Nobody downloaded yet

20th Century Literary Theory:Orientalism as a tool of colonial discourse - Essay Example

Comments (0) Cite this document
In the history of twentieth century literary theory,colonial discourse has an important role.Orientalism can be comprehended as the reproduction of various vital elements of the Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists …
Download full paperFile format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.9% of users find it useful
20th Century Literary Theory:Orientalism as a tool of colonial discourse
Read TextPreview

Extract of sample "20th Century Literary Theory:Orientalism as a tool of colonial discourse"

Download file to see previous pages Significantly, Orientalism in literary theory may be understood as Said's evaluation and critique of the set of beliefs and it has become one of the most important backgrounds for postcolonial studies and discourses. Said, in his work, brings out the inaccuracies of the assumptions as it questions various paradigms of thought which have been accepted on individual, academic, and political levels. It is important to understand the Orient as signifying a system of representations framed by political forces that brought the Orient into Western learning, Western consciousness, and Western empire. "The Orient exists for the West, and is constructed by and in relation to the West. It is a mirror image of what is inferior and alien ('Other') to the West. Orientalism is 'a manner of regularized writing, vision, and study, dominated by imperatives, perspectives, and ideological biases ostensibly suited to the Orient.' It is the image of the 'Orient' expressed as an entire system of thought and scholarship." Therefore, Edward Said made remarkable contribution to the understanding of the image of the 'Orient' expressed in the Western writing, vision, and study which, in turn, helps the progress of literary theory concerning colonial discourse. In short, the relevance of orientalism in the twentieth century literary criticism as a tool of colonial discourse cannot be questioned and Edward Said is the chief proponent of this method of analysing the true image of the 'Orient' in the Western literary theory.
In order to realize orientalism as a tool of colonial discourse in the twentieth century literary criticism it is essential to comprehend the concept of orientalism as proposed by Edward Said. The concept of orientalism was in air much before him and it was a term more widely used in the 19th century art history. It was closely associated with the works of French artists who in this period mostly produced works that depended on the Orientalist ideas and concepts for their subject matter, colour and style. However, in his controversial work Orientalism, the 20th century scholar Said provided a new twist in the earlier meanings of the term orientalism and, for him, the term described the Western tradition of understanding the East which served merely the purposes of them. In other words, the term referred to academic and artistic traditions of the West which held intimidating and deprecatory views of the East. It suggests a prejudiced understanding of the East by the Western scholars and intellectuals and here the outsider interpretations of Eastern cultures and peoples were prevalent. Unlike the other scholars, Said was disapproved this tradition of the West. According to him, the French and British, unlike the Americans, shared a long tradition of understanding the Eastern cultures and peoples with an 'outsider' perspective and he terms it Orientalism which is a way of coming to terms with the Orient that is based on the Orient's special place in European Western Experience. He clarifies the meaning of the term in his book and he specifies that "by Orientalism I mean several things, all of them, in my opinion, interdependent. The most readily accepted designation for Orientalism is an academic one, and indeed the label still serves in a number of academic institutions. Anyone who teaches, writes about, or researches the Orient--and this applies whether the person is an anthropologist, sociologist, historian, or ...Download file to see next pagesRead More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
(“20th Century Literary Theory:Orientalism as a tool of colonial Essay”, n.d.)
Retrieved from
(20th Century Literary Theory:Orientalism As a Tool of Colonial Essay)
“20th Century Literary Theory:Orientalism As a Tool of Colonial Essay”, n.d.
  • Cited: 0 times
Comments (0)
Click to create a comment or rate a document

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF 20th Century Literary Theory:Orientalism as a tool of colonial discourse

The 20th Century

...? The Twentieth Century. While Europe was the main battleground of World War II, the ramifications of the war were felt all over the globe. The political alignments which prevailed in the 1930s were drastically altered and the post-war world was markedly different from its earlier dispensation. The redrawing of national boundaries, and the establishment of new spheres of influence, was an inevitable part of the spoils of war for the victorious nations. These changes impacted on the non-Western world, particularly Africa, Asia and the Middle East. To a great extent, the many challenges confronted by these nations were the result of doctrines and rivalries which originated in the West. The non-Western world of the twentieth century... was...
5 Pages(1250 words)Essay

20th century literary theory

...20th Century Literary Theory In the literary theory of the twentieth century, Karl Marx (1818-1883) has been one of the most important theorists whohave influenced the course of literary theory. The Marxist literary theory which emphasises the themes of class conflict in literary creations has been a major development in the twentieth century literary theory. Marxist literary theory can be comprehended as a sociological approach to literature which...
4 Pages(1000 words)Essay

20th Century American Liberalism

...American Liberalism in the 20th century is an ideology often associated with the philosophy of John Rawls. This idea of individualism and equality isthe basic tenet of this contention in the field of politics. However, two other leading political philosophers of the previous and the present century contributed astute and fresh ideas to the liberal thought instituted by Rawls which in turn made the subject of American Liberalism a more controversial field of study in the present century. Rawls' Lecture II in his book a Theory of Justice put forward ideas on pluralism, individualism, equality and moral psychology (Rawls, 40). However, these ideas were challenged, asserted or weakened by the modern philosophers such as David Ricci... scientists...
4 Pages(1000 words)Essay

Literary Theory

..., which is the very purpose of creating poetry. Both agree that poets are innate and not made. As a critic or a writer, being able to express conflicting feelings would be more appealing. Most people do experience such conflicts in their life and it would be easy to transport people to such heights so as to merge the reader and the writer and the written passage or poem. Compare/contrast the rhetorical theories of Plato and Longinus. Try to identify areas of agreement and disagreement in their discussions of how poetry affects its audiences. Do you think one theory is superior, or do they both have value for your work as a critic and writer? Which theory do you think is more helpful in...
2 Pages(500 words)Essay

20th century arts

...20th Century Art The 20th century is considered one of the most dynamic periods in the world history as it was marked by upheavals and unprecedented change in the realm of social political arenas. The ideas, values and artifacts of the age were most vividly reflected in their aesthetic counterparts – the arts. In my opinion, the five of the most notable artists who helped shape the 20th century include Pablo Picasso, The Beatles, Marlon Brando, Le Corbusier and Coco Chanel. Pablo Picasso It was the liberating influence of Pablo Picasso’s artwork that came to be the basis why he is called the Genius of the Century. Both in...
3 Pages(750 words)Essay

Edward Said Colonial Discourse Theory

...Edward Said’s pioneering work of colonial dis theory, Orientalism, was also a precursor of post-colonial studies that emerged powerfully in thelast decade of Twentieth Century. By analyzing the ways in which Europe viewed the nations they subjugated, he fashioned out a new field of study that was intent on recognizing the difference between the real ‘orient’ and the ‘orient’ that was the creation of European fantasy. The only way in which the oriental nations could inform the world about the possibilities of their identity which are neglected in such discourses and to demystify the...
5 Pages(1250 words)Essay

20th Century Literature

...class. This status-shift, according to Marx, is brought about by historical changes which are basically concentrated on the material structures of a society; the evolution of the mode of production will certainly tip the balance of status quo and ricochet people within the pyramid of hierarchy. Karl Marx’s assumptions were written centuries ago and yet prove to be priceless evaluating tools of the social order. References Marx, Karl. Capital. London: Penguin Classics, 1992. —. Communist Manifesto. London: Penguin Classics, 2002. —. German Ideology. Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 2002. Naipaul, V.S. A Night Watchmans Occurrence Book. Random House Inc., 2002. Szporluk, Roman. Communism and...
4 Pages(1000 words)Essay

20th Century Humanities

...- a philosophy that developed during the 20th Century. “The way in which the present and the past, is interpreted is constituted by the future, by the specific goals that are of concern and the specific self project one wishes to realize.” (Farrall, Sparks and Maruna, 222) Thus, if our thinking and mentality are still influenced by the 20th century philosophy of life, it is but natural to learn from it rather than mitigate its importance. Moreover, arts and literature are the necessary outcomes of the events happening in a particular time frame. Be it the times of war or peace, arts and literature have always reflected the respective circumstances in an obvious way....
3 Pages(750 words)Essay

20th-Century Art

...Steps of Art Criticism A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte1 1884-1886 by: Georges Seurat  A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is a classic painting masterpiece by George Seurat. He used the technique extensively known as pointillism. In this technique, contrasted color dots are used to paint the picture that gives the impression of a single hue to the viewer. This piece of art wasn’t made overnight, in fact Seurat spent over two years on this single painting. He used to sit quietly at a park and would focus on its light techniques, color combinations and form. The size of the painting is approximately 2 by 3 meters (6 ft 10 in x 10 ft 1 in). Analyze One not needs to look at the picture for long... of Art...
2 Pages(500 words)Essay

Fashion in 20th century

...War regulations and their influence on American fashion. by of Department The Second World War had a formidable effect on the fashion that existed within that period. This means that there was a difference between the fashion before and after the world war. The influences of the World War II extend even to contemporary fashion where aspects of the fashion during the world war still exist. The world war era had a lot of regulations and limitations governing almost all aspect of life including social, political, and technological aspects. The fashion world during the World War II had aspects of uniformity and drabness, with the essence being matching up with the economic situation (Thomas, 2014). The government controlled... regulations and...
3 Pages(750 words)Essay
sponsored ads

Let us find you another Essay on topic 20th Century Literary Theory:Orientalism as a tool of colonial discourse for FREE!

Contact Us