The Wretched of the Earth
The Wretched of the Earth – Frantz Fanon
A fantastic read if a reader is interested in understanding the effects of Colonialism. The word “Profound” can be used aptly to underline the impact this book has on the reader. It’s amazing to see the level of dissection Frantz Fanon has achieved with respect to Colonialism. It’s quite interesting to go through the psyche of colonial and colonized subjects – colonial being the people who come in from outside and exploit the natives to the maximum extent to their own ends and the colonized being the natives who are exploited.
Each and every aspect of colonialism has been painted in a vivid picture. The society primarily categorized into two parts, the rationale behind the existence of violent tendencies among the natives, the role of violence during the build up to conflicts and liberalization, the aftermath of independence, the approach that needs to be taken to rebuild a nation, perception of culture before, during and after liberation – are some of the factors that can be recounted wherein the author has dwelled in-depth. The surprising aspect is the objectivity the author has attained in explaining the realistic situation that existed or still exists in Africa given the backdrop of repression, tribalism and conflicts. Being a psychiatrist by profession must have helped the author immensely in analyzing various aspects of this world of suffering and oppression. Still, you will realize that he couldn’t have come up with this work if he didn’t go through what a lot of Africans went though under colonial powers. Given this, it’s extraordinary that he still remained sane enough to come up with this work.
This book will definitely have a profound influence on the reader. It’s not an easy book to get through. But, it will provide the reader utmost joy, satisfaction and a lot to think about various degrees of discrimination which we see in every walk of life all over the world.
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This post was submitted by Vijaya Sarathy.
