One may begin the novel Waiting for the Barbarians wondering where and in what time period this story is set in and why so much attention is given to the weather. Many different places across the globe could suffice as the setting for the novel, and although vague, this setting still exhibits the same natural characteristics of the changes in seasons as any real place exhibits over the course of time. Coetzee uses a setting in Waiting for the Barbarians that is both ambiguous and specific in order to create a universal message that imperialism brings out the evil of the human heart while still conveying a sense of realism in his work.
As the novel begins, one is not given any specific setting - place, time, or historical event - in which to ground the plot. Although Coetzee is an African American writer and the horrific scenes of torture and imprisonment can easily be seen as the colonization of African, the setting is not given in order to allow the lesson of imperialism to be applied to a multitude of places. LaSalle finds the novel to be “haunted by Conrad” as it pertains to the portrayal of the darkness seen by individuals throughout history, however, I believe that Coetzee takes the message to a new level by introducing a more ambiguous plot that allows for universalism of the message (LaSalle). The scenes of torture in which the soldiers hold sticks “raised for the next blow “ to violently harm their “prisoners” could very well be the ill treatment of persons in Africa but also the horrid Holocaust or the Native American sufferings in America (Coetzee 123). By allowing a broad interpretation the negative aspects of imperialism, trying to forcefully civilize those who seem to be the uncivilized throu...
... middle of paper ...
...c changing of the seasons. (LaSalle) As well as it may seem that Coetzee is speaking to the same issue as Conrad, as Franklin argues, contrarily I believe that through such a setting with no clear background, Coetzee brings a new versatility to the message. (Franklin) Using both specific and ambiguous details, one receives sufficient information without unnecessary detail in order to relate to the allegory of imperialism on a universal level.
Work Cited
LaSalle, Peter. “Suspense in a Tale of Imperial Injustice”. Africa Today. Indiana University Press, 1983. Print.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4186164
Franklin, Phyllis. “Waiting for the Barbarians. Modern Language Studies, 1990. Print.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org.proxy-remote.galib.uga.edu/stable/3195158
Coetzee, J.M. “Waiting for the Barbarians”. Penguin Books, 1980. Print.
Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness uses character development and character analysis to really tell the story of European colonization. Within Conrad's characters one can find both racist and colonialist views, and it is the opinion, and the interpretation of the reader which decides what Conrad is really trying to say in his work.
Mazrui, Ali A. "The Re-Invention of Africa: Edward Said, V. Y. Mudimbe, and Beyond." Research in African Literatures 36, no. 3 (Autumn 2005): 68-82.
Imperialism has been a constant oppressive force upon societies dating back hundreds of years. Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, illustrates this oppression by providing an instance of its occurrence in the Congo of Africa, while simultaneously setting the stage for The Poisonwood Bible, which is essentially the continuation of the story. The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, demonstrates how the Congo is still affected by modern circumstances and ideology. Conrad’s novella acts as a sort of precursor to the events later depicted in Kingsolver’s novel, and this very connection between the stories illustrates the perpetual oppression of imperialism. This oppression is shown through the characterization of the pivotal characters of each respective text.
Cesaire and Conrad both have different methods and rhetoric to criticize colonization. Cesaire is more direct with his critiques. In contrast, Conrad is more reserved with ideas and his thoughts. Conrad attracts the reader into Marlow’s world where the experiences of Marlow and his thoughts, which are never direct, are where one can distinguish his critiques of colonialism. John Reed’s articles are descriptive and allows the reader to have a vivid picture of the reality that is present in the war.
In J.M. Coetzee’s novel Waiting for the Barbarians, the Magistrate comes to discover the humanity of the barbarian through his interactions with the blind girl, which eventually leads him to learn about the nature of his own humanity. Although the Magistrate is more lenient on the Barbarians than Colonel Joll, he still unknowingly objectifies them, while placing himself above them. It is only when he is imprisoned that he comes to realize the fragility of his own humanity. Ultimately Coetzee uses the magistrate’s journey from empirical leader to broken and fearful prisoner to express that peace and stability between people can only be obtained when all humanity is valued.
Trupin, James E. West Africa - A Background Book from Ancient Kingdoms to Modern Times, Parent's Magazine Press. New York, 1991.
"I don't want to bother you much with what happened to me personally,' [Conrad] began, showing in this remark the weakness of many tellers of tales who seem so often unaware of what their audience would most like to hear" (Conrad, 9). Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad's best-known work, has been examined on many bases more than I can possibly list here, but including imperialism, colonialism, and racism. I would reason that all bases of analysis are perfectly acceptable through which to critique Conrad's novella, or any piece of writing. I would reason this, were some of these bases mainly, racism not taken to an extreme level. In arguing racism, many critics seem to take Heart of Darkness as Conrad's unwavering view on Africa, Africans, life, or whatever else one may please to take it as. I, therefore, propose that Heart of Darkness be taken for what it truly is: a work of fiction set in late 19th century Europe and Africa.
Heart of Darkness describes a voyage to Africa, common for the British still, despite the horrific treatment which was apparent of colonization. The chaotic, stream-of-consciousness style Conrad took on helped to display the confusion, and made the reader have to interpret for themselves what they thought the writer meant. Conrad experiments with this style, leaving some sentences without ending: "not a sentimental pretense but an idea;…something you can set up…and offer a sacrifice to…." (Conrad, Longman p. 2195), a very choppy form of literature and causes the reader to fill in the holes and interpret themselves, alone. Conrad skips about from talking of the "two women knitted black wool feverishly" at the gate of the city (of hell), to his aunt which he feels women are "out of touch with truth," to how the British are as "weak-eyed devil(s) of a rapacious and pitiless folly" (Conrad, Longman pp. 2198, 2199, & 2202). Conrad's mind moves about as ours do along a large duration of literary monologue to convey to the reader the author's ideas, as interpreted by the reader.
Through several examples, Conrad often shows the pointlessness and savagery of the English colonization in Africa. Probably the first instance of this is when Marlow comes up to the French-man who is "shelling the bush". In this scene, the French see something move and so they start shelling it for that reason. The shelling really does no good; if fact, it probably does not even kill what is out there. This represents what the English are doing in a way -- they are trying to conquer a land by shelling it to death and by trying to kill all the people who live there. The next example that Conrad gives is when he sees the black guard, who is leading the black slaves in a chain gang, straighten up when he sees a white man. What this shows is how everyone tries to look better than they are when they are in front of a supposed superior person. Also it shows that if a person can suck up enough -- and sometimes betray their own people -- they can move up in the world.
Lovejoy, Paul E. Transformations in Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1983. Print.
Adas, Michael. 1989. “Africa: Primitive Tools and the Savage Mind” In Machines as the Measure of Men: Science, Technology and Ideologies of Western Dominance, from Historical Problems of Imperial Africa. Edited by Robert O. Collins and James M. Burns, 30-39. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers.
Africa’s struggle to maintain their sovereignty amidst the encroaching Europeans is as much a psychological battle as it is an economic and political one. The spillover effects the system of racial superiority had on the African continent fractured ...
In Half of a Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie attempts to use history in order to gain leverage on the present, to subvert the single story stereotypes that dominate many contemporary discourses on Africa. Written in the genre of historical fiction, Adichie’s novel transcends beyond mere historical narration and recreates the polyphonic experiences of varying groups of people in Nigeria before and after the Civil War. She employs temporal distortion in her narrative, distorting time in order to illustrate the intertwining effects of the past and present, immersing deep into the impact of western domination that not only catalyzed the war, but continues to affect contemporary Africa. In this paper, I will analyze her portrayal of the multifaceted culture produced by colonialism – one that coalesces elements from traditional African culture with notions of western modernity to varying degrees. I will argue that Adichie uses a range of characters, including Odenigbo’s mother, Ugwu, Olanna and Kainene, to each represent a point in a spectrum between tradition and modernity. Through her juxtaposition, she undermines the stereotypes that continue to characterize Africa as backwards and traditional, proving instead that colonialism has produced a cross culture where the two are intertwined.
The New Imperialism and the Scramble for Africa 1880-1914. Jeff Taylor, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
Having done the above analysis on my favourite text, “Anowa” by Ama Ataa Aidoo, I realise that my like for the text has heightened because the analysis of Anowa has given me a deeper understanding of Africa’s colonialism. I now know what actually led to our colonialisation (the betrayal) and how it began (the bond of 1844) through the personal lives of Anowa and Kofi.