Postcolonial theory is a literary theory or critical approach that deals with literature produced in countries that were once, or are now, colonies of other countries. It may also deals with literature written in or by citizens of colonizing countries that takes colonies or their peoples as its subject matter. The theory is based around concepts of otherness and resistance. It concentrates particularly on the way in which literature by the colonizing culture fabricate the experience and realities, and imprint the inferiority. As a matter of fact colonized people attempts to articulate their identity and reclaim their past in the face of that past's inevitable otherness.
Colonialism created cultural problem as colonial powers forced the colonies to adapt and accept a totally new culture (Eurocentric) as the best way of life in the name of civilisation and also created an identity problem. Post-colonialism is the academic field that deals with these problems and maintains a continual analysis from both points of view. 1.1 Some definitions of post-colonialism Post-colonialism as a social science field also faces the problem of not having a universally accepted definition. But some scholars have come up with helpful definitions that provide assistance in understanding the subject. Post-colonialism is defined in anthropology as the relationship that exist between European countries (colonisers) and subjects they colonized and once had dominion over.
The cultural studies have made an impact on the translation process as a social and cultural practice, but also as a practice of diffusion and relocation of cultural goods that “allows us to situate linguistic transfer within the multiple ‘post’ realities of today: poststructuralism, postcolonialism and postmodernism.” (Simon, 1996 cited in Munday 2008: 131) Moreover, postcolonialism, as generally defined by Munday (2008: 131), is the term utilised to describe the studies of the history and culture of the former colonies and their conquerors, the opposition towards the European imperialists and the power relationships among them. Translation is closely linked to postcolonialism as both postcolonial writing and translation are influenced by relocation and both are invested with the transmission of cultural elements. This link between them “is accompanied by the argument that translation has played an active role in the colonization process and in disseminating an ideologically motivated image of colonized peoples.” (Munday, 2008: 132) Orsini and Srivastava (2013: 325) agree and state that: Bassnett and Trivedi squarely place the theory and practice of the postcolonial – as both creative and critical work – in relationship to the process of translation, which acts metaphorically and literally as a negotiation between the metropole and the periphery of literary cultures. Translation assumes a vital role in the growth of the empire as a way to aid the establishment of colonial
The postmodernism approach analyzes both culture, and history, through critiques such as Marxism and psychoanalysis. The concept focuses on cultural representations exhibited through media, and the complications of our experiences of reality. Postmodernism also challenges traditional iterations of subjectivity as well as identity. It mainly functions to divide the bar between high art and popular culture. It may be drawn out and difficult to understand, but audiences accept the legitimacy of popular culture along with the pleasure it provides.
The researcher also needs supporting data to analyze the novel therefore; the researcher uses previous researches and books related to the thesis. The researcher has to read about deconstruction and absurdism as philosophical and literary approaches, which depends on postmodernism in order to analyze the novel. There are some available books in the culture of these theories such as Deconstruction as narrative interruption by James Gilbert Walsh, The absurd in Literature by Neil Cornwell, Double Reading: Postmodernism after Deconstruction by Jeffrey T. Nealon, and Postmodern Literature by Ian Gregson. As Kafka is interested in writing about absurdity of existentialism, books like Kafka and his Precursors by Jorge Luis Borges, and Kafka's Jewish Language: The Hidden Openness of Tradition by David Suchoff, and Kafka: A Guide for the Perplexed by Clayton Koelb are helpful. The sources related to Franz Kafka are variable because most of critics see that Kafka is a postmodern writer who tries to bring out all what related to the social and political conflict as well as stating the idea of free play inside the language from a postmodern perspective.
The first of these lineages begins with the anti-colonial movements of colonized peoples to obtain self-representation, first through assimilation into colonial society and subsequently through independance from the colonizing state. Critically, the leaders of these movements realized, this self-representation needs to come with the elimination of what Fanon called the “arsenal of complexes” in the colonized people (344) - a concept not unlike Du Bois’ conception of “double consciousness” - which would continue to cause feelings of inferiority even if the colonized people because de jure self-governing and sovereign. This notion, and other notions conceived by anti-colonial leaders, would lay the groundwork for much of postcolonial theory. Fanon himself was particularly influential, but Boehner warns against taking him as an “unquestioned authority”
4 See Fisher, J. (2012). Colonialism and postcolonial development: Spanish america in comparative perspective Duke University Press. colonised societies with mentalities of cultural and religious superiority, frequently interpreting cultural and institutional difference either as ignorance of the Other, degrading it or simply ignoring it. One of the book’s crucial independent variables however is the fit between the institutions of the host society and that of the coloniser’s, where the “institutional complexity of precolonial societies are crucial for understanding why European colonizers with similar political economies follow contrasting modes of colonization”.
First of all we need to analyze about what is post colonialism? Postcolonialism or postcolonial studies is the academic study of the cultural legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the human consequences of the control and exploitation of colonised people and their lands. On a deeper level, postcolonialism examines the social and political power relationships that sustain colonialism and neocolonialism, including the social, political and cultural narratives surrounding the coloniser and the colonised. This approach may overlap with contemporary history and critical theory, and may also draw examples from history, political science, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, and human geography. On the other hand we will relate it with
As a literary theory it emphasises the issues concerning customs in colonialism and shows how the optic of ethnicity enables the colonial powers to represent, reflect, refract and make visible native cultures in inferior ways. It starts with the hypothesis that colonial socio cultural practices (writings, arts, legal systems, science) are always marginalised according to race and unequal where the colonial have power over the colonised. Post colonialism concentrate on the historical, political, cultural and textual consequences of the happenings between the east and the west, starting in the sixteenth century and continuing in recent times. In this sense Post colonialism is a term that can be used to describe a theoretical approach in literary and cultural studies which is used to describe the politics of transformational struggle to unreasonable and unequal forms of colonial practices. Post colonialism gets it main ideas from the concepts that developed during the anti-colonial struggles in the affected colonies.
The poems ‘A Different History’ by Sujata Bhatt and ‘Where I Come From’ by Elizabeth Brewster both explore and comment on the theme of identity. In ‘A Different History’ Sujata Bhatt comments on one 's identity in a post-colonial setting and the challenges of control by an ‘oppressor’ with a foreign language. The poem ‘Where I Come From’ is all about human identity and origins. Sujata Bhatt talks about the effects of colonisation or globalisation. The poet addresses a sudden change in the thoughts of society and it should be preserved.