Representation of Colonialism and its Resistance in Literature

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Date:  24, January 2018

Place: Bhavnagar, Gujarat.

Name/s:  Komal Shahedapuri

Representation of Colonialism and  its Resistance in Literature

 Komal Shahedapuri

Master of Arts (English Literature) MK Bhavnagar University

  Email Id: komaltara1311@gmail.com

Abstract

       Frantz Fanon has rightly observed in context of Language of Colonized, ‘Every colonized people in other words, every people in whose soul an inferiority complex has been  created by the death and burial of  its Local Cultural originality - finds  itself  face to face  with the language of civilizing nation; that is, with the culture of Mother country. The colonized is elevated above his Jungle status in proportion to his adoption of mother country’s cultural standards.’ (Bass) Colonialism is the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers who unsettle the native people in their own homeland by exploiting them economically. (English Oxford Living Dictionaries) While Postcolonial view is talking about effects of colonialism and human consequences of external control and economic exploitation of native people and their lands. (Wikipedia) Rereading of literary works happen a lot with the help of the critical analysis of history, culture and literature. This paper seeks to point out the power of colonizers through its representation in literary work, ‘Robinson Crusoe’ by Daniel Defoe while in spost colonial aspect the ‘Silence’ of colonized people is broken and voice of resistance for their identity and freedom is given in the literary works like ‘A Tempest’ by Aime Cesaire (French writer) is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ from a Postcolonial perspective. Thus, this paper focuses on the narration of colonialism done by two different writers, white writer Daniel Defoe and black writer Aime Cesaire and how their writings can  be distinguish by examining their works.

Keywords: Colonialism, Post colonialism, Robinson Crusoe, A Tempest, Daniel Defoe, Aime Cesaire

Literature and Colonialism

    Literature’s pivotal role in both colonial and anti-colonial discourse has begun to be explored, the relationship between colonialism and literature was not, until recently, dealt with by literary criticism. Literary texts do not simply reflect dominance ideologies but encode the tensions, complexities and nuances within colonial cultures. Finally, literature is also an important means of appropriating, inverting or challenging dominant means of representation and colonial ideologies. The colonial context is not just ‘reflected’ in the language or imagery of literary texts, it is not just a backdrop or ‘context’ against which human dramas are enacted, but a central aspect of what these texts have to say about identity, relationship and culture. (Loomba)

        The study of Colonialism in relation to literature and of literature in the relation to colonialism has opened up important new ways of looking at both. Modern European colonialism was by far the most extensive of the different kinds of colonial contact that have been a recurrent feature of human history. By 1930s, colonies and ex-colonies covered 84.6 percent of the land surface of the globe. (Loomba)

    “Colonialism is a settlement in a new country… body of people who settle in a new locality, forming a community subject to or connected with their parent state; the community so formed, consisting of the original settlers and their descendants and successors, as long as the connection with the parent state is kept up.” (Loomba)

                                                                                                          (Oxford English Dictionary)

This definition avoids many things and seems innocent but when it talks about ‘settlement’ of colonizers, it actually unsettles the native people who already live in those places and it is not new country, it is old country of natives. Colonialism was not an identical process in different parts of the world but everywhere it locked the original inhabitants and the newcomers into the most complex and traumatic relationship in human history. So, colonialism can be defined as the conquest and control of other people’s land and goods. (Loomba)

Representation of Colonialism

       ‘Robinson Crusoe’ by Denial Defoe, he is most famous for this novel which is second only to the Bible in its number of its translations. Robinson Crusoe features a British trader as the hero and the novel is set on a distant Caribbean island cries out for interpretation of the text in the colonial contexts.  It is powerful adventure story revolve around the survival of Robinson Crusoe on an unknown Island. The process of colonialism described throughout the novel with various points. Here, Robinson Crusoe can be seen as prototype Colonizer who travel to different places and ruled there or established their colonies. Character of Friday as colonized people who controlled by colonial rule on their own native land.

       This is not just an adventure story but commonly regarded as the prototypical colonial novel of the eighteenth century. Crusoe has built his empire on the Island as Edward Said comments   that ‘Robinson Crusoe’ is “a work whose protagonist is the founder of a new world, which he rules and reclaims for Christianity and England”. There are many aspects which help to get an idea of colonial rule like Politics of naming, this point is discussed by Salman Rushdie in his essay “Commonwealth Literature does not exist” that he criticize the system of naming that how the writers from different parts of the world like Canada, Australia, India are same and can come under the general category that is Commonwealth writers. In the beginning of Robinson Crusoe, Crusoe give the Christian name ‘Friday’ to one of the inhabitant of an island from which the process of colonizing is started. Crusoe says "I made him know that his name was to be Friday I likewise taught him to say Master". (Defoe) The first word that he teaches to Friday is ‘Master’ which try to say that Crusoe want to be master and make Friday his servant rather than friend. He became ruler of an island and imagines himself “Lord of a whole manner or if I pleased, I might call myself King, or Emperor over a whole country which I had possession of”. His treatment with Friday as his servant make him an archetype of colonization. “Crusoe assumes possession of him in the way that Columbus assumed possession of the land (America) by his naming” (Admin)

Brett. C Mclnelly comments that “Robinson Crusoe stands as an allegory or figure of colonialism Defoe transform the colonialism through the power of fictional representation into the adventures of the single man who masters an island, his native companion, and himself. His formal realism works to unfold the myths of psychological and economic self sufficiency in the texture of convincing detail.” (Admin)

        After giving the name to Friday the Master-slave relationship started between them which is main point of colonial rule. Crusoe treats Friday as his slave and give commands and Friday follows his commands. Friday became slave on his own native Island. The master-slave relation in the novel is displayed when Robinson Crusoe is taken captive by the Moors and made a slave to a certain master. He however, manages to escape from there with a boy called Xury.  The kind of relationship the two of them have is the second place where master-slave dialectic is portrayed. Xury chooses to remain obedient to Crusoe even until he is sold to a certain pirate. Critics are of the view that Robinson Crusoe, in the island can be compared to the whole European Citizens and Man Friday, the whole African slaves. The novel is in fact, a microcosmic representation of the whole concept of Master-Slave culture that persisted during those times in Europe. (Gohil)

      Language, Culture and Religion are three important aspects which Crusoe taught Friday to dominate over him. He taught his language to Friday that is English which is seen as their tool to dominate over the world. He also want to spread his own religion ‘Christianity’ when he talk about Jesus Christ, his God is superior  and Friday easily get convinced which shows his total submission as an uncivilized and his conversion to Christianity is another important aspect of colonialism. In Crusoe dialogue, we can see how Friday being his slave,

Crusoe: at length he came close to me; and then he kneeled down again, kissed the ground, and laid his head upon the ground, and taking me by the foot, set my foot upon his head; this, it seems, was in token of swearing to be my slave for ever. (Defoe)

      Crusoe calling him ‘my man’ as he believes that Friday is his servant nothing else. He make Friday aware of his culture that wearing cloths is better than nakedness through which he try to prove that his culture is more civilized than Friday’s. Friday also afraid of gun that Crusoe showing him as the tool to frightened ‘Other’. When Crusoe tells Friday to go back to his own land while that island is of Friday but Crusoe encroaches Friday’s land but Friday never resist against him. Crusoe believes as all English men that it is his business to teach every civilized habits to Friday. There is not only Crusoe’s physically but also culturally and linguistic dominance too.

     So, Robinson Crusoe is more than the simple adventure story, island where Crusoe lives is paradoxical one because is simultaneously became heaven or paradise for Crusoe. It shows the man’s journey to Christianity and how his faith gives him sense of power which he pushes on others. The novel does not only portray the allegorical journey of spiritual development but also  of Colonialism.

Resistance against Colonialism

        In postcolonial theory, voice given to marginal identities or characters who are on the periphery in the early narration or in history, but through the retelling of history from post colonial perspective, these identities come in the centre. Like in the play ‘The Purpose’ by T.P Kailasam which is the retelling of Ekalavya’s story from Mahabharata by the post colonial theory of Subaltern and other is Tom Stoppard’s ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead’ is  rereading of the play ‘Hamlet’. Similarly, ‘A Tempest’ by Aime Cesaire (French writer) is an adaptation of the play ‘The Tempest’ by William Shakespeare from postcolonial perspective. This postcolonial text explores the relationship between Prospero, the colonizer (white master) and his colonial subjects Ariel as mulatto and Caliban as black slave. These characters are the focus of the play as Cesaire foregrounds issues of race, power and decolonization.  In ‘The Tempest’, character of Prospero and Ariel is glorifies than Caliban, he is silent and marginalized in this while Aime Cesaire puts the character of Caliban in the center as a resisting voice against colonial power.

 

       ‘Une Tempete’ (A Tempest) was originally written in the French in 1969 by Aime Cesaire  in which he developed  the Negritude movement  which raises the question of French colonial rule  and restores the cultural identity of blacks in African Diaspora . Since then, he has used his words as weapons to wake the whole world to the possibilities and opportunities of making true the dream of freedom. This is the third play in a trilogy aimed at advancing the tenets of negritude movement. The play was translated into English by Richard Miller in New York. The action in the play quite similar that of the Shakespeare’s play, though Cesaire emphasis importance of the people who inhabited the island before the arrival of the Prospero and his daughter Miranda. But after that both Ariel and Caliban enslaved by Prospero, though Caliban was the ruler of island before Prospero’s arrival. (Wikipedia)

     The two major changes are here that first, the character of Ariel portrayed here as a mulatto than spirit and Caliban as a black slave. Second is the addition of a black devil God Eshu.  Main focus here is the never ending quest of Ariel and Caliban to gain freedom from Prospero which can be understood through the dialogues of Ariel and Caliban. For example,

Ariel: (shouting) you’ve promised me my freedom thousand times, and I’m still waiting. (Cesaire)

          This shows the continuous struggle of Ariel to be free. Prospero discussed with Caliban about the language as a source of dominance or ruling over someone when Caliban talks in his native language, Prospero force him to speak English language than his native language.

Caliban: Uhuru! (Swahili word for Freedom)

Prospero: Mumbling your native language again! I’ve already told you, I don’t like it. You could be polite, at least a simple “Hello” wouldn’t kill you. (Cesaire)

    Prospero told Caliban, ‘you ugly Ape’ and used many bad words like savage, dumb animal, a beast, villain, nothing but an animal etc.

Prospero: I educated, trained, dragged up from bestiality that still clings to you.

Caliban: In the first place, that’s not true, you didn’t teach me a thing! Except to jabber in your own language so that I could understand your orders. (Cesaire)

     Through these dialogues, we can understand that how Britishers boasted that they have responsibility to civilized whole world. They believe that they make us civilized but in Caliban’s view, Its for their advantage that they want more clerks who work for them. So, they have educated us and make us civilized people.

Prospero: What would you be without me?

Caliban: Without you? I’d be the king, that’s what I’d be, the king of the Island. The king of the island given by my mother, Sycorax. (Cesaire)

These two dialogues can be understood with the example of British Raj over India. Before, their ruling over India, India known as Sone ki Chidiya but after their ruling, India became economically very poor. Here, in this question Prospero make himself superior to Caliban but Caliban is not silent here, he gave appropriate answer to Prospero.

         Caliban tells Prospero that “I am not interested in peace; I am interested in free will.” Here Caliban presented as free individualistic person and rebel. As an African black who received French education, Cesaire found that what colonization has taken away from him, is not only land but also his language, culture and identity. His work has influenced many writers like Frantz Fanon who has written ‘Black Skin White Mask’, it is about the French colonialism and Psychological study of Racism. Cesaire’s Caliban is conscious of his being conquered and enslaved in which Cesaire’s idea of Negritude is partially embodied. He knows more clearly what Prospero has ‘stolen’ from him, his land, his language, his culture and consequently his identity. Caliban has an awareness to defend to what belongs to him by using his own language as a protest and identifies himself with his own land and culture that he resisting for that encroachments as he said, “Dead or Alive, she was my mother and I won’t deny her!.. I respect the earth because I know that it is alive.” (Fei)

       Caliban generally viewed as an almost archetypal representation of the third world colonized subjects like the group of developing nations, especially of Asia and Africa, that do not align themselves with the policies of either the U.S. or the former Soviet Union. These countries have no power or highly developed compared to First word. (Dictionary) In his development up to mid-20th century Caliban symbolized the third world as imagined by Europe to justify colonialism. This character has developed into a positive symbol of the third world view that high lights the implacable spirit of Caliban against Prospero’s subjugation. It is interesting to situate the process of Caliban’s subrogation within the realm of postcolonial theory. Postcolonial theory has raised some problematic definitions and articulations due to ambiguities of term itself. Bill Ashcroft defines postcolonial theory as; “that dynamic of opposition the discourse of resistance to colonialism which begins from the first moment of colonization. I must definitely do not mean after colonialism because that would be to suppose an end to imperial process.” (Dave)

           This definition is quite relates to this text that voice of resistance to colonial rule is very well portrayed here through the character of Caliban when he renounced his name “Caliban” given by his master Prospero trough his conversation with Prospero which is very important for postcolonial aspects. The allusion to Malcolm X cements the aura of cultural reclamation that serves as the foundational element of ‘A Tempest’. (Dave)

Caliban: “I’ve decided I don’t want to be called, ‘Caliban’ any longer, it’s the name given by your hatred and every time it’s spoken, it’s insult. Call me ‘X’. That would be best. Like a man without a name. You have stolen everything from me even my identity! Uhuru! ” (Cesaire)

       Here in this dialogue, Caliban said that ‘Call me X’ which is the free from any biases like gender, caste, race, class etc. We may say that here writer wants to criticize the view of Shakespeare that ‘What is in the name?’ but here name is very important and have particular significance which creates the identity of a person. When we try to see the meaning of ‘Caliban’ in dictionary, it give meanings like brutish, beast, savage, deformed slave, ugly etc. So, it creates the identity of Caliban as a slave.

Caliban: I'm not interested in defending myself' My only regret is that I've failed'

       This last dialogue of Caliban can be read as a whole that after the so many attempts to get freedom, he fails and he has its regret. Caliban never decolonized himself from Prospero. Caliban is the spokesman through which Cesaire can vent his anti-colonial anger on Prospero, who here as we have said, is a representative of all the colonial empires of Europe. In the end Caliban holds Prospero accountable for all the psychological damage he has suffered:

You lied to me so much
about the world, about myself,
that you ended up by imposing on me
an image of myself:
underdeveloped, in your words, undercompetent-
that’s how you made me see myself! …

          This may as well be the official letter all postcolonial subjects post to the former Empires for it speaks of the mental slavery. (Wordpress)

         Thus, after studying works by these two different writers, we can say that when any western writer writes about any third world country, he glorifies his own empire but when writer wrote for his own country, he more focuses on the marginal identities and their problems which he has himself experienced. So, we can say that ‘Colonialism can’t be die’. If once we colonized, it remain forever, we can’t escape from it. It is still present in our mind in different way like when we use many things like English (colonizer’s) language, their ceremonies like Ring ceremony, things like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, their game Cricket which becomes the popular game of India. We have to think that,

                      Are we really free from colonial rule in this 21st century?

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