Thinking Activity: In the context of A Grain of Wheat
Representations of Natives by Colonizer in
A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi Wa Thiong’o and
A Grain of Wheat(1967) by Ngugi Wa Thiong’o
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o known for showing his concern for
the native people who becomes the victim of colonizer as well as his novels
also explore the horrible effect of colonialism and imperialism. In his work “A
Grain of Wheat” he presented the Maumau
Emergency by showing his concern for poor Kenyan people. In this masterpiece
work of him, he uses his characters to bring out the moral aspect of
colonization from both the perspective of the British and rural Kenyans. The
most important fact is that in this novel, Ngugi uses a local language as a
weapon against colonizer as he mostly used the Swahili words. The novel mainly deals with two major problems of Kenyan people: Mua Mua rebellion and most awaited independence movement. Along with it, the novel also deals with the racial and identity problems regarding it.
Robinson Crusoe by
Daniel Defoe
Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe in which he
represents a prototype of culture,region and ideology. The novel spins around
Robinson Cruose and his treatment towards the Friday. Robinson in search of
fortune went to the Africa to get slave who could be worked for his in Brazin
plantation. This led him to an island as his sheep was being wrecked. Though
the land did not belong to him, he started to build his own empire on him and started to treat Friday as his
slave.
He saved Friday and also taught him language.
Robinson named the
boy as a Friday(Christian name) without even asking his real name. How
far that was sounded fair?
It showcases that how white people used to look at
black native people as something that they were uncivilized or having not any
kind of morality.This colonial
mindset was well presented in the novel.
“laid his head upon the ground, and taking me by the
foot, set my foot upon his head”
Robinson crusoe: white master
Friday: Caribbean
Here Robinson stood as colonizer while Friday stood as
a colonized. Robinson also manier times
referred Friday as “NEGRO” in the novel. This basically shows white men’s
racist attitude. He also thought that Friday was not civilized and started to
taught him English language. It was reflected through these lines in the novel.
“ I was greatly delighted with him, and made it my
business to teach him everything that was proper to make him useful, handy and helpful; but especially to make him speak
and understand me when I speak…’
In this way it showed Crusoe’s objectives of teaching
Friday the English language and Western habits, Which somehow makes a sense of
considering white culture as a superior or negro culture as inferior. Along with
it there was also a scene in which Robinson tried to rid Friday of his
cannibalistic tendencies. Robinson also made a cloth for Friday without even
thinking that would he feel comfort in wearing it or not. In such way there are
several scenes which favours the superiority for white culture and inferiority
for black cultured people.
In nutshell, white society used to look at black
people as their inferior and tried to make them civilized by teaching them
white rules.
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