Introduction
There are many perspectives to the question of the significance of literature in society. Literature can be, and has, been, used for divergent purposes over its long history. In order to better conceptualize the goals of literature, all the possible goals that literature might be used to realize have over time come to be embedded in theory. When this happens, these theories tend to include not only the objective aspect of literature but they also stretch to the realms of form, historical setting and medium among others.
The post colonialism theory of literature is one such theory. In this essay, I will seek to examine the functions and significance of the short story “The Whale” by Witi Ihimaera and “The English Patient,” a novel, by Canadian Michael Ondaatje. I will also conduct a comparison of the two as regards the significance of story telling. It will also be my goal to assess the significance of perspective in understanding these two works of literature. All this will be done within the confines of the postcolonial theory of literature.
It would be important to first understand what the postcolonial theory of literature entails. First of all, ‘Postcolonial’ is a difficult term to conceptualize. As it obviously implies, it means ‘after colonialism’, this is however hardly helpful since there are many ways to conceptualize it (Rukundwa and Aarde 67).
Firstly, postcolonial may be considered in temporal terms, that is, as a historical period subsequent to the end of colonialism (Childs and Williams 3; Kehinde 36). Such a definition would however imply an overtly perceptible end of colonialism. In practical terms however, it is almost impossible to do so since colonialism itself is a hugely complex manifestation that hardly requires the annexation and occupation of foreign territories by another state to be referred to as such.
The departure of Europeans out of Africa, and the end of their exercise of direct rule over African territories, was soon to be followed by another form of colonialism popularly known as neo-colonialism. If it were to be proved therefore that some elements of this new form of colonialism are still being exercised today, it would be impossible to use the term neocolonialism with any African state as its referent.
At the same time, it becomes hard to set the demarcations of when and where the term should cease to be used since most of the nations that came to be colonizers had at one time been colonized too (Childs and Williams 3). As such, the temporal use of the word postcolonial is rather simplistic.
A second perspective of post colonialism is that which occasionally employs the compound term ‘post-colonialism’ which alludes to the act of ‘getting over,’ ‘superseding’ or ‘overcoming’ colonialism (Childs and Williams 4). Seen this way, post-colonial becomes that state when the colonized overcome and begin to dismantle the ideologies of the colonizers (Childs and Williams 4).
Since colonialism is mostly accompanied by the subordination of the history of one people to another’s, and the slow obliteration of the culture of the colonized, the post-colonial therefore is mostly occupied with the proactive rewriting of the colonized people’s history and the reaffirmation of the lost culture (Childs and Williams’ 13). This second definition of postcolonial will be adopted for the sake of this essay. It should however be noted that it does not in any way render post-colonialism a history free affair (Childs and Williams 22).
Discussion
“The English Patient” is a novel written by Michael Ondaatje who is Sri Lankan Canadian. It is about a Hungarian man who got burnt beyond recognition after their plane was shot down by the Germans during the Second World War. He is however thought to be English due to his accent and his apparent loss of memory. It is because of him that we get to know all the other characters; and eventually because of him, the other characters are able to get over the great inner pain of their pasts.
“The Whale” on the other hand, a short story by Witi Ihimaera, chronicles the last moments of a Maori elder. Through these dying moments, we are vividly introduced to his impassioned grief for the dying ways of his people. We also get a peek into his past through his vivid flashbacks regarding his endeavors to rejuvenate interest in Maori culture, though he is greatly outmatched by the western ways which are more appealing to the Maori youth.
Like aforementioned, the most important reason why postcolonial writers tell stories is in order to achieve a reaffirmation of identity. This is for the reason that the question of identity seems to encompass all other functions of postcolonial literature such as the rewriting of the subjects’ history, the reaffirmation of lost culture and attempt at salvaging the relevance of the language of the subjects. Colonization is often accompanied by the wholesome rewriting of the subjects’ history, culture and identity.
This is important for the colonizers because through it the colonization enterprise finds moral credence (Kahinde 35). Through a sustained effort at riding the subjects of their self-awareness and their past, the colonizers seek, not to turn them into their exact replicas, but something of mere parodies of themselves.
Post-colonialism is therefore characterized by a need to regain the lost identity of the subjects. This process, of actualizing the yearning for the more than often romanticized past, is called decolonization (Ashcroft et al, 58). Inherent in it is the subjects’ need to find themselves, and to take to pieces the imposed identities of the colonizers.
This function of postcolonial literature, of redeeming the identity of a colonized people, is most vivid in “The Whale.” A nameless old Maori, the last of his generation from his extended family, rues the loss of the Maori culture in the face of the ‘Pakeha’, the white people (Ihimaera 623). The institutions, artifacts and history of the Maori past are no longer revered by the Maori youth.
They have been defaced, completely denuded of significance. For instance, the old man is deeply saddened by the fact that people go into the Meeting house in shoes, and smoke and drink beer in it too (Ihimaera 624). The Meeting house stores the history of the Maori and is seen to symbolize the life giving qualities of a people’s culture (Ihimaera 622).
The youth have however been carried away by the glitz of the cities of the white people and they have not only forgotten their culture but also come to regard it redundant. This loss of culture is at a more fundamental level the loss of identity since cultures establish the idea of otherness.
Cultural identity is the result of the differentiation between ‘us’ and ‘them’ (Ashcroft et al 9). In “The White Whale” however, this yardstick for identity is slowly being eaten up by the western culture. In essence, what the old man therefore regrets is the gradual loss of the Maori identity.
In the novel “The English Patient,” the idea of otherness is, first found in the character of Kip. While he came from a culture that had all the reasons to be anti-British, he himself has nothing against them and even willingly joins the British army as a sapper. He is ready to adopt a binary identity that takes care of both his Indian ancestry and his willing assimilation into English culture.
However much he tries to fit, he finds out, in the English eyes, it was impossible for him to lose the quality of ‘otherness.’ To the ordinary Englishman, he is made conspicuous by his turban and his dark skin, telling him apart from the others.
Even though, for instance, he is considered a friend by Lord Suffolk, in spite of his race, a patronizing aspect is to be found in their relationship, the kind that characterizes the colonizer-colonized interaction. Their friendship not withstanding, Kip cannot escape the ‘other’ identity in the eyes of Lord Suffolk,
The perception of Kip by the other characters in the novel is transitory. At first, he is perceived as the member of another culture, a Sikh, owing to his turban and his dark skin. Later, on his occupation coming to light, his identity changes and he becomes known as ‘the sapper.’ It is only after sufficient rapport has been established between him and the others that he becomes ‘Kip.’
The essence of this change of Kip’s perception by the others is that he at first is merely an anonymous member of a foreign race and therefore not worth humanizing. It takes prolonged scrutiny for him to be eventually accepted into the ‘human family.’ Identity is seen here to be hinged on racial and religious concepts. His dark skin and turban are of more significance than the English ways he has adopted.
The second reason why these stories are told is in order to show the complexity of the colonized people’s identity. This shows that even if they are engaged in trying to recover lost identities, this can never really happen. The novel foregrounds the idea of a blurred identity through the English patient himself.
He is first presented to us as a white in black skin (from the burns). He is immediately assumed to be English, owing to his accent. We however learn later that he is not even English; he is Hungarian.
This difficulty of identifying who the English patient exactly was is representative of the identity crisis resulting from the colonization of quite a significant part of the world by European powers. The same duality of identity can be seen in Kip. He is Indian by race but culturally, he has on his own volition, adopted English ways. As such, he is neither English nor Indian.
The same thing could be said of the Maori youth in Ihimaera’s ‘The Whale.’ Hera is a Maori girl. In her childhood, her grandfather, the protagonist of the story, sees in her a potential for the propagation of the Maori culture. The ways of the whites however become too strong for her on maturation and she no longer reveres the counsel of her grandfather.
She considers the Maori culture a way of the past which is completely alien and without use for members of her generation. The question therefore becomes exactly how Hera would identify herself. She is neither Maori nor white. She therefore presents a duality of identity as can be seen in Kip and the English patient.
The third reason why postcolonial stories exist is in order to give a voice to the oppressed. Subjects of colonialism aren’t normally offered channels to express themselves. When such stories are written therefore, their feelings, opinions and grievances get to be heard. In achieving this communication, they hope to be sympathized with and to be understood.
It could be agued that through Kip, Ondjaate gives a voice to the colonized. The same function can be applied to Ihimaera’s elder in “The Whale.” The old man expresses profound grief for the lost culture of the Maori. He could be seen as the symbolic voice of the dying culture itself ruing its inability to capture the imagination of the Maori youth.
Postcolonial literature here therefore takes up the function of giving a voice to the subjects of colonization. We, as readers, sympathize with Kip because of his rejection by people he definitely reveres. Similarly, we are deeply moved by the grief of the dying Maori old man. When we empathize with these two characters, we do so too with the whole of the cultures they represent. In so doing, we see these cultures in different light.
Postcolonial stories are also told in order to help dismantle the ideologies perpetuated by the colonizers. The English patient is portrayed as helpless and reliant on the goodwill of others for survival. He is no longer the subject, as the English are known or supposed to be. He is dependent on “on Hana, the Canadian nurse, on the Nomadic Bedouin, on the thief Caravaggio, and on Kip, the Sikh sapper,” to keep alive (Ty). This represents the deconstruction of the idea of English hegemony.
This is also a function of postcolonial literature. It seeks to undermine the notions perpetuated by the colonizers for the sake of propagating oppression. For instance, the colonizers might be portrayed as infallible and inviolate as a way of discouraging revolt. This godlike impression would be deconstructed, for instance, by portraying a member of the oppressing group as vulnerable. Such is the function of the English patient’s vulnerability in the novel.
Perspective, or point of view, is a concept of great import in postcolonial theory. It is not how something is seen that matters but rather in whose eyes it is seen that way. Perspective is therefore what colors colonial discourse. As such, undoing the colonially inherited points of view is another function of postcolonial literature. In “The English Patient,” this has been clearly brought out. Kip sees himself as nothing short of English.
This does not however affect in any way how ‘authentic’ English people view him. In their eyes, he still is Indian, the superb example of ‘the other.’ Here, what matters is really not who Kip is but rather, in whose eyes he is who he is. At the same time, a novel perspective is presented for looking at the English. The English patient is needy and vulnerable which serve as a contrast to the perpetuated image of the English as powerful and in control.
While the concept of perspective has not been so overtly dwelt on in the “The Whale,” it nonetheless does bring itself to light. In the eyes of the old man, for instance, Hera, along with her fellow youth, is no more Maori than the ‘Pakeha.’ ‘Maoriness,’ in the eyes of the old man, is not a matter of birth.
It rather is the conscious reverence and adherence to the ancient ways of the Maori people. Perspective is an offshoot of the idea of ‘otherness.’ It is through perspective that ‘otherness’ finds expression.
Conclusion
The interest that postcolonial literature has commanded attests to its significance. The undoing of the aftermath of the colonial enterprise of the European powers in the 20th Century has yet to be completed.
Until such a time when the legacy of colonialism will be declared completely impotent, if this were ever possible, it will be the function of postcolonial thought and literature to set the agenda for the process of decolonization. This is clearly seen in the two works of literature discussed above.
Works Cited
Ashcroft, Bill, G. Gareth and H. Tiffin. Post-Colonial Studies: The Key Concepts Second edition, New York: Routledge, 2007. Print.
Childs, Peter and Williams Patrick. An Introduction to Post-colonial Theory, London: Prentice Hall, 1992. Print.
Kehinde, Ayo. “Post-Colonial Literatures as Counter Discourse: J M Coetzee’s Foe and the Reworking of the Canon.” Journal of African Literature and culture, (2004): 34-57.
Ondaatje, Michael. The English Patient, New York: Vintage International, 1992. Print.
Rukundwa, Lazare & Aarde, Andries. “The formation of postcolonial theory.” HTS, 63.3 (2007): 1171-1194. Print.
Ty, Eleanor. 2010. “The Other Questioned: Exoticism and Displacement in Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient.” The International Fiction Review 27.1 (2010): Web.