Cultural Influence on English Literature - Assignment Example

Cultural Influence on English Literature Cultural influence on English Literature from those cultures impacted during England's Age of Imperalism and colonization Introduction The influence of culture and literature on the progress of any society is enormous and is highly dynamic in nature. In other words, the culture and literature are inseparable at any period of time in the history of all civilizations. There were times when the migration of people from one place to another was witnessed at a very low extent. The reason for the migration was only to acquire the better livelihood, in addition to the ambitious and aggressive policy of expansion of existing empires by some emperors. The poets used to travel for long distance to express their poetic works to the kings through out the world and they used to get lot of recognition and there by the culture not only got enriched but also got integrated with new ideas. During the mid nineteenth century, when the world has entered in to peak imperialism policies, the only ambition of the rulers was to expand their territories as much as possible and flourish their trade simultaneously. They even didn’t hesitate to travel and remain in far away and undeveloped territories in Africa and Asia. These developments had Europe in the center point and United Kingdom was a major player. The Victorian period in British history represents the high point of British imperialism. Though the British policy of colonial expansion had begun earlier, during the nineteenth century Britain not only consolidated its existing empire, but also experienced an unprecedented expansion in its colonial possessions. In the due course of time, this movement of British rulers to Asia and Africa has a tremendous impact on the English literature of England and also that of native countries or colonies. The imperialism of British rulers culminated in their control over Indian subcontinent. This process started after the 1857 Mutiny in India, when India was placed under the direct control of the Crown, and continued through the scramble for Africa in the late 1800s. As a result, the aggressive upsurge of imperial activity during the nineteenth century, though physically taking place in areas distant from British shores, had a broad and pervasive impact on British culture. No doubt, the literature of the period is thus inextricably embroiled in the imperialist project. It was felt that the enrichment of English literature was positively affected by the colonial ideology. The most obvious influence of colonialism on English literature is clearly witnessed in the colonial novels of writers like H. Rider Haggard, Rudyard Kipling, and Joseph Conrad. Especially the novel works like Haggard's She (1887) and Kipling's Kim (1901), were targeted at the distant lands that Britain colonized and the objective was to expose the insular domestic public to the exotic strangeness of their country's colonial possessions. “SHE” describes about the experience in the journey to East Africa where as “KIM” explains the political conflict between England and Russia during the phase of colonialism. The colonialism was focused as a strong necessity and was claimed as their narratives of adventure and romance. This has brought lot of innovation in several literary works for drawing the attention of the readers. The connection of colonialism with the genre of the romantic adventure story is also witnessed in the abundant children's fiction of the time, which includes works by Robert Louis Stevenson and R. M. Ballantyne. These works acted as strong instruments to propagate the colonial ideas, and hence they provided the literal backdrop for their narrative action, and also the ideological framework supporting their aggressive policies. It is notable to record that the domestic literature developed during imperial period not only focused on domestic british policies but also on Britains’ overseas possessions. For example, the novels of writers like Jane Austen, Charlotte Brönte, Charles Dickens, and George Eliot focussed on domestic British society and covered Britain's overseas possessions as an important role in the action. Similarly, Sir Thomas Bertram's estate in Mansfield Park is maintained by his possessions in Antigua while David Copperfield's Mr. Micawber achieves success in Australia and St. John Rivers in Jane Eyre leaves for India to fulfill his missionary aspirations. The main reason for the implicit expression of colonial ideas in these novels is that they certainly provided an expanded canvas even. These new literatures also aimed at dissemination of racial and colonial ideologies that provided the conceptual framework for colonialism. One of the most influential English literature that reflects the impact of colonialism is in the form of a novel “ A passage to India” contributed by E.M. Forster (1924). This literary work discusses about the relationship between East and West, and explains the pathetic state of affairs in treating the native Indians by the British rulers in the later days of the British Raj. The author links the personal relationships with the politics of imperialism and colonialism through the story of the Englishwoman Adela Quested, the Indian Dr. Aziz, and the question of what did or did not happen between them in the Marabar Caves. This literary work was selected as one of the 100 great works of English literature by the Modern Library and won the 1924 James tait black memorial Prize for fiction. Forster’s another best-known work “Howards End” (Forster, 1910), also explored the irreconcilability of class differences. This reflects the fact that the colonialism and imperialism led to class differences and the English literature has integrated the gradual transformations in the society and in the due course the English literature got tremendously influenced by the cultural aspects. The British discrimination in the Belgian Congo during 19th century was well described in the famous novel “ Heart of darkness” (Joesph conrad, 1902). This novel overtly questions the validity of colonialism which explains their critique of imperialism. One more interesting finding is that several authors couldn’t express their feelings of racial discrimination existed during colonialism fearing the legal punishments. However, they have expressed their views openly in Post-colonial period in the later part of the 20th century. The critics have now explored the pervasive influence of colonial ideology throughout nineteenth-century British culture and society. For example, Edward Said's Orientalism (1978) is a remarkable piece of work in this respect, providing an exhaustive analysis of the West's construction of the Orient as its "other." Such a construction, Said argues, is not motivated by any desire to represent faithfully the reality of the colonized cultures and their people. He explains that while explaining some thing about any other culture, the author should be realistic with out any discrimination in the name of west or east. The use of the "other" for self-critique and the construction of alternative subject-positions within the British context is also described by authors like Gayatri Spivak and Jenny Sharpe. Similarly, the relationship between colonial ideology and the growth of British feminism in Victorian England was also witnessed in the works of writers like Jane Austen. Conclusion In short, the discrimination in the name of class and race was well reflected in the English literature generated during colonial and post-colonial periods. The impact of culture on English literature in both Britain and colonies was found to be remarkable and the globalization has further opened the doors for free exchange of literary thought through out the world. At this moment, the barriers for right of expression and mobility have been completely eliminated and communication systems have significantly integrated the cultures of different countries and authors have plenty of information and scope of innovation making the way for enrichment of the English literature. References: Edward Said. 1978. Orientalism. Vintage Books publication. ISBN: 0-394-74067-X. E.M. Forster. 1910. Howards End. Edward Arnold Publication. p: 343. E.M. Forster. 1924. A Passage to India. Edward Arnold Publication. H.Roder Haggard. 1887. SHE : a history of adventure. Longman’s publication. P: 317. Joseph Conrad. 1902. Heart of Darkness. Blackwood Magazine’s publication. OCLC: 16100396. Rudyard Kipling. 1901. KIM. Serial publication. OCLC : 236914. Read More