An Introduction to Edward said's Orientalism

Name                -            Foram.Y.Vyas

Roll no:             -            21

M.A.Part-2       -            Sem-3

Paper                -            5, E-E-305

Paper name    -           Post Colonial Literature     

Topic for assignment  -

An Introduction to Edward Said’s Orientalism

Submitted To:   Dr.Dilipsir Barad

                           Department of English,

                           Bhavnagar university,

                           Bhavnagar.                    

An Introduction to Edward Said’s Orientalism

Introduction:-

Orientalism by Edward said is a canonical text of cultural – studies in which he has challenged the concept of Orientalism or the difference between east and west, as he puts it.  He says that with the start of European colonization the Europeans came in contact with the lesser developed countries of the east.  They found their civilization and culture very exotic, and established the science of Orientalism, which was the study of the Orientals or the people from this exotic civilization.

·                              Edward said argues that the Europeans divided the world into two parts; the east and the west or the accident and the orient or the civilized and the uncivilized.  This was totally an artificial boundary; and it was laid on the basis of the concept of them and us or theirs and ours.  The Europeans used Orientalism to define themselves.  Some particular attributes were associated with the Orientals, and whatever the oriental weren’t the accidents were.  The Europeans defined themselves as the superior race compared to the Orientals; and they justified their colonization by this concept.  They said that it was their duty towards the world to civilize the uncivilized world.  The main problem, however, arose when the Europeans started generalizing the attributes they associated with Orientals, and started portraying these artificial characteristics associated with Orientals in their western world through their scientific reports, literary work, and other media sources.  What happened was that it created a certain image about the Orientals.  This Prejudice was also found in the Orientalist; and all their scientific research and reports were under the influence of this.  The generalized attributes associated with the oriental can be seen even today, for example, the Arabs are defined as uncivilized people; and Islam is seen as religion of the terrorist.

F              The Scope of Orientalism:-

·                              Edward said explains how the science of Orientalism developed and how the Orientals started considering the oriental as non-human beings.  The Orientals divided the world in to two parts by using the concert of ours and theirs.  An imaginary geographical line was drawn between what was ours and what was theirs.  The orients were regarded as uncivilized people; and the westerns said that since they were the refined race it was their duty to civilize these people and in order to achieve their goal, they had to colonize and rule the orients.  They said that the orients themselves were incapable of running their own government.  The Europeans also thought that they had the right to represent the Orientals in the west all by themselves.  In doing so, they shaped the Orientals the way they perceived them or in the other words they were oriental zing the orients.  Various teams have been sent to the east where the Orientalist silently observed the Orientals by living with them; and everything the Orientals said and did was recorded irrespective of its context, and projected to the civilized world of the west.  This resulted in the generalization.

·                              The most important use of Orientalism to the Europeans was that they defined themselves by defining the Orientals for example qualities such as lazy, irrational un-civilized, crudeness were related to Orientals, and automatically the Europeans became active, rational, civilized.  Sophisticated.  Thus, in order to achieve this goal, it was very necessary for the orientalists to generalize the culture of the orients.

·                            Another feature of Orientalism was that the culture of the Orientals was explained to the European audience by linking them to the western culture, for example, Islam was made in to Mohammadism because Mohammad was the founder of this religion and since religion of Christ was called Christianity; thus Islam should be called Mohammadism.  The point to be noted here is that no Muslim was aware of this terminology and this was a completely western created term, and to which the Muslims had no say at all.

F           Orientalist Structure and Restructure

·                              Edward said Points the slight change in the attitude of the Europeans towards the Orientals.  The Orientals were really publicized in the European world especially through their literary work.  Orientals land and behavior was highly romanticized by the European Poets and writers and they presented to the western world.  The orientalists had made a stage strictly for the European viewers, and the orients were presented to them with the color of the orientalists or other writers’ perception.  In fact, the orient lands were so highly romanticized that western literary writers found it necessary to offer pilgrimage to these exotic lands of pure sun light and clean oceans in order to experience peace of mind, and inspiration for their writing.  The east was now perceived by the orientalists as a place of pure human culture with no necessary evil in the society.  Actually it was this purity of the Orientals that made them inferior to the clever, witty, diplomatic, for sighted European; thus it was their right to rule and study such an innocent race.  The European said that these people were too native to deal with the cruel world, and that they needed the European fatherly role to assist them.

·                            Another justification the Europeans gave to their colonization ws they were meant to rule the Orientals since they have developed sooner than the Orientals as a nation, which shows that they were biologically superior, and secondly it were the Europeans who discovered the orients not the orients who discovered the Europeans.  Darwin’s theories were put forward to justify their superiority, biologically by the Europeans.

·                              Edward said also Explain how two most renowned orientalists of the 19^th century, namely Silvestre de saucy and Ernest Renan worked and gave Orientalism a new dimension. In fact, Edward said compliments the contribution made by saucy in the field.  He says that saucy organized the whole thing by arranging the information in such a way that it was also useful for the future orienatlists.  And Secondly, the prejudice that was inherited by every Orientalist was considerably low in him on the other hand, Renan who took advantage of sacy’s work was as biased as any previous orientalists.  He believed that the science of Orientalism and the science of philology have a very important relation; and after Renan this idea was given a lot attention and much future oriental is worked off in its line.

F              Orientalism Now:-

·                              The author then talks about the changing circumstances of the world politics and changing approach to Orientalism in the 20^th century.  The main difference was that where the earlier orientalists were more of silent observers the new orientalists took part in the ever day life of the orients.  The earlier orientalists did not interact a lot with the orients, where as the new orients lived with them as if they were one of them.  Then Edward said goes on to talk about two other scholars Massignon and Gibb.  Though Massignon was a bit liberal with orientalists and often tried to protect their rights, there was still inherited biased found in him for the Orientals which can be seen in his work.  After World War 1 the centre of Orientalism moved from Europe to USA.  One important transformation that took place during this time was instances of relating it to philology and it was related to social science now.

·                   

        With the end of world war 2, all the Europeans colonies were lost; and it was believed that there were no more Orientals and occident’s, but this way surely not the case western prejudice towards eastern countries because of it, was still very explicit, and often they managed to generalize most of the eastern countries because of it. Edward said concludes his book, by saying that he is not saying that the orientalists should not make generalization, or they should include the orient perspective too, but creating a boundary at the first place is something which should not be done.  This goes on to show that even with increasing globalization and awareness, bias was found in the people of he developed countries.

F              Malcolm kerr’s review on Orientalism:-

·                              Malcolm kerr did his specialization in International relations and specialized in the Middle East from Princeton University.  Malcolm’s review on Orientalism can be concluded by his following remarks, “This book reminds me of the television program” Athletes in action,”  in which professional football players compete in swimming, and so forth.  Edward said, a literary critic loaded with talent has certainly made a splash, but with this sort of effort he is not going to win any major race.  He further goes on to say” The list of victims of said’s passion is a long one, too long to examine in detail.  Some of them deserve it: he has justly taken the measure of Ernest Renan.  The difference between representations of the orient before the last third of the last third of the eighteenth century and those after it is that the range of representation talk expanded enwmously in the later period.

·                            To Conclude, The nexus of knowledge and power creating “The oriental” and in a sense obliterating him as a human being is therefore not for me an exclusively academic matter.  As he discussed, Orientalism resemble each other very closely is a historical cultural and also political understood but what I should like also to have contributed here is a better understanding of the way cultural domination has operated.  Indeed if it eliminates the “orient” and “occident” altogether, then we shall have advanced a little in the process of what Raymond Williams has called the “unlearning” of “The inherent dominative mode.”

Teaching English as Second language in India :Focus On Objectives

Name                -            Vyas Foram Y

Roll no:             -            21

M.A.Part-2       -           Sem-3

Paper                 -          04, Ec-304

Paper name    -           English Language Teaching

      

Topic for assignment  -

Teaching English as a second Language in India: Focus on objectives.

Submitted To: Mr. Devershi Mehta

  Department of English,

  Bhavnagar university,

  Bhavnagar.                  

Topic: -         Teaching English as a second Language in India: Focus on objectives.

-        Shivendra K. Verma

ð    Abstract :-

ü                After highlighting certain theoretical aspects of the notion “objective of language teaching,” we discuss the functionally – determined sub-categorization of languages into first language, second language, foreign language and also classical language.  We then focus on the objectives of teaching English as a second Language in India.

ð    The objectives of Language Teaching :-

ü              The global objectives of language teaching can be defined as helping children learn a language or also languages to perform for a variety of functions.  These range from the sociable use of language for phatic communion and a network of communicative uses to its use at the highest level of “Cognition”, “Catharsis” and “Self – expression”. Underlying these functions are two fundamental functions: helping children learn how to ask questions, the most important intellectual ability man has yet developed, and helping children use this language effectively in different social networks.

ð    Language in a multilingual Setting form a system - network:-

ü                Each language in this network has a function – determined value contrastive to the function – determined values of the other language.  A society or a government can assign a new value to any one of the language in the system network in terms of its own policy of language planning, but the society or government must realize that this assignment of a new value to a language will produce a chain reaction in the network.

          The nation of “Link language” or “lingua Franca” has an important significance in a multilingual setting.  It encourages wider mobility, national integration, and a sense of tolerance.  It enriches other languages in contact aphid gets enriched by them.  Effective bilingualism or twilingualism or even multilingualism is a powerful way of enriching the linguistic repertoire of individuals.

          Teaching is not a unidirectional process of pumping bits and pieces of unrelated and undigested gobbets of knowledge into empty sacks.  It is a bidirectional, interactional process.  The main objective at every level of teaching should be to help learners learn How to draw out their latent creativity.  Every learner is barn with a built – in language – learning mechanism.  This mechanism gets activated when the Lerner is exposed to that language.  Exposure to a rich variety of linguistic material is as important in first language acquisition as in second language learning.  The teachings of English as a second language, in particular, has often been less successful than it might have even as a result of the restricted variety of linguistic contexts with which students are provided.  Learners should ideally be exposed to a variety of contextualized language materials.  They must hear and see language in action.

ð              The emphasis should shift from encouraging learners to memorize paradigms and grammatical rules to helping them interact with people using different registers of language in a variety of situations.  In that process the learners internalize not only the linguistic but also the sociolinguistic rules of the game, so that they capture the system which enables them to focus on “what to say when and how.” Learning a language is not just a question of learning to produce sentences and utterances which are grammatical and acceptable; they must also be appropriate.

ð              Each of the four skills: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Understanding, is composed of a hierarchy of sub skills what is necessary is to identify the sub-skills that are to be strengthened and expanded in the process of teaching a first language, a second language or foreign language (s).  The objective of teaching a language or languages is not simply to make the learner the major language skill but to enable the learners to play their communicative roles effectively and to select language according to the roles they are playing.  Every social person is a bundle of personae, a bundle of parts, each part having its lines.  If you do not know your lines, you are no use in the play.”  A well-qualified, energetic and inventive teacher can be a “living” model and act as the best audio – visual aid.

ð    Functionally – determined Sub Categories :-

ü    First Language (L₁) :-

·                               L₁ is used for performing all the essential, personal functions.  These are gradually expanded to cover all types of interpersonal functions.  L₁ is an indispensable instrument of national culture.  It is primary means for the transmission of culture.  It is primary means for the transmission of culture from one generation to another. “Learning through the mother tongue is the most potent and comprehensive medium for the expressions of the student’s entire personality.”

ü   Foreign Language :

·                               It is used by a select group of learners in a very restricted set of situations.  The main objective of learning a foreign language is to have direct access to the speakers of these languages and their cultures.  English as a second language is used in India as an alternative way of expressing Indian Patterns of life and also a classical language like Sanskrit provides access to ancient culture.

ü   Objective of teaching English as a second language in India :-

·                               The objective has to be formulated in the light of what we perceive our needs for English to be in multilingual setting, at both the national and individual levels.  What are the roles of Hindi, English, Regional languages, classical languages, foreign languages, and languages, and languages of the minority group in our multilingual setting? What is the kind and amount of English that the learners will need?

            At the national level English must serve as our “Window on the world”, as the language of science, economics and international relations, English will be important for industrial and economic development, where the medium of instruction is to be some language other than English, the “Library language” function of English may have to be stressed.  At the Individual level, English continues to be “the language of opportunity” and “the language of upward social mobility.”

ü   What are the objectives of teaching Language?

·                               (I) the ability to read easily, and with understanding books in English written within a prescribed range of vocabulary and sentence structure.

·                             (ii) The readiness to proceed, to a more advanced reading stage, that of reading un-simplified texts, particularly those bound up with personal studies and interest.

·                             (iii) The ability to understand a talk in English on a subject of general experience and interest.

·                             (iv) The ability to write comprehensible in English, and without gross errors, on a familiar topic which leads itself to expression within the rang of vocabulary and sentence structure to the rang of the syllabus.

·                             (v)The ability to carry on comprehensibly a conversation in English on a topic fully within the range both of their experience and interests and the range of active command by the syllabus.

          To Conclude, It is important that we should be able to identify the English requirements of various groups of students precisely, and try to provide for each such group the pattern of courses which ill be relevant to the needs of learners.  This is important because not all students will need English to the same level of competence.  We must ensure that English.

·                             (i) Functions as a “Service-language” for the various categories of learners.

·                             (ii) Promotes intellectual and cultural awareness content of the contemporary world e live in, and.

·                             (iii) Provides “information Content” necessary for the modernization of our country.

          It is also important that Special opportunities are made available to help the weaker sections of our society to acquire an adequate competence in English so that they do not remain forever disadvantaged in areas of higher education and in terms of upward social mobility.

ð              In order to achieve these objectives we will have to introduce changes in our syllabus, methodology of language teaching, materials, training programs attitudes to learners and their language, and the system of evaluation.  We may need to change the school – its physical structure, its atmosphere, its functions, its facilities, its roles and responsibilities.

Thematic Study of The Novel The Scarlet Letter

Name                -            Foram Vyas y

Roll no:             -            21

M.A.Part-2       -            Sem-3

Paper                -            02, Ec-303

Paper name     -           American Literature             

      

Topic for assignment  -

Thematic study of the Novel ‘The Scarlet Letter’

Submitted To: Dr.Dilipsir Barad

  Department of English,

  Bhavnagar university,

  Bhavnagar.                  

Topic: - Thematic study of the Novel ‘The Scarlet Letter’

ð    Introduction:-

ü                Nathaniel Hawthorne’s major novels are powerful records of the contemporary puritan society, revealing the contemporary social and religious order that governed at the time.  His novels bring out the conflict between the individual moral values and virtues and social mutuality and ethical codes.  Referring to the element of social ethics in Hawthorne’s novels, Lawrence Sergeant Hall remarks:

            “The moral problem to be found wherever the individual’s maladjustment to society culminates in sin furnished Hawthorne with his major tragic themes.”

ð    Meaning of the Tongue – of Flame:-

ü                The expression ‘tongue of flame’ occurs in the chapter entitles “The Interior of a Heart”.  It refers to the fiery power in the tongue or speech of Dimes dale.  The sincerity and depth of feeling had given to his speech a peculiar force and fire that the public speakers in general conspicuously lack.  He castigated and also condemned the sinners and warned them against God’s fury, retribution and damnation.  He was himself sure to e punished by God and consigned to hell fire.  This bitter consciousness shot forth from his heart in the form of his pulpit speeches.  There was so much of fire, force and venom in his speech that he seemed to be speaking with a ‘tongue of Flame.’

ð    Dimmesdale as a preacher – Sinner:-

ü                Dimmesdale was a Sinner in the garb of a preacher.  The pick and anguish of his daily life of un-confessed sin had given Dimmesdale a tongue.  Flame as a preacher.  The Tongue – Flame, “Symbolized, it would seem, not the power of speech in foreign and unknown languages, but that of addressing the whole human brotherhood in the heart’s native language.”  Dimmesdale’s awareness of his secret sin had made him a more eloquent speaker than he would otherwise be.  Therefore the tongue – of – flame is a paradox; it is a flame which burns and therefore painful; yet it licks the receiver as a mother cat licks its kitten.  It means that the speaker speaks the painful subject of man’s eternal sinfulness but his speech though it torments his listener, also makes the sinful listener aware of his sin, and therefore also makes it possible for him to seek salvation or redemption.

          In the meantime the flame of the fame often Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale was increasing rapidly.  This fame was partly caused by the intellectual gifted of the minister; partly it was because of his sorrows.  Common people also regarded him as a miracle of holiness.  They believed that he was the special messenger of God upon this earth.  In their eyes the very ground on which he walked was sacred.  The virgins of the church worshipped him.  The older members of the church believed that he was surely destined for heaven.  Although he had spoken the very truth, but his listeners had interpreted it in an altogether different light.

          The Central theme, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s major novels are powerful records f the contemporary puritan society, revealing the contemporary social and religious order that government at the time.  His novels bring out the conflict between the individual more values and virtues and social morality and ethical codes.  Lawrence Sergeant Hall says,

          “The moral problem to be found wherever the individual’s maladjustment to society culminates in sin furnished Hawthorne with his major tragic themes.”

ð    Redemption of Hester and Dimmesdale:-

ü                However, in the end, both Hester and Dimmesdale are redeemed through repentance, moral courage, resolution and human service.  During the seven years, when she has worn the letter ‘A’, she is instilled with an altruism and love for the sick and downtrodden.”  It is our Hester – the towns own Hester, who is so-kind to the poor, so helpful to sick, so comfortable to the afflicted.”

Sin, knowledge, and the Human Condition

ü              Sin and knowledge are linked in the Judeo – Christian tradition.  The Bible begins with the story of Adam and Eve, who were expelled from the Garden of Eden for eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  As a result of their knowledge.  Adam and Eve are made aware of their humanness, that which them from the divine and from other creatures.

ü              The experience of Hester and Dimmesdale recall the story of Adam and Eve because in both cases, sin result in expulsion and suffering.  But it also results in knowledge specifically, in knowledge of what it means to be human.

ü              For Hester, the scarlet letter functions as “her passport into regions where there women dared not tread,” leading her to “speculate” about her society and herself more “boldly” than anyone else in New England.  As for Dimmesdale, the “burden” of his sin gives him “Sympathy so intimate with the sinful brotherhood of mankind, so that his heart vibrates in unison with theirs.”

ü              The puritan elders, on the other hand, insist on seeing earthly experience as merely an obstacle on the path on the path to haven.   Thus, they view sin as a threat to the community that should be punished and suppressed.  Their answer to Hester’s sin is to ostracize her yet; partition society is stagnant, while Hester and Dimmessale’s experience shows that a state of sinfulness can lead to personal growth, sympathy, and understanding of others paradoxically, these qualities are shows to be incompatible with a state of purity.

ð    The Nature of Evil:

ü                The characters in the novel frequently debate the identify of the “Black Man” the embodiment of evil.  Over the course of the novel, the “Black Man” is associated with Dimmesedale, Chilling worth, Mistress Hibbing; and little pearl is thought by some to be the Devil’s child.

ð    The characters also try to root out the causes of evil

ü                 Chilling worth’s selfishness in marring Hester forces her to the “evil”.  She committed in Dimmesdale’s arms?

          Is Hester and Dimmesdale’s deed responsible for Chilling worth’s transformation into a malevolent being?

ð    Terry Dibble :-

ü                Hatred and love, Hawthorne says, are so close as to seem, philosophically, to be “essentially the same” Hawthorne suggests that in the spiritual world.  “The physician and the minister – mutual victims as they have been – May, unaware, have found their earthly stock of hatred and antipathy transmuted into golden love.”

ü              This confusion over the nature and causes of evil reveals the problems with the puritan conception of sin.  The book argues that true evil arise from the close relationship between hate and love.  As the narrator points out in the novel’s Concluding chapter, both emotions depend upon.

ü              “A high degree of intimacy and heart – knowledge; each renders one individual dependent… upon another.”

          Evil is not found in Hester and Dimmesdale’s lovemaking, or even in the cruel ignorance of the puritan fathers.

          Evil, in its most poisonous form, is found in the carefully plotted and precisely aimed revenge of chilling worth, whose love has been perverted.  Perhaps pearl revenge is not entirely wrong when she thinks Dimmesdale is the “Black Man”, because her father, too, has perverted his love.  Dimmesdale, who should love pearl, will not even publicly acknowledge her.  His cruel denial of love to his own child may be seen as further proper rating evil.

          Thus, the nature of evil is symbolically reflected in different inter- pritations of superstitious and symbolical ‘Black Man’.

·       Dimmesdale is ‘Black Man’ for pearl.

·       Puritan society is Black Man for the love of Dimmesdale and Hester.

·       Chilling worth is black man for the woes and tortures of Dimmesdale and Hester.

ð    Identity and Society :-

ü                After Hester is publicly named and forced by the people of Boston to wear a badge of humanization, her unwillingness to leave the town may seem puzzling.  She is not physically imprisoned and leaving the Massachusetts Bay colony would allow her to remove the scarlet letter and resume a normal life.  Surprisingly, Hester reacts with dismay when chilling worth tells her that the town fathers are considering letting her remove the letter.

ü              Hester’s behavior is premised on her desire to determine her own identify rather than to allow others to determine it for her.  To her, running away or removing the letter would be an acknowledgment of society’s power over her: she would be an acknowledgment of society’s power over her: she would be admitting that the letter is a mark of shame and something prom which she desire to escape.  Instead, Hester stays, refiguring the scarlet as a symbol of her own experience and character.  Her past sin is a part of which she is; to pretend that it never happened would mean dyeing a part of her.  Thus, Hester very determinedly integrants her sin into her life.

ü                Dimmesdale also smuggles against a socially determined identity.  As the community’s minister, he is a more symbol than human being.  Expert for chilling worth, those around the minister willfully ignore his obvious anguish, misinterpreting it as holiness.  Unfortunately, Dimmesdale never fully recognizes the truth of what Hester has learned: that individuality and strength are gained by quite self assertion and by a reconfiguration, not a rejection, of one’s assigned identity.

ð    Conclusion :-

ü                The love which Hester Prynne bears towards this man also enhances our admiration of this great minister.  His hunted, emaciated figure cannot be forgotten by any sensitive reader.  By revealing the hidden workings of the mind of Author Dimmesdale, Hawthorne is able to retain our admiration for him.  Real heroism lies in inner torment greatly.  The Temptations which he has to suffer increase his stature as a priest and minister.