Being the Meat in the Sandwich Implications of the double...

One of the many ways that postcolonial literature accomplishes the task of challenging the hegemony of western imperialism is through the use of a ‘canonical counter-discourse,’ a strategy whereby ‘a post-colonial writer takes up a character or characters, or the basic assumptions of a canonical text [where a colonialist discourse is developed directly or indirectly], and unveils [its colonialist] assumptions, subverting the text for post-colonial purposes’. (Tiffin, 1987) Such a revolutionary literary project is evidently realised in Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, a prequel that ‘writes back the centre’ of Charlotte Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Jane Eyre (1847). Rhys is categorical about her conscious authorial intention: ‘I immediately thought Id write a†¦show more content†¦This is evident in both the decay of Coulibri, a once-rich plantation, as well as in the riot staged by black workers out of the fear that they will soon be replace d by East-Indian coolies. Such socio-political turmoil is a direct consequence of a long period of colonisation that has given rise to serious fragmentations in society, marginalisation of certain disadvantaged groups in the interest of a materially privileged minority, a long history of oppression, miscegenation so on and so forth that lead to ongoing conflict. The emancipation of the slaves, on the one hand, resulted in the decay of the former slave owing families such as Cosway’s that lost their former privileged status in society, and on the other hand, it led to the growth of a counter-hegemony by the former slaves against the former salve owning creole minority as vengeance for their former oppressive conduct. Antoinette is a prima facie victim of this anti-colonialist neo-hegemony which is an unfortunate consequence of western colonialism. Racial impurity resulting from miscegenation is perceived in many

Nobody Calls Me A Wog Anymore - 1137 Words

Australia’s identity has always been a complicated one. Starting with Aboriginal genocide, 1800’s cowboys and villains, two world wars and a bunch of poems describing them, it makes it difficult to conclude on what being an ‘Aussie’ really is. Thankfully, the two thought-provoking poems Nobody Calls Me a Wog Anymore by Komninos Zervos, and My Country by Dorothea Mackellar both use their discerning selection of themes to reflect modern attitudes in some extent. Along with their themes, Nobody Calls Me a Wog Anymore and My Country both use their story to capture the attributes modern Australians possess to some degree. The passionate writer, Komninos Zervos, has been renowned for his upfront, realistic and modern themes shown in his work. The entirety of his most prominent poem Nobody Calls Me a Wog Anymore is based on a theme which identifies the discrimination a Greek Australian faced due to his ethnicity in the country â€Å"Assert my identity Say, ‘hey!’ ‘Aus tra li a!’ ‘Look at me!’ Whether you like it or not I am one of you† (Line 13-18) Speaking from his experiences with hate and discrimination, Komninos positions us to feel as if an apology is necessary. But why? Surely there has to be a reason to make us feel this way. Looking at the final stanza of this poem, we can experience how he feels now, in modern Australia. â€Å"hey Australia I like you lots Since you stopped calling me ‘me wog mate kevin’ And started calling me ‘the Australian poet, Komninos!’† (LineShow MoreRelatedLooking for Alibrandi3765 Words   |  16 PagesLOOKING FOR ALIBRANDI – QUOTES (1992 Puffin edition) â€Å"My mother was born here so as far as the Italians were concerned we weren’t completely one of them. Yet because my grandparents were born in Italy we weren’t completely Australian.† (p. 7) â€Å"It makes me feel I will never be a part of their society and I hate that because I’m just as smart as they are.† (p. 8) â€Å"The room isn’t like the living rooms of my parents†¦ but I like it. Because my mother and I are stamped all over it.† (p. 10) â€Å"Telecom wouldRead MoreAustralian Identity Essay1565 Words   |  7 PagesAdventurous. Loyal. Free. Proud. These are the typical words Australians use to describe themselves, to identify themselves as different from the rest of the world. But who is an Australian? Someone that was born in Australia? Only people we choose to call Australian? People with great achievements that we choose to take credit for? Only people that love sport and vegemite? Or maybe only people with â₠¬ËœAussie’ accents? The Australian population is a proud one indeed, proud of their nation, their achievements

Bygone Ohio Free Essays

The first poem talks about the beauty of Ohio with its people living happily in the comfort of beautiful scenery and clean environment as reflected by the artificial water fall coming out from a pipe connected with the main sewer, the river and the railroad. The poet recalls in his vivid memories how at once he sat on the railroad not far from that ‘waterfall’, just above the main sewer overlooking the river with a ferry traversing on it. But now, as he walks around, that beauty is gone. We will write a custom essay sample on Bygone Ohio or any similar topic only for you Order Now What the poet sees are the remains of the beauty that he too had enjoyed in the past. What are left are broken walls with lots of cracks, â€Å"while grimed trees and oil cans liters just around. The river fast flowing clean water has now become a lost bath tub. The poet summons up colorfully in his memory the once beautiful Ohio perhaps during his youthful days, but the beauty that the poet once admired is now a Bygone memory of those old men of Winnebago. The wild grimed trees, the cracks on walls of abandoned barns and the lost bathtub are now just a gleam remains that reminds the old folks of the former beauty of Ohio. The first poem is full of descriptive words describing the beauty of Ohio and the peaceful atmosphere the people enjoyed. The scenic description of the environment reveals that Ohio has not been touched yet by the arms of industrialization. The old men can enjoy the fresh air and the peaceful environment not being crowded by buildings, and individualism and the consumerism culture have not taken its stall yet with the people. The poem uses the elements of poetry to strongly illustrate the impact of utter neglect of the environment for the sake of commercialization or industrialization. The first poem used poetical words such as â€Å"shining water fall out the pipe as somebody might gouge through the slanted earth† to describe clean environment where people actively participated on it. The next four lines of the poem talk about these environmental interaction. The poem goes as he said, â€Å"Quickened the river with the speed of light and the light caught there, the solid speed of their lives in that waterfall,† where people enjoyed the benefits of the clean and simple environment. The second poem is the reverse scenario of the first poem. The songs of the men of old Winnebago has gone. The clean environment which is reflected by the shining water fall out of the pipe from the main sewer is gone too and is now replaced by oil cans Littering just at the very place where the shining water fall was.. The once river bang filled with people perhaps doing picnics and swimming, is now empty. What was left are â€Å"cold balloons† of lovers. The river which once enjoyed by the people is now â€Å"a body of a lost bath tubs. †The proud houses which once stood nicely along specific places apart from each one as they have relatively small population of only one thousand six hundred families were now abandoned with walls each has crack and the trees that serves as shades, are now wiled and grim. The proud houses that once stood nicely as nobody are dwelling in the once beautiful place are gone. In the first poem, the author expressed his feeling and memories of the beautiful Ohio with such poetical description as men of Winnebago singing â€Å"shining† water fall out of the pipe, Martins ferry, my home, my native country, quickened river, with the speed of light. † All these reveal that the author is proud of Ohio. But the second poem also reveals the author’s disappointment about utter neglect and abandonment of this once beautiful place. The author picturesquely describe what it has now turn perhaps after a long years being away. What he now sees are broken walls, wild grim trees, oil cans that litters around and the empty river bang which were at once full of people happily interacting with the environment. Perhaps some lovers are dating and enjoying the scenic beauty of the river, others are swimming while still others are doing family picnic and some maybe fishing. All these are now gone and the author feels lonely as if the place is a cemetery. In the two poems, I like best the first one as it gives me mental picture of what it looks like for most cities now crowded not only with mix races of people but also with tall buildings too. Although the second poem depicts reality in most places but it always good to see nice places, I mean scenic environment. It made me feel good to imagine of fresh air, waterfall, clean river where everybody can swim or fish and lots of trees that provides shadow. The first poem provides the reader a positive imagination that creates interests in such kind of place. The second one creates a feeling of regret, a feeling of frustration and anger why the people allow the deterioration of the beauty of their place. Since most people would not like bad news, or bad place, as it also create negative feeling or bad impression, I would rather say that I like and I favor the first poem. It makes me feel good and leave positive outlook not only on environment but in my own life particularly to environmental protection and to those who work hard for this cause. I think I owe them something that I need to do something. That is for the protection of the environment. How to cite Bygone Ohio, Papers