, the infrastructure that was imposed continues to control the people. The bourgeoisie, the individuals who led the revolution leave the proletariat and the peasants disappointed. That which they have been promised is often unfulfilled or can only be considered insufficient. The spirit of revolution remains, and in time the proletariat will rise again, continuing to trust in the process.
European notions of modernity transformed Egypt into a society where the female peasantry became the most oppressed class. These colonial influences produced an economy, which satisfied the needs of Europe and frustrated the needs of the Egyptian peasantry. Prior to the early 1820s, the Egyptian peasantry practiced a subsistence economy, which allowed the peasant family to feed and maintain itself. The families were left relatively autonomous as state officials had little interest in this class with the exception of the payment of taxes. Under this system, women in the Egyptian peasantry were able to lead a somewhat egalitarian existence. Although tasks were divided according to gender, hours of labor were relatively equal. Muhammad Ali’s rise to power resulted in an immediate change in the economy. Ali had a strong affinity for the modernity of Europe and actively attempted to
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