A Study on Frantz
Fanon’s Tripartite Process with Reference to Chinua Achebe’s Selected Novels
Colonialism
made its impact on bodies and minds as well as on material conditions. – W.E.B
Do Bouis
Abstract
The
emergence of post colonialism from the year 1930s and it reflects the encounters
made by colonialization. Generally, post colonialism throws the light on brutal
sufferings of colonized countries. As Bouis says it made severe impact on
psychological assets and material assets. There are several militant movements
and activities were born against colonial activities. Edward Said, Frantz
fanon, Gayatri Spivak and many African theorists are famous for post colonial
writings. This paper is an attempt to study
on Frantz Fanon’s tripartite process with reference to Chinua Achebe’s selected
novels Things Fall Apart, Broken
Arrow and No Longer at Ease.
The term ‘post colonialism’ refers to historical,
political, cultural and textual ramifications of the colonial encounters
between the west and non west, dating from sixteenth century to present day. In
some countries it was named as purna swaraj(India), ujamaa – independence
(Tanzania), amandala – the power of people (South Africa). The term can be
referred in different names but the principles are same.
Post colonial writing tries to retrieve the lost
culture and identity. During the period of colonization the natives are shown as secondary figures. In the post colonial
writings desire for rebirth is found. The authors want to give rebirth and new
identity through their writings. Writings in 1960s in the context of Algeria
and its French colonial occupation, Frantz Fanon have been an influential
figure in post colonial theory.
He was fascinated by the psychological effects of
colonized people. He argues that colonialism destroyed every human soul. The
feeling of slavery enters into human mind and makes them to rise against it. It
pays way for anti-colonial movements and activities. The non-western people are
the most affected mostly African people. Stuart Hall calls the black world as third world. The people in the third
world are unable to recover from the effects of colonization. They are given
secondary importance. They begin to feel inferior regarding their tradition,
culture and religion. Fanon calls it as arsenal
of complexes (the feelings of inferiority and social invisibility).
The natives are started to adopt western culture and
tradition because of inferiority feeling. The people who lost their faith start
to accept this but people who are staunch supporters will not accept this. Thus
this stage marks the beginning of tripartite process. According to Fanon a
national culture is framed in three stages. He called it as tripartite process
and the process is as follows:
1. Assimilating
colonizer’s culture
2. Discover
themselves as black
3. Anti-colonial
activities
The success of this process depends upon
psychological disturbance of colonized people. In his famous work Wretched of the Earth Fanon says,
‘‘The
black had to create their own history, write their own stories and it is
through this control over representation that the native can break free of the
colonial shackles’’
Chinua Achebe is one of
the famous writers who reflect the desire to retrieve his culture and tradition
(lost his culture and tradition by colonization). His writing shows his thirst
to find unique identity for what his country lost. He decides to frame his own
culture. His works portray the brutal sufferings of Igbo community and how the
community rises against colonization. Fanon’s tripartite process can be found
in Achebe’s novels such as Things fall
apart, Arrow of God and No Longer at
Ease.
Things Fall Apart
Okonkwo was the warrior
and the leader of Umuofia, a lower Nigerian tribe. He was the staunch believer
of his tradition and he was ready to sacrifice his son Ikemefune for his
community as the words of oracle. Accidentally Okonkwo killed a clansman so
that he forced to exile for seven years including his family. During the second
year of Okonkwo’s exile, he came to know that missionaries are entered in their
community and they had been tried to convert them into Christianity. He tried
to protest against this pious colonialism and made sacrifice his life.
Arrow of God
Ezeulu was the chief
priest of God Ulu, worshiped by the six villages of Umuaro. The plot began
with the fighting between Ezeulu and Umuaro, two nearby villagers but the same
Igbo community. This quarrel was resolved by the colonial administrator
Winterbottom and he offered Ezeulu to be a colonial administrator. He refused
this offer. He was thrown into prison. He believed that he was half spirit and
half man. When Ezeulu returned from prison, he refused to call the feast
despite being implored by other important men in the village to compromise.
Ezeulu had reason to the people and to himself that it was not his will but
Ulu's. The yams began to rot in the field, and a famine ensued for which the
village blamed Ezeulu. Seeing this as an opportunity, John Goodcountry proposed
that the village offer thanks to the Christian God instead so that they may
harvest what had remained of their crops with "immunity". Many of the
villagers had already lost their faith in Ezeulu. One of Ezeulu's sons died
during a traditional ceremony, and the village interpreted this as a sign that
Ulu had abandoned their priest. Rather than face another famine, the village
converts to Christianity
No Longer at ease
This novel began with a
trail against a young man Obi who was educated in England. He went England to
study the law but he changed to English. After he came from Nigeria he got a
post in scholarship board of civil service. Even though he had a job but
miserably failed to impress Clara. So she refused to marry him. He rejected all
bribes and led an honest life. His mother becomes very ill and he started to
accept bribes. His economic condition became worst because of his honest life.
Her mother dead and he became mentally unrest. The acceptance of bribe became
habitual for him. At a point he decided that he would not stand anymore. He has
paid off all of his debts and could no longer be a part of the corruption. It
was at this moment, however, when he had taken his last bribe, that he was
caught, which brings us back to the beginning of the novel.
These three novels are considered as
an African trilogy which deals with physical and mental state of colonized
people. The characters like Obi, Ezeulu, Okonkwo were realistic representation
of colonized people. Chinua Achebe displayed not only brutal sufferings of land
but also psychological encounters they made. Fanon analysed colonized people’s
psychological aspects in his famous
work Wretched of the Earth. He
analysed their mental state within three processes which is already mentioned
above.
In Arrow of God, Ezeulu believed that he is half human and half spirit
and lost faith of his people. The people are slowly adapted to Christianity. The
protagonist takes these things into their mind and tried to assimilate. He
fails to cross Fanon’s second stage. He stops at assimilation. In No Longer at Ease, the protagonist could
not stand in his moral principle even though he was staunch supporter of his
tradition and culture. He is not mentally steady. This mental weakness induced
him to his change of course. The character Obi miserably failed even at the
first stage.
Frantz Fanon’s three stages of
schema suitably fit into the work Things
Fall Apart. The character Okonkwo, who comes to know about Christian
missionaries started to assimilate the western culture. He took the analysis of
his own culture and tradition and finds mentally disturbed. Thus the second
process ‘disturbance’ is initiated. It makes a person to struggle against
colonial movements. This rise leads to third phase which is known as ‘furious
fight’ or ‘forced fight’. This third phase makes a person to act violently
against colonial movements. It acts as reason to formation of many militant
acts.
While a colonized person reaches the
final phase of Fanon’s tripartite process force and vengeance rised against
their colonisers, they attains death. Even though he sacrifices his life at
this final phrase, it is considered as the origin for anti colonial movements. The
character Okonkwo rises in his third phase without any supporters. It shows his
level of confidence. The protagonist attains the highest level of confidence
through tripartite process.
Works Cited
Primary Resources
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor,
1994. Print.
Achebe, Chinua. Arrow of God. New York: Anchor,
1989. Print.
Achebe, Chinua. No Longer at Ease. New York: Anchor,
1994. Print.
Secondary Sources
BARRY, PETER. "Post Colonialism."
BEGINNING THEORY. S.l.: MANCHESTER UNIV, 2017. N. pag. Print
Waugh, Patricia. "Post Colonialism."
Literary Theory and Criticism: An Oxford Guide. New York: Oxford UP, 2006. N.
pag. Print.
