Colonization, Resistance and Transformation: A Postcolonial Critique of the Unchosen and things Apart

Abstract

Colonialism is a complex phenomenon which cannot be limited to physical colonization as it would fail to take into account the other facets of this phenomenon. Postcolonial writers have shown how colonization affected their society and challenged the notion of enlightenment and civilization. The current research aims at understanding this aspect through studying the concepts of colonization, resistance and transformation thought Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958) and Hassan’s The Unchosen (2002). Moreover, the researcher also evaluates the role of power politics to examine how colonization was similar or different in Africa and the Subcontinent. For this purpose, textual analysis is the lens through which the selected texts are assessed. The designed research framework for analysis takes into account salient features of the postcolonial theory to explore the concepts of colonization, resistance and transformation in respective societies. To achieve the objectives of the research, colonization and resistance is scrutinized at three levels; i) physical, ii) cultural and iii) religious. Transformation which is a result of colonization and resistance is studied at two levels; i) cultural and ii) religious. The findings of the research show that colonization affected the social fabric of the society by undermining the values and traditions of the natives. Even though the natives in Africa and the Subcontinent resisted the policies enforced by the colonizers; such as the ideals of technology, education and progress are factors which led to the process of transformation. People of both the regions had strong affiliation with their traditions, cultures and religions, even then the colonizers identified different tools to overcome the resistance. Things Fall Apart (1958) identifies the religious polarity as one of the factors behind natives’ conversion to Christianity, which is in contrast to Subcontinent, where the discourse of religious division among natives worked in the colonizers’ favor. Both the novelists criticize the colonial powers, but they also take into account the weaknesses in both the societies which facilitated the process of colonization. The research also identifies that the writers have not only condemned the process of colonization but also discussed how it was beneficial for the natives as it provoked a sense of education and industrialization making them aware that they cannot progress without development in science and technology.