To the colonizer, the effort of transforming a country until it no longer seems unfamiliar can be recognized as noble, the lesser culture has been converted into a mirror image of their own great civilization. To the culture being dominated this mirror is most similar to one you would find at a carnival; they look into it and see a twisted, hardly recognizable version of what they once were. The colonization of a country by a greater power impacts the internal culture of the country not only through the loss of their national identity but by the decimation of the language, art, and core philosophy that once held their people together. As England proceeded to attempt to strip Ireland of its identity and use it for economic gain the Irish and
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As Lois tries to decide in what language her next step shall be her family throws out suggestions such as French, German, and Italian yet no one offers up Irish as a possibility. Although they are in the middle of gorilla warfare and it may be seen as dangerous they are losing out on the opportunity to immerse themselves in the culture of Ireland. The family is Anglo Irish, once English but have been living in Ireland for multiple generations, so there is a mixed sense of loyalty that is seen throughout the novel.Postcolonial theory investigates how a country bounces back and recreates its self after a colonial conquest; Lois demonstrates this same sense of creation throughout The Last September. Bowen relates Lois to her self in the sense that “She was still only half awake; partly because disorder in any form obstructed her own development…The growing nation left cold the growing girl”(Bowen xii). Lois’s search for her self reflects the trajectory of Ireland during and after the colonization. “she didn’t want to know what she was, she couldn’t bear it; knowledge of this would stop, seal, finish one. Was she to be clapped down under an adjective to crawl round life-long inside some quality like a fly in a tumbler?”(Bowen 83). As mentioned above England set down an essentialist definition of Ireland in order to block the Irish people from seeing themselves as a deep and diverse …show more content…
England’s goal was that “the colonial space must be transformed sufficiently so as to no longer appear to be foreign to the imperial eye”(Decolonization 226). Through the female characters of Joyce and Bowen we are able to see the struggle the Irish people had to get their voices heard. In a country where the majority of upper class people had economic ties to England, it was nearly impossible to convince them that the structure was wrong. The prejudice shown against native the Irish and the misconceptions about Irish culture almost led to the loss of an entire society. Although for a long time the Irish were a subaltern group they eventually gained enough power to have their opinions received and respected. “Irish people can never be English any more than Cambodians or Algerians can be French”(Decolonization
As Lois tries to decide in what language her next step shall be her family throws out suggestions such as French, German, and Italian yet no one offers up Irish as a possibility. Although they are in the middle of gorilla warfare and it may be seen as dangerous they are losing out on the opportunity to immerse themselves in the culture of Ireland. The family is Anglo Irish, once English but have been living in Ireland for multiple generations, so there is a mixed sense of loyalty that is seen throughout the novel.Postcolonial theory investigates how a country bounces back and recreates its self after a colonial conquest; Lois demonstrates this same sense of creation throughout The Last September. Bowen relates Lois to her self in the sense that “She was still only half awake; partly because disorder in any form obstructed her own development…The growing nation left cold the growing girl”(Bowen xii). Lois’s search for her self reflects the trajectory of Ireland during and after the colonization. “she didn’t want to know what she was, she couldn’t bear it; knowledge of this would stop, seal, finish one. Was she to be clapped down under an adjective to crawl round life-long inside some quality like a fly in a tumbler?”(Bowen 83). As mentioned above England set down an essentialist definition of Ireland in order to block the Irish people from seeing themselves as a deep and diverse …show more content…
England’s goal was that “the colonial space must be transformed sufficiently so as to no longer appear to be foreign to the imperial eye”(Decolonization 226). Through the female characters of Joyce and Bowen we are able to see the struggle the Irish people had to get their voices heard. In a country where the majority of upper class people had economic ties to England, it was nearly impossible to convince them that the structure was wrong. The prejudice shown against native the Irish and the misconceptions about Irish culture almost led to the loss of an entire society. Although for a long time the Irish were a subaltern group they eventually gained enough power to have their opinions received and respected. “Irish people can never be English any more than Cambodians or Algerians can be French”(Decolonization