POSTCOLONIALISM

Postcolonialism is the study of literature and cultures that were affected by colonialism. Colonialism is when a powerful country, like Britain or France, takes over and controls a weaker country, like India, Africa, or Australia. The powerful country is called the colonizer, and the weaker country that was taken over is called the colonized. Postcolonialism asks a very important question :

1. What happened to the people who were colonized?

2. What happened to their culture, their identity, their language, and their voice?

These are the three most important thinkers in Postcolonialism:

1. EDWARD SAID

Wrote the famous book "Orientalism" (1978)

Argued that the West created a false and negative image of Eastern people to justify controlling them

Key idea: The "Other" — seeing colonized people as strange, inferior, and different

2. HOMI BHABHA

Introduced important terms like Hybridity and Mimicry

Hybridity = When two cultures mix and create something new

Mimicry = When colonized people copy the colonizer's behavior to survive, but never fully belong

Key idea: Identity is never fixed ; it is always changing and mixed

3. GAYATRI CHAKRAVORTY SPIVAK

Famous for the essay "Can the Subaltern Speak?" (1988)

Subaltern = People who are at the very bottom of society , the most oppressed

Argued that the voices of the most oppressed people (especially women) are completely ignored

Key idea: We must listen to those who have no platform or power

Comments

"The Village Schoolmaster" by Oliver Goldsmith

The Village Schoolmaster by Oliver Goldsmith Introduction: Oliver Goldsmith was an English poet, playwright, and novelist. His well-known works are The Vicar of the Wakefield , ‘The Deserted Village’, and She Stoops to Conquer . In the poem, “The Village Schoolmaster”, Oliver Goldsmith talks of a school that is situated by a rambling fence with a yellow flowering shrub called furze. About the Poem: “There, in his mansion, skill’d to rule” The poem portrays an imaginary village school master. The village is empty and deserted as the people have emigrated for a better living. The main cause of the emigration is the enclosure movement also calle...

“The Gift of Magi” by O.Henry

“The Gift of Magi” by O.Henry Introduction to O. Henry O. Henry was a famous short story writer from the United States. He is known for writing stories with twists at the end . His stories often show the lives of ordinary people and teach lessons about love, kindness, and life. One of his best-known stories is The Gift of the Magi . Introduction to the Story (Theme and Characters) “The Gift of the Magi” is a short story about a poor couple , Jim and Della , who love each other very much. The story’s main theme is love and sacrifice . Even though they have very little money, they want to give special Christmas gifts to each other. Della has long, beautiful hair. Jim has a gold watch, which is his only treasure. The story shows how they give up what they love the most ...

The Conjuror's Revenge by Stephen Leacock

The Conjuror's Revenge by Stephen Leacock About Stephen Leacock Stephen Leacock (1869-1944) was a renowned Canadian writer who excelled at making people laugh. He wrote funny stories that also made fun of how people act in society. His writing was simple but clever - he could make everyday situations seem funny by pointing out how silly people can be. What the Story is About "The Conjuror's Revenge" is about a magician. During his magic show, there's one person in the audience called the "Quick Man" who keeps ruining everything by shouting out how all the tricks are done. The story illustrates how one annoying person can spoil an entire event for everyone else. It's also about how the magician gets angrier and angrier as his show falls apart. The Magic Tricks “ He had it up his sleeve” 1. The Golden Fish Trick The magici...

Lit Light

Search This Blog