Paper no - 11 The Postcolonial Literature

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                                     Name: Mital M. Raval      

                                            Roll No: 19

                                           M.A. SEM: 3

                                 Batch Year: 2016 – 2018

                           Enrollment No: 2069108420170026

                          Email Id: ravalmital5292@gmail.com

                       Paper Name: The Postcolonial Literature

              Assignment Topic: A Tempest as Postcolonial text.

                                 Submitted to: Dr. Dilip Barad

                                           Smt. S. b. Gardi

                                       Department of English

                                    M .k. Bhavnagar University

About author:

                    

            

      Aime cesaire’s full name was Aimé Fernand David Césaire. He was born in 26^th June 1913 and died in 17^th April 2008. He was Francophone and French poet, author and politician from Martinique. He was "one of the founders of the negritude movement in Francophone literature". He wrote such works as Une Tempete (A Tempest), a response to Shakespeare's play The Tempest from a postcolonial perspective. (Wikipedia)

About Play:

                                      

                        

   A Tempest play is by Amie Cesaire. It was originally written in 1969 in French with the title ‘Une Tempete’ and then it was translated in to English by Richard Miller in 1985 with title of ‘A tempest’. It is an adaptation of Shakespeare's ‘The Tempest’ from a postcolonial perspective. Plot of A Tempest is same like ‘The Tempest’ by Shakespeare but Cesaire in this play made some significant changes because he wont to show this play with the perspective of post colonialism. Here character of Caliban is black slave and Arial is mulatto slave. He added one character Eshu, A God of devil, which is not in The Tempest by Shakespeare. A Tempest focuses on the plight of Ariel and Caliban—the never-ending quest to gain freedom from Prospero and his rule over the island.

What is Post colonialism?

                A Postcolonialism or postcolonial study is an academic discipline that analyzes, explains, and responds to the cultural legacy of colonialism and imperialism. Postcolonialism speaks about the human consequences of external control and economic exploitation of native people and their lands. Drawing from postmodern schools of thought, postcolonial studies analyze the politics of knowledge by examining the functional relations of social and political power that sustain colonialism and neocolonialism—the imperial regime's depictions of the colonizer and of the colonized. (Wikipedia, postcolonialism)

Notable writer of postcolonial theorist:

·        Edward said

·        Frantz Fanon

·        Gayatri Spivak

·        Homi k Bhabah

·        Aime Cesaire

·        Dipesh Chakrabarty   etc….

A Tempest as postcolonial text: 

       A Tempest is postcolonial revision of ‘The tempest’ by Shakespeare. The cast of character are same like original play The Tempest by Shakespeare but in this play Aime Cesaire change some character to show postcolonial reading of the text. In which Caliban become black slave and Ariel become mulatto slave. Here Caliban is at the center rather than Prospero. Caliban become hero of the text and Prospero is become villain. Here Prospero somewhere become ant natural. 

      Cesaire conveys his stance against colonialism mainly through the relationship and speeches between Caliban and Prospero, that is, Caliban’s response to Pospero’s acts indicates Cesaire’s anti-colonialist approach. Although Prospero is the master of Caliban, who is a black slave, Caliban no more accepts his minor status and always opposes Prospero’s idea that he is superior to Caliban.

       Prospero’s attitudes towards Caliban prove the Western powers’ way of thinking and behaving against the black colonized. Prospero claims that he is right in ordering and subduing Caliban, thus reducing Caliban to the position of being an animal. For example, he calls Caliban“ ugly ape “, “ a savage “, “ a dumb animal “; therefore, Prospero tries to impose his superiority upon Caliban, who is supposed by Prospero to have to obey his orders and submit what Prospero says without any complaint and protest (Cesaire, 1991: 11). According to Prospero, Caliban’s only function and duty in this world is to serve the needs and orders of Prospero all the time. Caliban has no value except for running errands. In other words, Prospero tries to place Caliban into the position and identity which he determines like the colonial powers. Prospero threatens to punish Caliban if he does not comply with the orders of Prospero. For Prospero, Caliban is nothing without him as he brought civilization to Caliban and educated him whom he considers an ignorant animal. If Caliban accepts his status as a servant and does not protest, he may make progress and exceed his bestial position. Since Caliban is always identified with inferior things by Prospero, Prospero also accuses Caliban of raping his daughter, which is denied by Caliban. Caliban does not have any value and positive quality for Prospero. He always has to choose either to serve Prospero or to be punished severely.

          In spite of being a black servant in the hands of Europeans, Caliban is never satisfied with his position, being in constant protest against the approach and attitudes of Prospero. Caliban trusts himself throughout the play and never gets into any inferiority complex even when he is threatened and oppressed by Prospero. He objects Prospero’s division of the world into the civilized and the savage one. He realizes that Prospero did not bring civilization and education to Caliban, so these are only lies and deception of Prospero in order to justify his oppression since Prospero only regarded himself by exploiting Caliban, using him for his own interests and putting aside Caliban’s values.

     According to Caliban, Prospero wants to shape his identity by subordinating and threatening him with punishment. Caliban rejects the identity and status given him by Prospero as a servant and sub-human. Instead of being called “ Caliban “, he wants to give a name to himself which is “ X “, which proves his rebellious rejection of the authority and what Prospero tries to impose upon him. This thing we know from dialogues of Caliban and Prospero.

CALIBAN: Well, because Caliban isn't my name 'It's as simple as that.

  

PROSPERO: Oh, I suppose it's mine!

CALIBAN: It's the name given me by your hatred' and every time it's spoken it's an insult'

PROSPERO: My, aren't we getting sensitive! All right, suggest something else"' I've. got to call you something. What will it be? Cannibal would suit you.

CALIBAN: Call me X. That would be best. Like a man without name. (A. Césaire)

        Thus, we can say that he wants to name himself freely and does not want to be reduced into any classification claimed by Prospero. For Caliban, Prospero does not have any right and justifiable reason for punishing and scorning him because Prospero is not a superior human being, but a liar, destroyer and oppressor. Caliban implies the idea that he has his own identity, values and language when he says “Uhuru”! Instead of hello.

CALIBAN: Uhuru!

PROSPERO: What did you say?

CALIBAN: I said, Uhuru

PROSPERO: Mumbling your native language again! I've already told you, I don't like it' You could be polite' at least; a simple “hello” wouldn’t kill you.  (Césaire)

         Here Uhuru is word of freedom. It was in native language of Caliban which Prospero never understand that’s way he told to Caliban that he never speak in native language. He tends to indicate the fact that he is not ashamed of his language or culture, so his own values cannot be denied and contempted by anyone. They cannot be changed, removed or reduced to anything that is secondary and marginal. Caliban constantly argues with Prospero in order to prove his precious existence and gain his freedom, and he is fed up with serving Prospero. He shows his determination in trying to gain his freedom by saying “And I know one day my bare fist, just that, will be enough to crush your world!”.  

        Caliban’s acts and rebellious nature remind us of Cesaire’s views that are based on the objection that there can never be a hierarchical rank between societies, especially between the colonized and the colonizers. As Cesaire argued the idea that the Africans must not regard themselves as the secondary and minor human beings, Caliban insists on claiming that Prospero cannot prove his superiority. Like Cesaire, Caliban does not forget his own culture, language and existence, referring to them without any embarrassment. This is the philosophy of Cesaire that the black colonized have to recognize their own achievements, values and civilization. They need to return to their way of living and culture that are not so dishonorable as the Europeans tried to make them accept. Caliban is aware of the wicked intention of Prospero and gains his consciousness of a real human being with his freedom who must not be used as a slave by any society. (KARAGÖZ)

Conclusion:

         At concluding part I won’t to say that here in this play character of Caliban is very rebellious rather than Prospero. He argues with Prospero in any debate which was not in Shakespeare’s play ‘The tempest’. Aime Cesaire here won’t to show Postcolonialism that’s way he show Caliban as rebellious character. So we can say that A Tempest is postcolonial play. ‘A Tempest’ is the Caliban represents the more Black Nationalist ideas. He wants his ideas, his culture and his identity back. The emergence of postcolonial rebel is given flame in the work.   

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Works Cited

Césaire, Aime. A Tempest. Trans. Richard Miller. Editions du seuil, n.d.

Césaire, Aimé. A Tempest. Trans. Richard Miller. Editions du seui, 1969.

KARAGÖZ, Cengiz. A POSTCOLONIAL READING OF AIME CESAIRE’S PLAYS. Vol. 7. n.d.

Wikipedia. Aime Cesaire. 27 July 2017. 2017.

—. postcolonialism. 2017.