A Tragic Disadvantage of Colonization

When first hearing my World Literature professor read the poem "Stranglehold of English Lit" in the same manner as she once heard the author, Felix Mnthali, read it, I was somewhat taken aback.  I was wondering to myself why the author would read a poem with such anger, loudness, and power.  I am used to poetry that uses beautiful language and that is easily heard by an audience.  But after thoroughly analyzing the author's message along with reading the article "Creating Space for a Hundred Flowers to Bloom" by Ngugi, I understand exactly why the author read his work in that manner.

Africa is one of the largest grounds for crisis in today's world.  From civil wars to wars between cultures, Africa's rich continent full of resources has been a forefront for complications.  The main reason for this is colonization by Europeans, especially the British.  Colonization, mainly in the early 20th century, has ripped Africa apart.  Due to colonization, African literature has been unable to thrive in the way that it should.  African literature is rich in nature; full of history and tradition.  However, colonization has forced European traditions onto already existing African traditions.  The largest impact would be language.

Literature in Africa can be broken down in three ways:  By "English" in the English, by Africans in English, and by Africans in African language. African literature in African language is scarce due to the fact it is not widely accepted and it hard to understand because there are so many different African languages.  It also hard to put all of the different African languages down on paper.  Furthermore, African literature is only expressed in English, the argument Mnthali is posing in his poem.

Mnthali's poem argues the fact that in order to attempt to read African literature in African languages, one must go to England or Europe in order to study.  Many Africans are educated in Europe.  However, when studying literature at an English university, you learn about the major English authors.  Mnthali mentions in his poem the great author Jane Austen.  He criticizes that an author like Jane Austen who only discusses the issues of class drama in England doesn't correlate to the issues he faces as in African, or the issues that Africa faces.  Mnthali argues, "what about African people?"  Jane Austen means nothing to him, or Africans.  Africans have no connection with her writing and it means nothing to them.  This brings up the larger idea of the colonization of the mind.  Africans were once forced with living under European rule and are now forced to study their literature.  Mnthali states, "Eng. Lit. my sister, was more than a cruel joke---it was the heart of an alien conquest." He is expressing the fact that the British are still trying to conquer Africans by trying to control the literature that they learn.  Once again, this is a sense of mind control.

The whole reason for Africans to travel to Europe in order to study is to learn about THEIR literature, not about English literature.  This is the problem and flaw that Mnthali points out.  I feel that this is very relatable to American colonization.  The United States, in one way or another, has an impact on every nation in the world.  From outsourcing jobs to making sure there is a McDonald's and Pizza Hut in every nation shows the American colonization of the world.  Also, the United States feels that we are the "world protector", or in other worlds, like a world military.  Personally, I feel it isn't America's job to police the world and worry about or try and fix every one's problems.  I feel it is United States's time to step back, re-evaluate our involvement in the world, and try and worry about our own problems that we are faced with in the home front.