The Barbarian Girl Of Discourse

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It is the same case between the old magistrate and the blind barbarian girl. The magistrate is curious about how she got injured by the police. But the girl did not answer this question directly. By either saying “I’ am tired of taking ”(Coeteez, 44) or simply “shrugs and keep silent” (Coeteez, 31). The problem in their communication is caused by asymmetry of discourse, but not the language barrier. They can communicate properly in other situations, but only when she is asked to describe how the soldiers treated her, she refused to speak. In this case, the magistrate the represent of the colonizers of the Empire, deprived the barbarian girl of discourse to build up his colonial discourse, forming a strong contrasting relationship between the …show more content…

Said claimed in his Orientalism, the Westerners create a East that project the idea of savagery, barbarity to make themselves enlightened, to make themselves necessary. In this way, they find a reasonable excuse to exist. To reveal the true face to the colonizers, Coeteez depicted the brutal torture. The uncle and nephew who came for medical care were imprisoned for no reason. The uncle died mysteriously and was convicted “attacking the police” as an excuse for the soldiers to exculpate themselves. While the nephew was tortured by a knife and suffered greatly so that he had no alternaltives but to admit that their tribe is planning war. The same case goes with the barbarian girl and her father, and later even the magistrate himself. In contrast, the barbarians did nothing, they never appeared, even after the Empire army lost and were about to leave. This contrast also lead to the deconstruct of the colonial discourse. And meanwhile, Coeteez bitterly rebuke the duality of the relationship between the barbarian and civilization. “Civilization is the extremist, most brutal cruel barbarian. Barbarian is the original, natural, essential …show more content…

The two character, the young and the old, the poor and the rich, the prisoner and the official, the civilized and the barbaric, the narrator and the silent one, successfully, perfectly achieve the goal of the overturn of the colonial discourse. The magistrate is the strong, powerful part in terms of discourse. Comparatively, he is old and weak, with less physical power, while the barbarian girl is young and lively. During their journey back to the barbarian girl’s tribe, the magistrate along with others got very sick after drinking the water. However the barbarian girl was the only one to stay healthy. The difference in life force suggests an overturn regarding discourse. More importantly, it was the barbarian girl who gradually made the magistrate’s reconsider justice and morality during their staying together. She is the silent, wordless character, but her silence turned a powerful, superior Empire official to change his view on the question “Who is barbaric and who is civilized?”. And finally made him to change his position from serving the Empire, wishing for peace, to a strong force of overturning the colonial

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