A Far Cry From Africa

-Derek Walcott

The poem “A far cry from Africa by Derek Walcott, was written in 1962, one year before Kenya gained its independence, this poem brings out a postcolonial view and examines the times of the Mau-Mau Uprising in Kenya in the early 1950s. And its main theme revolves around the issue demanding for cultural and political freedom. Because during this time Kenya was the scene of violent revolution. This poem brings out the condition that has been cause due to the presence of “master” over “slave” and how pain and suffering existed on both sides. And the peace and harmony that that existed in the country was disrupted. He talks about his divided loyalties between "Africa and the English tongue” because he admires both the cultures". He was caught in the middle of the two nations because he was of a mixed race.  "I who am poisoned with the blood of both,/Where shall I turn, divided to the vein?"  He contemplates the faults of each culture without any biasness and portrays kikuyu in a negative way and refers to them as savages who could not appreciate their resources. He utilizes the favourable circumstances of hybridity to express unhomeliness; and hybridity of power which means the blames passes from the colonizers to the colonised.  For the powerful colonization, it is vital for the colonizers society to be across the board, so that the indigenous people groups will start to acknowledge that they are second rate compared to the colonizers. Derek utilizes Mimicry to clarify the locals' copying the colonizing nation because of their emotions of mediocrity and disgrace of their own society in examination to those of the colonizers. With a specific end goal to completely command a land, the colonizers must help their society by utilizing a standout amongst the most compelling transports for the spreading of beliefs that is dialect. In the poem, Walcott incidentally portrays how he rejects British society yet acknowledges English dialect as unrivalled. Till the end of the poem the poet is in a dilemma and hasn’t been able to solve it because he still admires the African terrain but favours the English language and tradition. And he feels guilty by splitting his loyalty between Africa and Britain as already mentioned in the poem. Eventually this poem shows the alienation and inferiority of the poet.

Neha Giri

1214240

111 PSEng

Postcolonial CIA