The fourth part of the novel I analyzed using a Post Colonial perspective on the events happening within the book. Throughout the fourth part, the main character, Aminata, has another child, but she is taken away without her consent by Aminata's former employers. Disheartened, she decided to start a new life in Sierra Leone, a free town, back in her homeland of Africa.
When analyzing this portion, I found that there are many aspects of this book relating to Post-Colonialism, and the western world. However, parts of the book are, in fact, a rebellion against colonialism. The Western world believed that women were below men in the social ranking, and everybody else in the world was below those of European descent. The book is written through the view of an African American woman who rebelled against the standards, and learned to become more educated than was common for people of that time.
Looking deeper into parts of the book, it is also obvious that there is a loss of personal identity within a post colonial world. It is instead replaced with a cultural identity that extends over everyone of a certain ethnicity. For example, a preacher asked Aminata: "'Have you come from New York?...And are you of African persuasion?" (Hill 322). The first question asked, right away, was what kind of ethnicity Aminata was. This, unfortunately, shows a loss of personal pride and individuality. You weren't simply a person. You were your culture above all, it determined how people saw you. Aminata found this out quickly: "What is a 'wench?' 'Woman,' he said. 'Is Mrs. Lindo a wench?' He sat up straight. 'She is a lady'" (Hill 203).
Something else I realized after looking farther into the novel was that there was a stark difference of standards between different cultures. Aminata was considered almost a novelty to many people, because she was both African and a woman, yet she could read and write extremely well, "Clarkson asked for an assistant...I stepped forward, so he asked me also, 'Would you point me to Mr. Meena?'" (Hill 367). Clarkson was astonished that Aminata was so educated; that wouldn't have been such a considerable accomplishment for someone of a different ethnicity. There was a double standard: what Europeans could achieve, and what everyone else could achieve.
Looking critically at the book, the differences left by the colonization of the world are obvious: the start of slavery, societal rules, the feudal system, and much more. However, there are also parts that aren't as apparent: lack of respect, loss of individuality, and repression of beliefs. Even today, racism still occurs as a result of past losses and dominations caused by colonial oppressions.
After reading this part of the book and analyzing it with a post colonial perspective, I now have some questions as well. What would the world be like today if the Europeans hadn't colonized most of it? Would there still be as much discrimination and feudalism as was experienced by Aminata?
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