Option 1:Pulling upon our readings and category treatments, write an essay that focuses on a specific thought or textual consequence in any one of the novels we have read ( if you wish to reflect on any two novels, you may ) . Your essay should develop a coherent undertaking that shows your apprehension of the issues we have been analysing in category, and makes thoughtful usage of the plants of literary and cultural theory we have been reading.
The presence of colonial discourse is apparent throughout both novels of ‘Season of Migration to the North ‘ and ‘Heart of Darkness ‘ ; The presence of colonial discourse is apparent in both texts throughout although it is most outstanding in relation to the sexual relationships depicted in the Season of Migration and the geographic expedition of the nature of colonialism severally. Heart of Darkness portrays the position of the colonizer through the narrative of Kurtz ; Season of Migration to the North subverts this portraiture and chooses to convey the character of Mustafo ; a adult male influenced by colonialism ; a merchandise of both English and Sudanese civilizations who holding been affected by colonization inherently partakes in his ain version by agencies of sexual dealingss with western adult females. The character of Sa’eed can be seen as an effort to overthrow happenings of colonialism “In a signifier of retaliation for the colonial “taking” of his state, Sa’eed devotes himself to scoring English adult females by presenting as the fulfillment of their Orientalist fantasies” ( Jabbar 191 )
‘Heart of Darkness ‘ utilises a storyteller in the character of Marlow to state the narrative of Kurtz ; a adult male who acts as the colonizer come ining the Congo to achieve wealth, power and finally a God-like position. Kurtz in the text travels to the Congo and succeeds in achieving position and wealth but finally succumbs to the unwellness brought on by being in the Congo, the topographic point that enabled him to come in a God like position. A character comparable to Kurtz is present in Season of Migration the character of Mustafa can be seen to mirror the character of Kurtz.
“ Everything belonged to him—but that was a trifle. The thing was to cognize what he belonged to, how many powers of darkness claimed him for their ain. That was the contemplation that made you creepy all over. It was impossible—it was non good for one either—trying to conceive of. He had taken a high place amongst the Satans of the land—I mean literally. ”( Conrad 67 )
By contrast to ‘Heart of Darkness ‘ ‘Season of Migration to the North ‘s colonial elements of the novel are transfixed with the geographic expedition of gender as a nonliteral and actual agencies of colonization. Mustafa when contrasted to a nonliteral look of colonialism like Kurtz ends up moving as a corruption of what we might traditionally believe of a colonized state or a adult male ; Mustafa can be seen to authorise himself through his travels to a colonizer state and so continue to utilize sex as a agency to accomplish a signifier of retaliation or authorization of conquering through sexually conquest western adult females. The mirroring of Kurtz is besides present in their several ruins ; while Kurtz succumbs to illness in the jungle Mustafa ends up taking his ain life to be able to link with the adult female he could n’t to the full suppress using traits akin to colonization ” quotation mark ” with his Orientalism position. Using beastly force akin to colonizers like Kurtz he opts to kill her which inherently leads to his ain death.
Oriental studies is diversely defined as a ‘western manner for ruling, raising and holding authorization over the East ” ( Porter 150 ) .
“the desire for a reformed, recognizable Other, as a topic of a difference that is about the same, but non rather. ” ( Bhaba 86 )
redolent miagery hearkening to somthing that could be akin to the barbarians present in ‘Heart of Darkness ‘ “ a bare, crude animal, a lance in one manus and pointers in the other, runing elephants and king of beastss in the jungle ” ( Salih 38 ) .
Taking this into history we can reason that through achieving what Europe has to offer in footings of instruction, this authorization enables the supporter to turn over outlooks of colonialism and inherently rule Western adult females psychologically and sexually in a contrasting mode to how Europe contraolled his state. “ it is Europe that articulates the East ” ( Said 57 )
“ The infection had stricken these adult females a thousand old ages ago, but I had stirred up the latent deepnesss of the disease until it had got out of control and killed ” ( Salih 34 ) . It is suggested in this quotation mark that Mustafa has acted in such a manner as to do the adult females post colonial realise the
“ How unusual! How dry! Merely because a adult male has been created on the Equator some huffy people regard him as a slave, others a God. Where lies the mean? Where the center land? ” ( Salih 108 ) .
The development of the gender of adult females and finally the causing of their deceases can be seen as an fable for the mode in which colonizers went into states and pilfered what they could from these states without respect for the indigens who occupied the state before the colonizers even arrived. “These misss were killed non by Mustafa Sa’eed but by the source of a deathly disease that assailed them a thousand old ages ago.” ( Salih 29 ) In footings of Orientalism
“Over there is like here, neither better nor worse. But I am from here, merely as the day of the month thenar standing in the courtyard of our house has grown in our house and non in anyone else’s. The fact that they came to our land, I know non why, does that intend we should poison our present and future? ” ( 41 ) The storyteller is inclined towards rejecting the influence of colonizers comparing them to something toxicant that interferes with the natural order of his civilization. The storyteller besides illustrates a contempt for colonizers stating that he does n’t cognize why they came to his land ; although ironically he spent clip in England perusal, inherently allowing cognition inaccessible in his ain state of Sudan. This contradiction in footings can perchance seen as an effort to return outlooks of colonialisation ; the storyteller is at a hamlets with colonalisation holding given him a voice through instruction nevertheless ironically he utilises this appropriated cognition to build his ideal of rejecting the influence of the Europe in his state.
Mufasta can besides be seen in similar footings ; going to England and prosecuting in force efficaciously suppressing adult females at that place ; in a brooding mode similar to how England invaded Sudan.
“How unusual! How dry! Merely because a adult male has been created on the Equator some huffy people regard him as a slave, others as a God. Where lies the mean? Where the in-between manner? ” ( 89 )
“I feel hatred and seek retaliation ; my antagonist is within and I needs must face him… I begin from where Mustafa Sa’eed had left off. Yet he at least made a pick, while I have chosen nothing.” ( 111 ) Mustafa chose to reject the merger of civilizations and the determinations that amalgamation prompted him to move upon ; in perpetrating self-destruction he inherently rejects the troublesome hamlets of civilizations that have shaped him into going the adult male he is. The merger of both Sudanese and British civilizations can be seen as negative in this visible radiation as it has in a manner motivated Mustafa to destruct the lives of four adult females alongside his ain. The conquering of these adult females can be seen in the same visible radiation as Brittan ‘s conquering over Sudan, would both states have been better off if they had ne’er interacted?
The writer portrays that a signifier of Orientalism is used by the supporter in order to lure adult females into being interested in him “Unlike me, she yearned for tropical climates, cruel Suns, violet skylines. In her eyes I was a symbol of all her hankerings” ( 27 Salih ) Using the agencies of Orientalism and the West ‘s involvement in cultures other than their ain, the writer is portraying a figment of this phenomenon here. A melding of both civilizations is present in the character of the supporter ; he is desirable to western adult females for being Arabic which carries with it an built-in exoticism, alongside being respected to some grade by his ain people for holding attained such a high degree of instruction in a far-off state.
Said explains that the events of Mustafa Sa’eed’s life presented in the fresh correspond chronologically with major events in the history of European imperialism in the Arab universe ; for case… “ Mustafa is born in 1898, the same twelvemonth as the Battle of Omdurman during which British General Sir Herbert Kitchener defeated the ground forces of Abdullah al-Taashi in order to suppress Sudan. ”
Similarly to Heart of Darkness Season of Migration concerns utilises the figure of speech of a journey, non merely a actual river edge journey but besides a spiritually inclned psychological journey. “ the journey inside every bit much as from the outskirts of Khartoum to the small town at the crook of the Nile. ” In Heart of Darkness this takes the signifier of
Ultimately the presence of colonial hamlets inherently cause the events of the novel to play out ; rejection of the traditional British reign inherently leaves a grade on the state which is portrayed through the character of Mustafa ; like England taking advantage of his state he takes advantage of English adult females during his travels at that place.
Heavily symbolic next-to-last point of the fresh Acts of the Apostless as a description of how colonialism affected the country the novel is set in.
“ I heard the echo of the river and the puttering of the H2O pump. Turning to left and right, I found that I was half manner between north and south, I was unable to go on, unable to return ” ( Salih 167 ) .
The description of the H2O pump besides portrays the integrating of engineering into the country which can be inherently seen as a description of integrating of both civilizations, the technology art of the West and the civilization of the E. The meeting of both civilizations in this case consequences in an merger which is turned on its caput, values taken from one civilization make non incorporate good with the other ; this ties in with the characters as good ; the storyteller attempts to happen himself in this case “ If I am unable to forgive, so I shall seek to bury ” ( 168-9 ) With this realization and built-in call for aid “ I screamed with all my staying strength, ‘Help! Aid! ” ( 169 ) The storyteller holding literally and figuratively floated between both civilizations is eventually accepting that he has to reject the yesteryear of both his place civilization and British instruction ; and carve out a sense of individuality for himself as due to his experiences with both civilizations he is inherently ‘othered ‘ to both of them asking the demand for such a realization and determination.
Oriental studies is used in the novel as a agency of authorization for Mustaf but finally this power is overturned a 2nd clip inherently doing mustaf to slay a adult female he could n’t command. It can be argued that the ground Jean Morris is so strongly critical to Sa’eed ‘s life is because she is one adult female who is non unfastened to being submissive to Sa’eed ‘s Orientalism ; this deficiency of subordination is the ground he kills her.
The storyteller Narrator alarmed by this development finds himself drifting between individualities both literally and figuratively ; between Sudan and England, the storyteller ends up rejecting both as he can non place to the full with either ; he chooses to populate his ain life under his ain individuality free from being concerned with the yesteryear.
The storyteller holding realised the truth about mustafa ‘s nature comes upon a which prompts him into literally drifting between his two cultural backgrounds, likewise in Heart of Darkness Kurtz ‘ comes upon a realization merely prior to his decease stating “The horror! The horror! ” ( Conrad p.29 ) when eventually came upon the realization of the nature of colonialism. Likewise Mustafa found this realization to be psychologically lay waste toing and allow the river take him under.
Bibliography
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Capital of delaware, 1902. Print.
Bhabba, Homi. “Of Mimicry and Man: The Ambivalence of Colonial Discourse.” The Location of Culture. London: Routledge Press, 1994.
Yahya Ali Abdullah Idriss
Season of migration to the North and the narrative of the Sudanese State: Hopes and hindrances
Tran, Danielle. “ An geographic expedition of the usage of colonial discourse within Mustafa Sa’eed’s interracial relationships in Season of Migration to the North. ” Web. 2010.
Willams, P. Chrisman L. Colonial Discourse & A ; Post-colonial theory: A reader. New York: Columbia UP, 1994. Text.
Oriental studies
By Edward W. Said
