Postcolonial analysis of on being brought from Africa to America

By Phyllis Wheatley.

Post colonialism as a field of enquiry has instigated much to understand notions of identity and social relations within the larger tenet of colonial influences. Post colonial discourses have led to the re reading of texts (literary and otherwise) that were written even before colonialism metamorphisized into what we understand of it today .in such a rereading analysis of the notion of identity stands crucial

                          The poem on being brought from Africa to America written by 

Was written at a time when slavery was very dominant in America. It basically expresses the experience coming to America. The American’s whom the poet worked for encouraged her to write and also exposed her to English as a language. Her owner also helped in the publishing of her work.

A lot of postcolonial discourses can be employed in analyzing the poem within a postcolonial context. The poem expresses how the poet felt while being exposed to Christianity. This reflects the notion of the white mans burden where in the white man holds the responsibility of ‘civilizing’ the ‘the uncivilized’. The act of teaching English exposing her to Christianity all reflects the aforementioned white mans burden.

Colonialism and imperialist ideologies brought with it a hierarchy with set power play within it. Within this hierarchy the blacks occupy the lowest position while the white man occupies the highest. This hierarchy is based on the physical features, racial background. Based on such racial judgment’s the blacks the blacks are considered inferior to the white people and based on this theory the act of slavery was born.

Such social relationships of hierarchy are based on binary opposites. Therefore, what the white man is the black man isn’t. therefore, in the a need to civilize the Pagans, the white man introduces the notion of culture to the ‘uncultured’. In the process not only are the black people made to realize there inferior status but are also made to want to get ‘civilized’, as reflected in Frantz fanons “black skin white masks”. This idea is also manifested in the poem when the poet herself uses terms like “benighted soul” to describe herself.

Since the people whom the poet worked for were more or less kind to her as opposed to some other slave owners, the poet appears to be thankful.  Nonetheless the power play is still functioning and the sense of superiority and inferiority is still evident in the poem.

By Ronak giri

1214208-pseng.