Post Colonial Theory- Extended Definition Essay free essay sample

Theory- Extended Definition Essay During the late twentieth century, many literary critics had an important focus on understanding cultural power. They began investigating a more multicultural canon, and discovered the lack of perspectives from the formerly colonized people on European colonization. European colonialism was centered on racial inferiority and extreme otherness. In history the colonized people are seen as the losers and the colonizers are the winners. Postcolonial critics are trying to restore the culture, dignity, identities, and history of the colonized. Colonizers believed they were sophisticated, civilized, and metropolitan. They defined the colonized people as being savage, backward, and undeveloped. Furthermore Europeans believed their culture was highly advanced and they tried to implement stereotypes against the colonized people. Postcolonial theory assumes that the colonized people are being treated as the Other. Postcolonial theory examines how the colonized people are voiceless and how they are inferior to the colonizers. Postcolonial critics are mainly concerned with literature written in the Anglo-European culture often distorts the experiences of the colonized people, and attempts to articulate more pride in the face of colonization. Postcolonial theory focuses on conveying the complete story of colonization specifically by Europeans, rather than blaming them for their wrong doings in history. Postcolonial theory states that Anglo-European countries created the dominant ideology that served to â€Å"other† the colonized people by making the same them seem inferior and dependent. Postcolonial critics question the legacy of Western influence in their colonized countries because of the negative aspects of discrimination towards the natives. In the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the white missionaries created division within the most basic element of Ibo society, their religion and made it easier for them to establish themselves and their government in Umuofia. When the missionaries arrived in Mbanta the village people gathered around them and the white man said â€Å"All the gods you have named are not gods at all† (146). The white man is claiming that the Umuofians worship false gods and they are nothing at all. Their religion was the foundation of their society and kept them together with a strong faith. The Christians argue that the village people are ignorant because he states that their gods are merely â€Å"pieces of wood and stone† (146). The white man’s words are significant because he emphasizes that their society is based on false gods made out of wood and stone. His words also indicate that since their gods are made by stone and wood, they are completely harmless and cannot do anything to stop the missionaries. The goal of their early colonization is to tear apart the fundamental reason that keeps the Ibo society together, which is their religion and strong faith in their ancestors. Therefore they can control the natives easily because they are not united, and implement their religion and culture. The white man continues with his speech and states â€Å"They are gods of deceit who tell you to kill your fellows and destroy innocent children† (146). The white man is making a statement accusing the natives of being savages that go through life killing each other. The natives are undeveloped because they have un-human like traditions and customs. The white man is making a crucial statement to the village people that they are significantly different and have worthless gods, traditions, and customs. In other words the white men believe in the master narrative that he is superior and has the right to colonize them. European colonizers used extreme othering through criticizing their religious beliefs and attacking their traditional beliefs in order to successfully colonize â€Å"the Other†. Upon Okonkwo’s return to Umuofia he talked to Obierika on the presence of the Christian people and he says â€Å"Our clan can no longer act like one† (176). Okonkwo believes that the tribe’s foundations have been broken down by the Christian religion. He believes that his people no longer have a strong faith in their gods. Therefore the village people have now come out of their ignorance and joined the white man’s religion and government. Okonkwo then says â€Å"He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart† (176). When the tribe has fallen apart and the missionaries have successfully created a separation that has made it easier for them to govern the people, colonization has fully begun. The white men haved caused to fall apart because they are more clever and advanced mentally and technologically than the natives. Since the tribe can no longer protect their way of life, the white man will enforce his own way of life on the people. Later in the story the tribe leaders are arrested by the District Commissioner, he states clearly â€Å"That must not happen in the dominion of our queen, the most powerful ruler in the world† (194). The white man have fully established their government, making it the sole power in Umuofia and the most powerful. The tribes’ laws have no significance at this point and the Christians are now using their fatherland’s laws. The white men are taking advantage of the natives and the colonized people are not powerful enough to fight back against the colonizers. Postcolonial critics have seen a continuous pattern in history that shows the struggle of the colonized people to fight back against oppression. Postcolonial theory looks at how Anglo- European powers oppressed the colonized people by not giving them the power to define and rule themselves. During Okonkwo’s exile Umuofia changed drastically, the white men â€Å"built a court where the District Commissioner judged cases of ignorance† (174). The missionaries began with trying to spread Christianity and then slowly established their judicial system. The significance of building a court is that the laws favored the white man and not the natives. The natives are put in an inferior position because they cannot defeat the power of the white man and are forced to follow their rules. The white men are allowed to use the laws of their fatherland while the natives are being oppressed which does not allow them the same. When the village people gathered in the market to discuss what to do with the white man, the court messengers interrupt and say â€Å"The white man whose power you know to well has ordered this meeting to stop† (204). Part of people being able to define themselves is having freedom of speech. The natives wanted to lash out against colonization in their own private meeting. History has shown that when the colonized people are organized and ready to rebel against the colonizers, they become weaker and outnumbered. The white men are taking a given right away from the colonized people, which is a major part of oppression. By not allowing the natives to have the power to rule themselves, the white man can successfully colonize and stay in their superior position. Postcolonial critics are concerned that literature written in the colonizing cultures often distorts the realities and experiences of the colonized. To conclude the book the District Commissioner is thinking about writing a book on African tribes and including a paragraph about Okonkwo, he says â€Å"There was so much else to include, and one must be firm in cutting details† (209). His intentions were to talk about Okonkwo as a coward and a fool who hanged himself. This would be leaving out the most significant details about Okonkwo who was a fierce man, highly praised, elite, and one of the greatest men in Umuofia. By leaving those essential details this would be creating an incomplete identity of the man Okonkwo. Okonkwo killed himself because of the oppression by the white man and how colonization ruined his great tribe, brothers, and home. The District Commissioner’s book The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger would be distorting the significant legacy of the great man Okonkwo. Chimamanda Adichie said in her TED talk on the danger of a single story that we risk a critical misunderstanding. In other words if we accept the single story of the colonized, the consequences are that we are robbed of our dignity and we fall for these stereotypes. The single story creates a one-sided perspective that all colonized people are savage, undeveloped, and inferior to the dominant white race. This story has transformed history and has given people a false story. If people reject the single story and realize that the single story is incomplete, there will no longer be any false views of a certain of a group people. Postcolonial theory is not intended to make the colonizers feel bad, rather states the complete story. Critics are trying to change the master narrative and are concerned with rewriting the wrong doings towards the colonized people. The goal is to balance perspectives from both sides in order to have a fair and just story on colonization. The African proverb â€Å"Until the lion tell his side of the story, the tale will always glorify the hunter† examines how the history and culture of the Africans that are told by Africans is non-existent in history. The colonized people do not have their stories told because they were passed down orally from generation to generation. Therefore the victors of European colonization who are the colonizers have created their own perspective on Africans and implemented it into history. Postcolonial theory overlooks their perspective and digs deep into the true realities, experiences, and stories of the colonized people. Postcolonial Theory focuses on correcting the dominant ideology that the colonized people are the â€Å"Other†, how they do not have the power to define themselves, and how European literature distorts the experiences of the colonized. The purpose of postcolonial theory it to recover the lost history, dignity, validity, cultural contributions of the people colonized by Europeans. For example in Things Fall Apart, Achebe details the strife and devastation that happened when the British colonizers began settling in Umuofia. He points out the negative aspects thats caused shifting identity and culture of the Umuofians, which was caused by the oppressing white men that imposed their western religion on the people. Postcolonial criticism question the role of western cultures and religions in â€Å"third world countries† with people that are seen as undeveloped and inferior. They question the single story against the colonized that has been represented in European literature throughout history. History is always written by the victors, and in most cases it is the colonizers. Due to the â€Å"othering† of the colonized people by the Europeans, postcolonial theory works to recover their lost voices, establish equality, and bring justice to them.