Throughout his essay, Marrakech, George Orwell utilizes a variety of stylistic and literary elements to convey a seemingly political message. Orwell’s clever use of vivid imagery, as demonstrated through his explicit word choice and sense of irony throughout the entire essay, serves to unveil the inhumane and dehumanizing effects of colonialism in Morocco. The various literary techniques used by Orwell, combined with the central theme of invisibility and noticing the commonly unnoticed, offers readers a thought-provoking piece of social and political commentary regarding the issue of colonialism and the consequences of turning a blind eye to its dehumanizing and long-lasting effects on the countries and populations it permeates. The essay, written from a first-person point of view in the dawn of World War II, leaves readers to believe that it is Orwell making the seemingly prejudiced observations and politically charged opinions regarding the noticeably invisible colonized people of Marrakech, himself. This stylistic choice of Orwell’s makes the overall tone of the …show more content…
Firewood was passing- that was how I saw it.” Here, Orwell appears to realize his own failure to notice the invisible people, falling victim to the dominant cultural norm of blindness and normalized disregard for the basic humanity of the colonized populations in Marrakech. In doing this Orwell, offers readers a chance to notice their own potential blindness to the effects of colonialism, racial discrimination and poverty that may be prevalent in their own
In Orwell’s reflective narrative, “Shooting an Elephant”, he reveals the truth on imperialism. Through the utilization of irony and the method of appeals, Orwell shows the reader that imperialism is just a definition because the people are in control, not Britain.
This itself alludes to America’s extreme response to communism during the Cold War era, under the influence of Senator Joe McCarthy. Similar to the paranoia that characterized the McCarthy era, Orwell’s dystopian society was expected to betray their friends, family and co-workers for the benefit of the state and themselves. This is made explicitly evident during Winston’s visit to the cafe, in which the telescreen sang; “Under the spreading chestnut tree/ I sold you and you sold me…”Foreshadowing Winston’s eventual betrayal of Maria in order to save himself, and his conformity to the party. Furthermore, the notion that “nothing was your own except the few cubic centimetres in your skull” becomes ironic as the novel develops in which the criminalisation of unorthodox ideologies leads to the punishment of “thoughtcrime”, and the eventual “vaporisation” of dissidents. This itself alludes to the ‘great purges’ that took place under the terror that characterized Joseph Stalin’s reign. Likewise, the inherent fear of eccentricity amongst the oppressed citizens of “Airstrip one” is highlighted by the nature of “facecrime” in which the presence of an improper expression or any suggestion of abnormality could be punished. Thus, through Orwell 's effective use of allusion and characterisation, contextual audiences are provided with a didactic warning regarding the nature of a totalitarian reign, in which a “hideous ecstasy of fear” influences society’s
Post-colonialism is a discourse draped in history. In one point in time or another, European colonialism dominated most non-European lands since the end of the Renaissance. Naturally, colonialists depicted the cultures of non-Europeans incorrectly and inferior. Traditionally, the canon has misappropriated and misrepresented these cultures, but also the Western academia has yet to teach us the valuable and basic lessons that allow true representations to develop. Partly in response, Post-colonialism arose. Though this term is a broad one, Post-colonialists generally agree on certain key principles. They understand that colonialism exploits the dominated people or country in one way or another, evoking inequalities. Examples of past inequalities include “genocide, economic exploitation, cultural decimation and political exclusion…” (Loomba 9-10). They abhor traditional colonialism but also believe that every people, through the context of their own cultures, have something to contribute to our understanding of human nature (Loomba 1-20). This is the theme that Lewis prescribes in his, self described, “satirical fantasy”, Out of the Silent Planet (Of Other 77).
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vassa, the African, Written by Himself, recounts the story of a child who is born in West Africa, but is kidnapped and thrown into a Western world completely foreign to him. Equiano is a slave for a total of ten years and endeavors to take on certain traits and customs of Western thinking. Not only is it an in-depth account of his life in enslavement and as a freedman, but also it is the first autobiography to ever be published by a former slave and becomes apart of a broader Humanitarian Revolution. It is during the eighteenth-century, in the awake of the Enlightenment movement that new concepts are created; concepts such as: human rights, equality, progress, and tolerance.1 These concepts are what lead the success of Olaudah Equiano’s Interesting Narrative, and point to a larger transition in European views about slavery in the last decades of the eighteenth century.
“Bathes Roland (1977) “The explanation of a work is always sought in the man or women who produced it.” The values, beliefs and attitudes of George Orwell’s can easily be seen in the novel 1984, as no text is neutral. These values attitudes and beliefs are communicated in the novel through socio-cultural context and by the use of certain discourses, ideologies, and historical influences. The invited reading of 1984 is that absolute power is problematic as evidenced by a totalitarism regime.
"The Life of Olaudah Equiano” is a captivating story in which Equiano, the author, reflects on his life from becoming a slave to a freeman during the 19th century. Through his experiences and writing, Equiano paints a vivid picture of the atrocities and cruelties of European slavery. Ultimately through his narrative, Equiano intends to persuade his audience, the British government, to abolish the Atlantic slave trade as well as alert them of the harsh treatment of slaves. He successfully accomplishes his goal by subtly making arguments through the use of character, action, and setting.
The beginning of colonization also marks the beginning of decolonization. From the day the colonists start exploiting the colonized people and belittling the colonized people for the colonists' self-aggrandizement, the colonized ones have been prepared to use violence at any moment to end the colonists' exploitation (Fanon, 3).Decolonization is violent, there is a necessity for violence. This is a point that is repeated again and again throughout The Battle of Algiers and The Wretched of the Earth. Here, the focus will be on The Battle of Algiers to discuss the violence of
In the essay ?Shooting an Elephant? by George Orwell, the author uses metaphors to represent his feelings on imperialism, the internal conflict between his personal morals, and his duty to his country. Orwell demonstrates his perspectives and feelings about imperialism.and its effects on his duty to the white man?s reputation. He seemingly blends his opinions and subjects into one, making the style of this essay generally very simple but also keeps it strong enough to merit numerous interpretations. Orwell expresses his conflicting views regarding imperialism throughout the essay by using three examples of oppression and by deliberatly using his introspection on imperialism.
The narrator portrays her degrading identity through her cultural detachment from Europe and Africa. The novel does not only tell the story through the exile she has suffered. At times, the narrator’s nocturnal writing offers the reader her inner thoughts, but it also displays her initiative to confide within her exile through nostalgia and lyricism. An analysis of multiple passages - regarding writing and geogra...
Many of the lower class band together to survive in an inhospitable world. While in poverty, Orwell experiences first hand the b...
At the turn of the 20th century, African states had been colonized and were being used by the European nations with imperialistic ideals. With imperialism came the praise and promotion of the imperialistic ideas. However, unlike other times in history where a nation had taken over another, there was criticism written by some of the writers living in the imperialistic countries. Two of these writers were Joseph Conrad, who wrote Heart of Darkness, and George Orwell, who wrote “Shooting an Elephant”. Both of their pieces comments on the dark side of imperialism and the effects it has on the colonized states and the people of the states.
Magill, Frank N. Ed. “Nineteen Eighty-Four” Masterpieces of World Literature. New York NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 1989. 582-585. Orwell, George.
History has been told through various forms for decades. In the past, history was more commonly expressed through word of mouth, but more recently in the past century, through written text. While textbooks and articles give formal information with little to no bias, novels give a completely new perspective from the people who experienced it themselves. The Novels, God’s Bits of Wood, written by Sembene Ousmane, and No Longer at Ease, by Chinua Achebe give a more personal account of the effects of colonization. These two novels tackle the British and French method of colonization. God’s Bits of Wood takes place in the late 1940s and sheds light on the story of the railroad strike in colonial Senegal. The book deals with different ways that the Senegalese and Malians respond to colonialism during that time. No Longer at Ease is set in the 1950s and tells the early story of British colonialism and how the Nigerians responded to colonization. Comparing the two novels, there are obvious similarities and differences in the British and French ways of rule. African authors are able to write these novels in a way that gives a voice to the people that are most commonly silenced during colonialism. This perspective allows readers to understand the negative ways that colonization affects the colonized. Historical fiction like God’s Bits of Wood and No Longer at Ease are good educational tools to shed light on the history and effects of colonization, but they do not provide a completely reliable source for completely factual information.
The narrator’s life in Europe was very different in many ways. When he grew older and couldn’t meet his children more than once or twice a month, he went to Europe and starting working there as a journalist (Ṭāhir 10). He worked at a newspaper that provided him a low salary and would only publish 300 words a week of all what he wrote. Next he worked at another newspaper in Egypt, writing articles that reflect The British’s reactions towards the events happening In Egypt. After Ibrahim lived many years in Lebanon, he took a week of to observe London’s view of everything. When Ibrahim met the narrator as well as many other people at the Pedr...
“Marrakech” written by George Orwell has many impacts towards how poverty and discrimination reflected the society during World War II. World War II was an event that involved the conflict of several disputes between nations and a massive racism from the Europeans towards the Jews that Adolf Hitler made. They believed that Jews were inferior in the human race and were just like a plague. “Marrakech” is a narrative that takes place in Morocco where Orwell describes the deficiency and misery the Jews and the Black people suffer during a period of an eminent discrimination. Women also underwent the experience of discrimination by men. Orwell talks about the immense poverty, which is the lowest social class that several Europeans, Jews, Arabs, and black people experienced. The definition of discrimination is very objective. Discrimination is when a person or a large group of people judge people in an appalling way just because they are from a different color, ethics, physical attributes, beliefs, etc. Poverty is another key concept that is managed throughout “Marrakech”. Poverty is the despising misery that a human can be subjected to. Orwell reaches its effectiveness in his essay in a manner that he makes the reader know about his main purpose of how society reflected the misery of the human being during a time where equality did not really exist. Coming further, poverty and discrimination during the society where Orwell lived and perceived will be explained in detail. The efficiency of Orwell’s essay will be justified in a clear way.