The post-colonial Oceanic literature touches me in its own, unique ways. Through those poem, there are colonial history behind it, and the deeply hurt hearts behind it. That is why lots of these poems have anger in them, these pacific writers are mourning about their culture which is being damaged by Europeans. Just as Wendt mentions in his article that the most outstanding feature defining a literature is post-colonial is that there are thoughts in this literature of wanting to be independent, against stereotyping in the colonial literature. Those Pacific writers are trying to explaining their own culture to their own people, to later generations of Pacific nations.
I feel sad about all these. I can feel the deep love towards their Pacific land behind the angry voices in those poems. In the poem <The Bush Kanaka Speaks>, the author mentioned their normal daily way of living, those ways are laughed by the Europeans but loved by the author. The author wants to shout, to tell all the pacific people that pacific way of living is the thing to be proud of, pacific culture is independent and precious.
Hello Fei,
ReplyDeleteYou make some good points here about the literature we are looking at, and I like the use of "The Bush Kanaka Speaks" as an example.
I am interested in seeing you back up your ideas with even more examples.
E.g. more examples of anger, of the "deep love" they may portray, about "wanting to be independent".
A good start Fei, well done,
Esther :)