‘Who am I when I am transported?’ Postcolonialism and Peter Carey’s Jack Maggs
In Decolonising Fictions, theorists Diana Brydon and Helen Tiffin claim that postcolonial writers create texts that ‘write back’ against imperial fictions and question the values once taken for granted by the once dominant Anglocentric discourse of the imperial epicentre. In Jack Maggs the process of ‘writing back’ is well illustrated. As in Jean Rhy’s Wide Sargasso Sea , the colonial ‘other’ character from a canonised Victorian novel becomes the principal figure in a modern 'decolonising' text, and the peripheral reaches of empire become of central importance.
In Jack Maggs, Australian novelist Peter Carey reconfigures the plot of Dickens’s classic Great Expectations so that it is the maginalised, (colonial) convict figure who now becomes the narrative focus. By filtering the experiences of the exiled convict through a post-colonial lens, Carey creates a text that pays homage too, yet simultaneously questions the values at the heart of the source text’s imperialist discourse.
As Brydon and Tiffin point out, Anglocentrism refuses Post-Colonial territories the right to their own identities, assuming instead that they are merely engulfable parts of the imperial centre. Therefore, in Great Expectations, Australia functioned not as a coherent, cohesive nation, but rather, as an off stage peripheral location were characters awaited their return to the on stage action of the imperial centre, London . Carey tackles this trend head on, by writing a novel that seeks ‘non repressive alternatives to imperialist discourse’ and which refuses to privilege the metropolitan centre over the Colonial margins.
At the heart of the text’s reconfiguration of imperialist discourse lies the complex relationship between returned convict Jack Maggs and up-and-coming writer Tobias Oates. Significantly, Oates bears more than a few biographical similarities with Charles Dickens. For instance, like Dickens, Oates has a feckless, indebted father, an unhappy marriage, a fascination with mesmerism, and the fierce desire to make his name ‘not just as the author of comic adventures, but as a novelist who might one day topple Thackeray himself’ (Carey 43).
By having Oates, a fictionalised Charles Dickens figure, exist in the same imaginative space as Jack Maggs, the modern reworking of one of Dickens’ most memorable characters, Carey is able to explore not only the questions left unanswered by the source text, but also the difficult relationship that exists between character and creator.
The relationship between Oates, soon to become the Empire’s greatest living writer, and Maggs, the marginalised colonial figure, is one that parallels the manner in which the literary potential of the Imperial colonies was mined by Victorian writers.
Dismissing Oates’ work as a failure is to disregard his strengths. Oates does something here that many struggle to do. He writes, “I wanted to transport readers back to Nat’s time so that they might suffer with him.” Oates crafts Southampton in the minds of his readers; he accomplishes his goal through engaging and descriptive writing. Oates also consults important sources, ranging from The Richmond Enquirer to the Confessions of Nat Turner, to produce this other world. These references are useful as they serve as primary sources. He follows the basic premise of citation rules and in the end creates a complete narrative of Nat’s life and struggle. These successes are significant as they shed light on why this text is a well-known interpretation and an enjoyable read. However, as a historical account, the book is weak in many more ways than...
This story was not only riveting, but also one that kept me on my heels for almost the entire time that I was reading it. Stephen B. Oates, a prize-winning author of thirteen books and more then seventy articles, is currently a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Some of his best novels have been 'With Malice Toward None: The Life of Abraham Lincoln,'; 'Let the Trumpet Sound: The Life of Martin Luther King. Jr.,'; and 'Rip Ford's Texas.'; His writing is riveting as well as courageous. His willingness to get to such length to capture the mind of the reader and hold them in suspense has earned him several awards throughout his lustrous career. Some of the awards that Oates has received are the Christopher Award and the Barondess/Lincoln Award of the New York Civil War Round Table. His work has gained worldwide notoriety and is currently translated in four different languages: French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was one of the most atrocious attacks to have ever happened on American soil, starting with disagreement on the Potsdam declaration. Japan’s greed for more land and industrial materials led the Japanese to make a plan to keep the United States out of the war, which consisted the use of kamikaze pilots and bombs to destroy our aircraft carriers and boats in an attempt to control the Pacific. While leaving the drowning, and dead bodies of thousands of American seamen and battleships at the bottom of the sea, seemed to be a good idea to the Japanese; America joined World War II and introduced the first nuclear weapons as reprisal for the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Had the Japanese agreed to an unconditional surrender and end to militarism during the agreement on the Potsdam declaration, the introduction to nuclear weapons and the death count wouldn’t have been so high and devastating on both the American and Japanese sides.
Alfred Noyes wrote The Empire Builders at the turn of the twentieth century. Despite the time at which it was written in, there are various post-colonial themes regarding the hierarchy of difference. The tone of the poem is pessimistic which is understandable since Noyes is writing during the Naturalist period of English literature. Noyes is speaking to the middle class of England; those who “fulfill their duties as they come” (Noyes, 45). He uses the first person plural article to create a unification between the readers and the narrator. Noyes, in his poem, addresses two postcolonial themes of Christianity as a vehicle of colonization, and the fallacies of European philosophy. In this essay, I argue that the themes and structure that have been connoted in Alfred Noyes’ The Empire Builders are essential in constructing the notion of the hierarchy of difference. The hierarchy of difference helped create a colonial state and since postcolonial theory primarily analyzes the legacies of the colonial period, it is essential to know the hierarchy of difference. I will divide my essay in three parts: in stage one I discuss the structure of the poem and how it creates a hierarchy of difference. In stage two I discuss the two themes mentioned above and how they establish a fragmented world between the occident and the orient. Finally in stage three I discuss the conception of time that is discussed in the poem and its relationship to postcolonial theory.
Jones, Barry A. "Resisting The Power Of Empire: The Theme Of Resistance In The Book Of
Pearl Harbor was one of the most motivational events in American history. From the very beginning Japan and America had their own social views and stereotypes about each other that a feud was bound to occur. On December 7, 1941 the nation of Japan sent out a fleet of their Imperial navy to attack the American held base on the island of Oahu. Leading this attack was Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto who was a militarily strategic genius.” Yamamoto was planning on sinking the entire American Pacific fleet so the U.S navy could be put out of the war for the time being and the Japanese navy could continue their expansion in the Southwest Pacific.”(book)(Gordon Prange 136-138)
Gross, John. "A Tale of Two Cities." Dickens and the Twentieth Century. Ed. John Gross and Gabriel Pearson. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1962. 187-97.
this is called toxicological or other product safety estimate. And some tests are used for a assort...
Right now, millions or animals including mice, rabbits, primates, cats, dogs and others are locked inside cold cages in laboratories across the country. More than 100 million animals each year suffer and die from chemical, drug, food, and cosmetics tests as well as biology lessons, medical training exercises, and curiosity-driven medical experiments at universities. Throughout history, animal testing has played an important role in harming animals for human advantages, making many animals suffer. Animal testing should be excluded because its inhumane, violates the rights of animals, and there are safer alternatives.
Dickens is often held to be among the greatest writers of the Victorian Age. Nonetheless, why are his works still relevant nearly two centuries later? One reason for this is clearly shown in Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. In the novel, he uses imagery to sway the readers’ sympathies. He may kindle empathy for the revolutionary peasants one moment and inspire feeling for the imprisoned aristocrats the next, making the book a more multi-sided work. Dickens uses imagery throughout the novel to manipulate the reader’s compassion in the peasants’ favor, in the nobles defense, and even for the book’s main villainess, Madame Defarge.
Many Church Fathers in their teachings and writings against heresies have upheld Eucharist as the only Sacrifice in a sacramental mode. For example, St. Ignatius of Antioch, in his letter to the Smyrnaeans said “...the bread is the flesh of Jesus, the Cup, His blood” (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 7: 1). St. Justin Martyr in his Apology said; “not as common bread and common drink do we receive them….; but in like manner as Jesus Christ, our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood... so likewise ... the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word ...and from which our flesh and blood...are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh.” (First Apology, 66). In his teaching against the Marcion, Tertullian teaches that Christ’s death on the Cross is made sacramentally present on the altar in unbloody manner (Tertullian, Against Marcion,
Chinua Achebe was an influential Nigerian author during the 1900’s who was credited with his three essays which have been fused together into the book “Home and Exile”. In his stories he discusses things such as his own Igbo people, the problems with colonialization, the strength that stories can have and many more topics. A big part of his essays are on his thoughts of colonialism, the impact it has had on his home of Nigeria, and how stories written by others either helped justify colonialism or rejected it. Chinua argues that stories have their own power to fight, and while stories themselves do not have the ability to directly fight colonialism; they do, however with their power of words, stories can motivate and encourage people to stand up against colonialism. In proving this thesis to be a true statement, I will be providing evidence of the how, why and the extent to which stories can fight colonialism.
“Charles Dickens: Great Expectations.” (2 Feb, 2006): 2. Online. World Wide Web. 2 Feb, 2006. Available http://www.uned.es/dpto-filologias-extranjeras/cursos/LenguaIglesaIII/TextosYComentarios/dickens.htm.
When one thinks about animal testing, they usually would think about how much medical breakthroughs animal testing has delivered to society. Other people, however, have different thoughts, and may oppose it, as they believe animal testing is unethical. Animal testing has introduced many medical breakthroughs; rare diseases such as polio, mumps, rubella, and hepatitis would be much more common in modern society if it were not for animal testing (Cook). However, many technological advances are starting to reduce the need to test on innocent animals. Despite its positive history of its many medical discoveries, animal testing should not be tolerated as it is unethical, costly, ignorant, and because many cheaper and more reliable alternatives have been created.
Postcolonial authors use their literature and poetry to solidify, through criticism and celebration, an emerging national identity, which they have taken on the responsibility of representing. Surely, the reevaluation of national identity is an eventual and essential result of a country gaining independence from a colonial power, or a country emerging from a fledgling settler colony. However, to claim to be representative of that entire identity is a huge undertaking for an author trying to convey a postcolonial message. Each nation, province, island, state, neighborhood and individual is its own unique amalgamation of history, culture, language and tradition. Only by understanding and embracing the idea of cultural hybridity when attempting to explore the concept of national identity can any one individual, or nation, truly hope to understand or communicate the lasting effects of the colonial process.