postcolonial Literature assignment

Name : Ruchita Kankrecha

Roll No : 29

Paper Name : Postcolonialism

Enrolment no : 2069108420190024

Topic name : Imagery Homeland by Salman Rushdie

Class : MA Sem 3

Submitted to : Department of English

College : SMT. S. B. Gardi Department of English

As we know that the postmodernism related to one literary movement called Modernism. The same way the postcolonialism is related to colonial movement. Postcolonial movement is a broad changing movement. The term postcolonialism became popular in North American University and in literary departments. This term can be understood as the multiple political, economic, cultural, philosophical responsesto colonialism etc. The postcolonial movement offers a challenge to Colonial movement. Postcolonialism is highly ambitious. If you want to understand this term than first you have to understand or to define the colonialism. So colonialism means the practice by which powerful country controls less power country and they think that they are more educated or intelligent than other people. Colonialism is close in meaning to Imperialism. So postcolonialism writers reject the mater narration or question Universality of literature. There were following postcolonial voices.

1.                  GayatriSpivak

2.                  Edward Said

3.                  HomiBhabha

4.                  Julia Kristva

5.                  Henry Louis Gates etc.

Imperialism:

Best understood not by trying to pin it down to a Single semantic meaning but by relating its shifting meaning to historical process. Direct rule is not necessary for Imperialism. Imperialism is a highest stage of colonialism. Imperialism is not understand only as a political system but also as an economic system.

Toady, the entire world is postcolonial. A country may be both post colonial and neo colonial at the same time. The new global order does not depend upon direct rule. However it does allow the economic, cultural and political penetration of some countries by others. When we talk about knowledge at that time as we believe that knowledge is not innocent but profoundly connected with the operations of power. Colonialism reshaped existing structures of human knowledge. No branch of knowledge was left untouched by the colonial experience.

Postcolonial society resists the Western encroachments through nationalism. So the postcolonial studies have focused on the third world countries in Africa, Asia, The Caribbean Islands and especially in south America. Some of the critics also focuses on other countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand which archived independence much earlier than the third world countries. One of the most interesting book to practice in this field of study was Orientalism by Edward Said. Postcolonial writers in English language as

1.                  The African Chinua Acheba and Wole Soyinka

2.                  V. S. Naipul

3.                   Salman Rushdie

4.                  Derek Walcott

5.                  G. V. Desani etc.

Michel Foucault’s Theory Power and Knowledge:

If you want to study postcolonialism than this theory may help you to understand things in a better way. Michael Foucault was well known in French for his political activism. Foucault said that, power and knowledge are not as independent entities but are inextricably related. Your knowledge creates your power. For example, The British people always think that they are more knowledgeable people or intellectual people than Indian. So power always a function of knowledge. We can observe that how knowledge makes use of knowledge and power creates its own field of Exercise through knowledge. So knowledge can be seen as fact or information and a good skill acquired by a person through Education and power can be seen as the capacity to influence the behaviour of others. So knowledge is power and power is knowledge. Michael Foucault this theory is best theory to understand postcolonial studies. For example,

In black skin white mask by Frantz Fanon, he talked in chapter one – The Negro or black people and the language – he said that to live in French, Caribbean or black people have to understand their language because they are believed that our language is good language and black people who are using dialect Creole language is not so good language. So we can see the inspect of French language on Black people. Here we can find this theory power and knowledge. Obviously, black people believe that they are more intellectual than Black people. We can find issue of the language.

Imaginary Homeland by Salma Rushdie :

To understand this essay which is written by Salam Rushdie, first we have to understand the title of the essay or to understand this title we have to understand three main points which are related to Salman Rushdie’s life and with this essay.

1.                   Diaspora

2.                  Homeland

3.                  Hostland

4.                  The Idea of Home

1.                  Diaspora :

Diaspora means when you leave your own country and move to another country. In other nation they are writing about their own nation. Like Salman Rushdie is not living in India but we can find his Essay on India. The main issue of Diasporic writers is their Identity which are closely connected with their native place. Diasporic writers has no one particular home. When we say home at that time we refers to specific place. Diasporic writers can not say that time is my home. Their home is their native place. It is very difficult to live in other countries because you are not sure that they will accept you in their nation or not and may you suffer a lot. So they have only Image of their of in other nation and that’s why Salman Rushdie give the title of the essay is “Imaginary Homeland”.

2.                  The concept of homeland :

So the Concept of homeland is imagination for them. Salman Rushdie can not say that India is my home even he is Bornin India or the other country in which he is living is his home. If you are living in your homeland, than no need to introduce your self because everyone knows you that you are living in this country.

3.                  The concept of Hostland :

Hostland means your other nation place in which you are living but first we have to think that they will accept us or not. For example, if you are host of some event at that time you are accepting everything or not. You are accepting other nations writer or their writing or not. Hostland provides you your necessary things like they will give you land, clothes or Food but you can not find the idea of Relatively or nativity which are connected with Home. If you want to live their than you have to create relationship or you have to prove yourself. So we can find difference between homeland and Hostland. Homeland is your own home and in Hostland you have to prove yourself self and have to create your own identity otherwise it is just a place where you are living.

So Salman Rushdie talking about this things in his Essay. When you leave something, you may not achieve the thing as it was. You can’t go back and you create this kind of situation.

“As a diasporic writer, Salman Rushdie has to creates Imaginary Homeland “.

So Salman Rushdie now just imagine that in India it may happen but he can not come back to his nation. In Britain he just think about his land and may write about it. To write about you nation, you only imagine about it because you can find changes in your nation and you don’t have any idea about this because you are not living there. Now time and place both are different for you.

When we see the India of Midnight’s children we comes to know that that was old India not new one and you can not see India like you see it before. With reference to Midnight’s Children.

When we are talking about Diaspora at that time we also have to think about the idea of Acceptance. As we know that you are not living in your country, and in other nation at that time you have to think that the other nation will accept you or not or if they will accept in which extend. They will Judge you by your look. As we know that,

“Writers and politicians are natural rivals. Novel is one way of dying the official political version of truth. “

When we are trying to understand other people at that time first they think about their native place and they always think if he or she is living in this particular place than they are not good or Bad. So in their mind they already Judge you by your look.They always believes that Indian are Savage. They have power to Judge you.In Rushdie’s all essay we can find the idea of Acceptance.

The Idea of Home :

The idea of Home is static or we can not change. The idea Home is associated with linear lifestyle.For example, if you don’t have your own, at that time people will Judge you in a different way. To understand this we have to understand the lifestyle of ‘Vanjara’. The life of Diasporic writer is like ‘Vanjara’. If you are living in other countries for Studying you may feel this in a better way. If you don’t have one home than you are wondered or Refugees. So diasporic writers consider as they have no home.

Salman Rushdie is living in England and England provides him with all the necessity. But if England authorities denied him to live in their nation, than what he will do or where he will go.

Imaginary Homeland :

In the Essay, we can find some interesting points such as

1.                  The paradox of Broken mirror or Fragmented identity

2.                  Hybridity

3.                  Metaphor of Cinema

4.                  The struggle of man against power

1.                  The paradox of Broken image :

In this essay, examples are from Midnight’s children.

“The broken mirror may actually be as valuable as the one which is supposedly unflawed. “

He said that before beginning midnight children, he spent many months trying simply to recall as much of the Bombay of the 1950s and 1960s.The paradox of a broken mirror is associated with broken or fragmented identity.As we know that diasporic writers have no particular identity, their identity is fragmented identity. Theirname is different, their work is different. For example, Salman Rushdie belongs to Indian, then after partition, he moves to Pakistan and then he moves to Britain. So he belongs to three different places. So their Identity is broken identity. As we now that broken mirror is not full mirror-like diasporic writers. In the mirror, you can find your reflection but if the mirror is broken and you see your self in broken pieces. It is associated with self.

2.                  Hybridity :

The paradox of the broken mirror is also associated with Hybridity. Hybridity means when two different things merge together and develop something. For example, the identity ofMulatto. Rushdie also talking about religion. For example, if the father is Muslim and mother is Hindu, thenit is also a hybrid identity. There is not skin problem like Mulatto identity is facing but the question of their identity. What is my religion Hindus or Muslim?He/she may get the idea after 20 years. So Rushdie is talking about the issue of Hybridity. So if you are Hybrid identity you have to prove your self in others countries.

3.                  Metaphor of cinema screen :

It is difficult to understand the diasporic writers because they are belongs to not one country. Salma said that,

“Suppose yourself in a large cinema, sitting at first in the back row, and gradually moving up.. Until your nose is almost pressed again the screen. “

It is believed that when you go back and back you maybe understand the thing in a better way. Like you may understand nation to gender or gender to identity crisis etc. The idea of this essay is also talking about thisas your distance gives you more understanding. When diasporic write sees his/her nation closely at that time they may not find the real issues but if they see this thing from distance they may get more things.Distance gives you more clarity. Examples, our nation has many issues like poverty.