Colonial Powers and How They Break the Spirit

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how the writings describe different methods used by foreign or colonial powers to break the spirit of colonized peoples. It examines what these methods are and also looks at their effects. It tells how colonizers have often attempted to control and subjugate their colonies, but in the end, their dominance usually backfires, and the subjugated rise up to fight for their freedom and their own culture.

From the Paper:

"Colonialism is an antiquated idea that has nearly disappeared, but not so long ago it was still an accepted and even celebrated way for strong countries to vanquish the weak. Author Aime Cesaire called the practice "a receptacle into which there flow all the dirty waters of history" (Cesaire 45), and his description is quite apt, considering the sufferings most colonized subjects discuss after they have gained their freedom, and their sufferings were certainly not centered only on violence. The colonization of unwilling subjects, such as Japan's colonization of Korea certainly entails violence, but there are much more subtle ways to bend the colonials to the whims of the aggressors, as Kim's book poignantly illustrates. For example, the Japanese begin indoctrinating the young Koreans early by hanging the Japanese flag and propaganda slogans in their elementary school classrooms (Kim 31). Later, the Japanese break the spirit of the Koreans by taking what is theirs, and leaving them with little."

More papers on Colonial Powers and How They Break the Spirit:

• Book Review # 121934 : "Cross-Cultural Conflict in "The Spirit Catches You"
• Book Review # 122917 : "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down"- A Book Review"
• Term Paper # 108121 : "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: