Postcolonial Literature.pdf

Postcolonial Literature In a broad sense, postcolonial literature is writing which has been “affected by the imperial process from the moment of colonization to the present day” (Ashcroft et al, 2). In India’s case, this includes novels, poetry, and drama which were written both during and after the British Raj or “Reign,” which came to a formal conclusion with Indian Independence in August 1947. Although writing from India and other formerly colonized countries such as Nigeria, Jamaica, Pakistan, and Singapore have distinctive features, postcolonial literature shares some significant concerns and characteristics. Concerns ➢

Reclaiming spaces and places

Colonialism was, above all, a means of claiming and exploiting foreign lands, resources, and people. Enslavement, indentured labour, and migration forced many indigenous populations to move from the places that they considered “home”. Postcolonial literature attempts to counteract their resulting alienation from their surroundings by restoring a connection between indigenous people and places through description, narration, and dramatization. ➢

Asserting cultural integrity

During colonization, the indigenous cultures of those countries subjected to foreign rule were often sidelined, suppressed, and openly denigrated in favour of elevating the social and cultural preferences and conventions of the colonizers. In response, much postcolonial literature seeks to assert the richness and validity of indigenous cultures in an effort to restore pride in practices and traditions that were systematically degraded under colonialism. ➢

Revising history

Colonizers often depicted their colonial subjects as existing “outside of history” in unchanging, timeless societies, unable to progress or develop without their intervention and assistance. In this way, they justified their actions, including violence against those who resisted colonial rule. Revising history to tell things from the perspective of those colonized is thus a major preoccupation of postcolonial writing. Characteristics ➢

Resistant descriptions

Postcolonial writers use detailed descriptions of indigenous people, places, and practices to counteract or “resist” the stereotypes, inaccuracies, and generalizations which the colonizers circulated in educational, legal, political, and social texts and settings. ➢

Appropriation of the colonizers’ language

Although many colonized countries are home to multiple indigenous languages—in India, for example, more than 12 languages exist alongside English—many postcolonial writers choose to write in the colonizers’ “tongue”. However, authors such as Arundhati Roy deliberately play with English, remoulding it to reflect the rhythms and syntax of indigenous languages, and inventing new words and styles to demonstrate mastery of a language that was, in a sense, forced upon them. ➢

Reworking colonial art-forms

Similarly, authors such as Arundhati Roy rework European art-forms like the novel to reflect indigenous modes of invention and creation. They reshape imported colonial art-forms to incorporate the style, structure, and themes of indigenous modes of creative expression, such as oral poetry and dramatic performances.

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DIMENSIONS OF POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE Writers as diverse as Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka from Nigeria, Salman Rushdie and Arundhati Roy from India, Derek Walcott from the Caribbean, Seamus Heaney from Ireland, Margaret Atwood and Michael Ondaatje from Canada, Peter Carey and Patrick White from Australia, and J. M. Coetzee and Nadine Gordimer from South Africa have been prominent when major literary awards such as the Booker Prize or the Nobel Prize have been announced, and their works now appear on numerous school and university syllabuses. ➢ Postcolonial Poetry: Postcolonial poetry told the colonialism and changes undertook by colonialism for example, Shiv. K. Kumar, Sarojini Naidu and Kamala Das’s Poems ➢ Postcolonial Prose: Postcolonial prose is excellent in the thought sharing and the fine writing for example, Anita Desai, Jhumpa Lahiri’s Works ➢ Postcolonial Drama: Acts that respond to the experience of imperialism, whether directly or indirectly; Acts performed for the continuation and/or regeneration of the colonized (and sometimes pre-contact) communities; Acts performed with the awareness of, and sometimes the incorporation of, post-contact forms; and Acts that interrogates the Hegemony (Domination), underlies imperial representation. There are three Critical Models in Postcolonial Literature. They are, • National/Regional Model- American and British literature/West Indian and Caribbean literature (inner regions of nation) • Comparative Model- It is normal core of British literature (Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) • Race based Models- The model gives priority to colour of people, their country and their community. (Black Writings, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam) Postcolonial language: Language as a medium for power—there are three main types of linguistic groups, ➢ ➢

Mono-glossic: ‘single-language societies using English as a native tongue’ Di-glossic: bilingualism—’English as the language of government and commerce’ (India, Africa, the South Pacific) ➢ Poly-glossic or Poly-dialectical: ‘a multitude of dialects interweave to form a generally comprehensible linguistic continuum’ and linguistic ‘intersections'(Caribbean) Literature concerned with the political and cultural independence of people. New independent countries had to deal, not only with many economic and social issues, such as poverty and lack of education, but also with the aftermath of colonialism. Centuries of maltreatment, complete disrespect and negation of the natives’ values and culture alienated The post-colonial authors’ challenge was to find and re-establish their lost national identity, history and literature, and to define their relationship with the land and language. Main characteristics of Postcolonial Literature: ➢ Interacting with the traditional colonial discourse ➢ Critical look at imperialism and its legacy ➢ Reclaiming the past, ➢ Searching for cultural and personal identity ➢ Self-reflection ➢ Style often ironic ➢ Approach eclectic(free), political and egalitarian (equal) The literature written in the colonial period is called Colonial Literature, and when the countries got the independence it is called Post-Colonial Literature. Post-Colonial Literature reflects a way of life and talks about customs, attitudes, religion, and legends. So, it inscribes a culture in a frame. That is, an affirmation of their identity. It is called Local Colour; it is mostly a realistic literature that gives an account of the real country. Imperialism is the very root of Colonialism. The assumption of Imperialism, in the case of England, is mainly based in their Industrial Revolution;” We are progress”, they said. They convinced themselves that they had the right and duty to teach others, expanding their industrial revolution. They meant to civilize the world, they gave civilization to other countries. Imperialism is “the notion of the authority assumed by a state over another territory”. During 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain went to different countries and they settled and invaded there. Settled in: Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa Invaded in: India, Caribbean and African territories

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Concerns of Postcolonial Literature ➢ Reclaiming spaces and places ➢ Asserting cultural integrity ➢ Revising history Characteristics of Postcolonial Literature ➢ Resistant descriptions Postcolonial writers use detailed descriptions of indigenous people, places, and practices to counteract or “resist” the stereotypes, inaccuracies, and generalizations which the colonizers circulated in educational, legal, political, and social texts and settings. ➢ Appropriation of the colonizers’ language Although many colonized countries are home to multiple indigenous languages—in India, for example, more than 12 languages exist alongside English—many postcolonial writers choose to write in the colonizers’ “tongue”. However, authors such as Arundhati Roy deliberately play with English, remoulding it to reflect the rhythms and syntax of indigenous languages, and inventing new words and styles to demonstrate mastery of a language that was, in a sense, forced upon them. ➢ Reworking colonial art-forms Similarly, authors such as Arundhati Roy rework European art-forms like the novel to reflect indigenous modes of invention and creation. They reshape imported colonial art-forms to incorporate the style, structure, and themes of indigenous modes of creative expression, such as oral poetry and dramatic performances. Women Writers • • • • • •

Bharati Mukherjee Indian Arundhati Roy Indian Margaret Atwood Canadian Anita Desai Indian Kiran Desai Indian Jhumpa Lahiri Indian

The Tiger’s Daughter, The Holder of the World The God of Small Things, Mary Roy Surfacing, the Blind Assassin Clear Light of Day, Voices in the City The Inheritance of Loss The Lowland the Namesake

Writers

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• Raja Rao Indian Struggled for the eradication of unwanted beliefs • Mulkraj Anand Indian Coolie, Untouchable • K. Narayan Indian The English Teacher, The Guide, Malgudi Days • K. Ramanujan Indian Is there an Indian way of thinking? • Salman Rushdie Indian The Satanic Verses, Midnight’s Children • Wole Soyinka Nigerian Death and the king’s Horseman, The Interpreters • Chinua Achebe Nigeria n Things Fall Apart, Arrow of God • James Joyce Irish Ulysses, Dubliners, Portrait of an Artist as a Young man • Rudyard Kipling British Jungle Book, Kim • M. Coetzee South African Diary of a Bad Year, Dusk Lands • Wilbur Smith South African the triumph of the Sun The colonization made a great impact on society. Postcolonial writing is an international genre. All the Postcolonial pieces combined and called as the Common Wealth Literature. Postcolonial Literature has had a major, significant and enormous effect on the Literature.

POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE CHARACTERISTICS •

Appropriation of Colonial Languages Postcolonial writers have this thing they like to do. They take the language of their colonizer (English or French, for example) and turn it on its head. A writer from the Caribbean, for example, • Metanarrative Colonizers liked to tell a certain story. In this story, Europeans were created to rule over other, lesser people, from the Irish to the Igbo. Europeans were the designated masters, the rulers of t... • Colonialism For many cultures around the world, colonialism was a massively traumatic thing. Imagine: all of sudden this stranger shows up in your town or your village, takes all your stuff, forces you to Lear...

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Colonial Discourse Discourse is a collection of narratives, statements, and opinions dealing with a certain topic. Discourse can be about anything. There's even Justin Bieber discourse, if you think about all those m.. • Rewriting History European colonizers often thought that the people that they colonized didn't have a history before the Europeans "enlightened" them. The colonizers thought that the colonized peoples had no culture... • Decolonization Struggles Freedom fighters in Africa, Asia, South America, and the Caribbean fought colonialism. People like Mahatma Gandhi in India, Patrice Lumumba in Zaire (now Congo), Amilcar Cabral in Cape Verde and Gu... • Nationhood and Nationalism Postcolonial writers are really interested in nationhood and nationalism. A lot of these writers are very patriotic. They write books on behalf of their nations. Their work is often nationalist, be.. • Valorisation of Cultural Identity You know how a big justification for colonialism was, basically, that the cultures of colonized peoples were inferior to those of Europeans? Well, postcolonial writers challenge this idea, and they... • Counter-Discourse If there's one characteristic that we could use to lump together all of these different literatures emerging from all over the world, it's that they form part of a counter-discourse to colonialism... • Challenging Stereotypes In order to justify colonialism, colonizers had to make themselves believe that the people they were colonizing were somehow lesser than they were. Otherwise, how could they go off and enslave and...

APPROPRIATION A term used to describe the ways in which post-colonial societies take over those aspects of the imperial culture language, forms of writing, film, theatre, even modes of thought and argument such as rationalism, logic and analysis that may be of use to them in articulating their own social and cultural identities. This process is sometimes used to describe the strategy by which the dominant imperial power incorporates as its own the territory or culture that it surveys and invades (Spur 1993: 28). However, post-colonial theory focuses instead on an exploration of the ways in which the dominated or colonized culture can use the tools of the dominant discourse to resist its political or cultural control. Appropriation may describe acts of usurpation in various cultural domains, but the most potent are the domains of language and textuality. In these areas, the dominant language and its discursive forms are appropriated to express widely differing cultural experiences, and to interpolate these experiences into the dominant modes of representation to reach the widest possible audience. Chinua Achebe (quoting James Baldwin), noted that the language so used can ‘bear the burden of another experience’, and this has become one of the most famous declarations of the power of appropriation in post-colonial discourse. However, the very use of the colonial language has been opposed by writers such as Ngugi wa Thiong’o (Ngugi 1981a), who, after a successful career as a writer in English, has renounced the language of the former colonizer to write his novel and plays in Gikuyu. Nevertheless, Ngugi continues to appropriate the novel form itself, and it has been argued that the very success of his political tactic of renouncing English has relied on his reputation as a writer in that tongue.

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