ASHNA PRATHEESH ASSINGMENT II

                                                       CULTURE AND IMPERIALISM

                            Culture and imperialism is book written by Edward Said ,it was published in the year 1993 ,the book is been considered to be one of the most aspiring works of Edward Sid after Orientalism ,the book Culture and Imperialism slightly sounds like the titles of two works by Matthew Arnold and Raymond William’s works such as “Culture and Anarchy”,” Culture and society” ,subsequently

                 This book is about all ,examining the great works of the Western tradition  ,Conrad’s Heart of Darkness  ,Austen’s Mans field park  Verd’s Aida and Camu’s L’Etranger and his work Orientalism ,these all works reveals how the reach of Western imperialism during the nineteenth and twentieth century ,where been just wasting in the nineteenth and twentieth century . He says that we are the inheritors of that style by which one is defined by the nation ,which in turn derives its authority from a supposedly unbroken tradition

                                It was five years after the publication of the book Orientalism that Edward Said in 1978 ,that he started to to gather ideas about the general relation relationship between culture and empire  ,the book and the ideas in it where been presented as a series of lectures ,which helped Edward Said to received a good amount of scholarships ,Edward Sid says that the way the European calls East as a “mysterious East” .Edward Said says that some of the information pointed out here non middle Eastern  is ,about European representation about the European Writings on Africa ,India  and parts of Middle East .Edward Said says that the striking features in these writings are their own representation of these things as exotic and mysterious ,which they have not been part of .Edward said says that the way that ,the civilized people found to civilize these un  Civilized people was to use harsh violent methods ,as if they were been like animals .And if they are uncivilized ,barbaric and so they don’t know to rule also so this job was also take by the West Edward Sad says that this was not the condition of a one particular country ,but where ever they went other then their place ,they have changed that place into some sort of  resistance .

                    Then Edward Said that Orientalism was the response to the West  about their decolonization all across the third world  .Edward Said says that this book is not a response to his book orientalism but,these two factors --- a general world wide pattern of imperial culture  ,and a historical pattern of imperial culture ,and a historical resistance against empire Edward Sid says that these things or point make it clear that ,this work is just not a narrative to the work orientalism but an attempt to do better than this .

                          Edward Said says that ,in both works Orientalism and Culture and imperialism , he have used  the word “culture” , gives two kinds of idea or meaning in particular ,first meaning that he gives is that .it means about all those practices like the arts of description ,communication and represent ion .Edward Said says that some of  the recent criticism has looked upon narrative fiction ,but he says that though now some importance to these things but still very little attention is been to its position in history ,he says that the important focus point in this book will be his way of narration  ,Edward Sid says that his main stress over here is to say that the way novelists and explores say about the strange  regions of the world ,they already have created a kind of story in their mind about these people ,and Edward Said says that they have already set a story or an idea about these place and people,but he says that the stories that they have in their mind ,is been already unknowingly put in their mind by the West .I.e. Said was saying that ,what they (novelist, and explores) was trying to say as their thoughts what they think that , is through that they are trying to help the west ,with their own ideas ,but he says that ,the ideas or stories that they think are their won is been actually the result of the ideas and ,stories and thought that they think is been actually from the West .

         While through this work he makes a clear distinction between imperialism and colonialism ,he clearly connects those terms together .Edward Said says that the main battle between imperialism is over land  ,but when the question of land comes in between several questions are raced as if who owns it ,who settles their ,and many such things related to it comes,Said says that ‘culture’ is an important part in every society ,it is this culture ,that gives base or importance to every society ,and it is this ‘culture’ is been considered as the reservoir of every society ,as the way Mathew Arnold writes in the work (1860) .Arnold says that if culture is not concealed properly and when it comes into contact with the modern worlds aggressive ,mercantile and urban ways .While writing about the introduction to this work culture and imperialism ,Said says that he discovered ,that  only very few  British,French artists  whom he admire took the issue ,as a ‘subject’.It was during the eighteenth century that Australia was discovered as Peny colony ,just because they would be able to transport the excess unwanted population of Felons ,which was originally drawn or charted by Captain Cook, Said says that it would function as a colony that would  able to to be like a replacement for that lost America .Modern Australia is the result of pursuit of the profit ,building the Empire and  apartheid  which Huge calls ,is what that have resulted in this (Modern Australia) ,then while going through the pages after this ,we would some points related to this (Australia) and he also speaks about Australia ,Said says that even if ,these are the concern on (Australia) the work  Great Expectation was written without keeping a concern for the native Australia as Hughes or Carter did ,here Said was trying to saying that this particular work was been written with clear critical approach rather than a feeling for ones own country (i.e. feeling that its ones personal) Said says that it is not a self – contradictory thing that Conrad  was both an anti – imperialist and imperialist at the same time ,he  appreciates Conrad for his bravery ,which the others was afraid to show, Conrad allows the readers to see imperialism as just as a system  other than giving an emotional form to it .It is always the fiction and follies of the powerful section that is been imposed on the poor ,submissive section of people in society ,and Said says that ,it is also true that the reverse also happens ,but we know that ,it might not have as much influence as this because for the dominate section it might be just a mere topic or something to be felt sorry or to feel some kind of emotional attachment , while saying that the world has changed a lot after the time of Conrad and Dickens and saying the issues of orientalism and all have become a common topic now because, their are people and places where the voice of those people could be heard and solved ,Said was saying  that it was because of globalization that new opportunity was opened for them  .Said is saying that for the first time the history of imperialism could be looked as a subject with neither any strict compartmentalization or as if with ac hanging its structure or form .Whether be it be in India ,Lebanon or Yugoslavia or in Afrocentric or Islamocentric or Eurocentric ,there have been disturbing 

                   Through this introduction Said’s focus point is to set the works of art of the imperialists and post -colonial eras into historical context ,i.e to its original form .He says that he don’t believe that the authors are not just created by just mechanically ,ideology and class or economic history ,but by the history and their social experiences ,which helps them to be the way . He says that ,while writing the work  Orientalism we cannot understand historical experience by just bulleting it ,and whatever books , articles ,authors or ideas that we collect it might not be enough ,because we can’t collect everything or understand history completely . Though it  was during the nineteenth century that America emerged as an Empire  ,but it was after the decolonization of the British,French ,empires ,that it followed its two great great predecessors only after the second half of the twentieth century

                      The focus point of  culture and imperialism is to see how power  and ideology work  ,but they together knowingly or unknowingly they maintain a system of domination that goes beyond military force .  The final point that Said wants to make here is that this work is in the way of exile’s book .It was at various lecture series that the arguments of this book was first presented

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Said, Edward W. Culture and Imperialism. Vintage Books, 1994.