POST-COLONIALISM

Arranged by:

Kinkin Susansi

Faculty of Letters English Department

University of Pamulang
2013

DEFINITION
Post-colonialism (or Postcolonialism) is the outlook and
studies as responses to colonial subjugation of European or
Western to Third and Fourth-world that emerged in 70s.
However, its not only talking about Western colonial
subjugation but also various reality of injustice, culture and
gender domination, sexual orientation issues, social class,
subaltern people experiences, etc.
Thus in literature, it is an interaction and reaction in
colonial societies and the effects of colonial practices on
literary productions.
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POST-COLONIAL MAIN CONCEPTS

MIMICRY
The copying of the colonizing culture, behavior, manners and values by the colonized
contains both mockery and a certain menace, so that mimicry is at once resemblance
and menace.
(Bhabha 1994:86).

From the theory of Homi K. Bhabha, mimicry is a concept of

imitating colonisers behaviors intended to mock which can
appear as a parody in literature. Its a sort of anti-colonial
movement in literature that producing social-political works.
Mimicry is a severe criticism as an implement to resist
colonization. The most radical anti-colonial writers often
called the mimic men.
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HYBRIDITY
HYBRIDITY
The fusion of two traditions to which create new transcultural elements and produce a double identity that
contradicted, as a colonizer and colonized at the same
time.
In literature, it causes ambivalency and confusing whether it
is oppossing or supporting colonialism. Because for
whatever, post-colonial texts suppose to uncontaminated by
the colonialist's concepts.
In this perspective, texts which are anti-colonial, which reject the premises of colonialists
intervention ( the civilizing mission, the rejuvenation of stagnant cultures ) might be regarded as
post colonial insofar as they have got beyond colonialism and its ideologies, broken free of its
lures to a point from which to mount a critique or counter attack.
( Childs & Williams 1997 : p. 4 )
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ORIENTALISM
ORIENTALISM
...It is, rather than expresses, a certain will or intention to understand, in some cases
to control, manipulate, even incorporate, what is a manifestly different world
(Said 1978: 12).

In Edward Saids book Orientalism it is clear that

orientalism is the project of European/Western for having
authority over the orient and reconstruct in European
thinking. In another word, its the concept for dominating,
manipulating, exploiting the orient. An interestedness in
Orient world recorded in so many Western texts.

UNIVERSALISM / UNIVERSALITY

Universalism is Eurocentric view that claims their

civilizations in experiences and values are the standard for
all humanity.

In literature, we are often told that what makes

Shakespeare great is his ability to reveal something of
the universal human condition. Universalism gives
assumption that European equals universal. Its the way
of European to elevate their status. That is why
universalism rejected by post-colonialism.

Universalism is a strategy of imperialism and colonialism

by saying the universal features of humanity are the
characteristics of those who occupy positions of political
dominance in this case, European/Western.
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 Post-colonial is synonym with post-independence or the

era after the independence when the colonialists had left
the country. However, their concepts still remain and their
practices are still used up to now.
The concept of ruling class is significant in colonialism. As
we see today in our community, for it is a fact that
concept still exists. There are gaps between the Rich and
Poor, the Superior and Inferior, the Lord and Servant, the
Aristocrat and Commoner, or the hegemony and
subaltern. They are two contradict aspects to play the
roles as the colonizer and colonized just like in colonial
era. These are the reasons that gave birth to post-colonial
literary productions in purpose to reject that concept and
meant to be the theme of many post-colonial literary
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works.

METHODS OF ANALYSIS

In analysis of post-colonial literature is examined:

Historical aspect
Trace the history of colonialism and subjugation during the colonial
period. In this case, theres always the subject and the object of
colonialism.
Physical and psychological aspect
Oppression and intimidation, are the ways to make colonized feel
weak, frightened, devaluate pride, submissive, and obedient to the
colonizer.
Ideological aspect
In whose perspective it is narrated , colonizer or colonized?
Gender aspect
man as colonizer, woman as colonized.
Cultural aspect
Domination of a certain culture,
including ethnicity, race and
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religion.

POST-COLONIAL LITERARY ANALYSIS

NINETEEN HUNDRED AND NINETEEN

William Butler Yeats
...
All teeth were drawn, all ancient tricks unlearned,
And a great army but a showy thing;
What matter that no cannon had been turned
Into a ploughshare? Parliament and king
Thought that unless a little powder burned
The trumpeters might burst with trumpeting
And yet it lack all glory; and perchance
The guardsmens drowsy chargers would not prance.
Now days are dragon-ridden, the nightmare
Rides upon sleep: a drunken soldiery
Can leave the mother, murdered at her door,
To crawl in her own blood, and go scot-free;
The night can sweat with terror as before
We pieced our thoughts into philosophy,
And planned to bring the world under a rule,
Who are but weasels fighting in a hole.
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...

William Butler Yeats is Irelands most famous poet, dramatist, critic,

Senator and post-colonial writer. Yeatss position as postcolonial
writer is a polemic because of his double identity. For his post-colonial
works "Meditation in Time of Civil War" and "Nineteen Hundred and
Nineteen", Yeats's position is to live in an in between status. Two key
elements in post-colonialism describing his identities as the colonized
and colonizer, it called the concepts of ambivalence and hybridity.
Note: Post-colonial critics, Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin in The Empire Writes
Back exclude Ireland from the list of postcolonial nations. On the other hand, Edward Said,
inCulture and Imperialism, argues that Ireland is a postcolonial nation.

The title of this poem, Nineteen Hundred and Nineteen is the year
in which the Anglo-Irish war began. This political poem explores the
human condition where the things most precious arelost in violence.
Many of the Irish patriots were connected intimately with Yeats, had
hoped that the time would freeing their country from the English
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subjugation.

CONCLUSION
Post-colonialism realized that even though the colonial era has
finished yet, but the practices have not come to an end and now
has turned it face into neo-colonialism.
In post-colonial perspective, literary works emerged to unveil
subjugation, injustice, violence, discrimination, inequality, to
sound the marginal and subaltern people, so that from postcolonial productions yielded social and political products.
Post-colonial literature is a kind of literary work which describes
realistic experience of what really happens around us and to
remind dont just shut our eyes. It is believe that one voice could
lead into a betterment for our future and society.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
-----Barry, Peter (2009) Beginning Theory: An Introduction
to Literary and Cultural Theory, Manchester: Manchester
University Press.
-----Endraswara, Suwardi (2013) Metodologi Penelitian
Sastra, Yogyakarta: CAPS.
-----Ashcroft, Bill, et al. (2007) Post-Colonial Studies: The
Key Concepts, London and New York: Routledge.
-----Ashcroft, Bill, et al. (2003) The Post-Colonial Studies
Reader, London and New York: Routledge.

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