An Analysis of Fanon's "The Wretched of the Earth"

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Zoe Lambert

201322882

Aesthetic Experience and Ideas

An Analysis of Fanon’s “The Wretched of the Earth”

        Violence affects an individual not only in a physical way, but also on an emotional level as well. In Fanon’s “The Wretched of the World” On Violence, the essay presents the reasons and consequences of the presences of violence. Fanon states that decolonization thrives of the essence of violence. The colonist would not reach their goal for the colonized if it was not for the act of violence.  He goes through the factors that remove individuality from the individual, such as the church and the process of decolonization. This inhibits the native’s basic morals and throws him/her into a state of confusion.   Fanon exhibits the relationship between the colonist and the colonized. He supplies one with all the deep emotions of both the colonist and the colonized.  The tension between the two opposing “protagonist” is fabricated through his writing. (Fanon, 3) Finally, he reveals the motives behind the violence of both the colonist and the colonized. This violence comes from two polar ideas that cannot survive with the other still remaining.  In Fanon’s writing, one really gets to know about the perspectives of an exploited “species” (Fanon, 1).  Fanon describes these factors in such detail that it justifies the use of violence amongst the colonized.

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        In Fanon’s “The Wretched of the Earth” On Violence, the essay describes how the colonist tries to force their realities on the native, and while doing that strips the native of his/her identity. This act of decolonization removes the emotional ties that the natives have to their previous culture and their nation. This colonial force causes tension between the colonist and the colonized.  Fanon indentifies the church as an important factor of decolonization. Fanon compares the church to the pesticide DDT; he states that the church eliminates any opposing belief that the natives might have. (7) This destroys the fundamental ...

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