Assignment of Post Colonial Literature : Themes of Black skin ,White Mask

Assignment of Post Colonial Literature : Themes of Black skin ,White Mask 

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Paper : 11 : Post colonial Literature  

Prepared by : Gohil Jyotiba M.

Roll No : 16

Assignment  Topic :  Themes of Black Skin , white mask 

M.A (English) : Semester  -3

Enrolment No: 2069108420180016

Batch : 2017-19

Email  ID: jyotibagohil96@gmail.com

Submitted to : Smt .S. B Gardi , Department of English, MK Bhavnagar University.

● Themes of Black skin , White mask : 

● Introduction : 

Black skin, white mask is a book written by Frantz Fanon in 1952. He was a psychiatrist. Into this book he described the mental conditions of Black people. Through this book fan on shows his own experience in addition to presenting historical critical of effects of racism and dehumanisation and inherent situation of colonial people domination on human psyche. 

Black skin white mask divided into Eight  parts : 

1) The Negro and Language 

2) The Woman of Colour and the White Man 

3) The Man of Colour and the White Woman

4) The So-Called Dependency Complex of Colonized Peoples

5) The Fact of Blackness 

6) The Negro and Psychopathology 

7) The Negro and Recognition 

8) Conclusion

● Themes in Black skin , White mask : 

● Desire to be white : 

“The black man wants to be white. The white man slaves to reach a human level.”

This theme consider as the most important theme of Black skin ,  white mask. In this theme shows desire of black people to be white. Fanon also described about interracial relationship. Power plays a vital role behind this desire of black people. Because of colonial power they get nothing in their life their lives becomes meaningless and painful because of black skin. So this power lead these people to being white.

   White people have all the advantages like more opportunities and economical advantages compare to black people. So they have desire to be white only for getting this advantages in their lives and make their lives more happier and peaceful. But they can’t be white so their desire to be white not fulfill. So at that they suffers mentally through out their lives. In the bluest eye novel by Tony Morrison. In this character of Pecola  have desire for blue eyes because she not getting love from her parents but she can’t fulfill her desire and suffers through put her life. 

● Recognition by Others : 

 Black people not consider themselves black until they not recognised white people. So the white ‘ other ‘ make them realise their blackness. They imposed inferiority complex upon black people. So the identity categories always  through interaction and relationships that involved people with different social positions.

● Racist create inferiority complex : 

Both the black man, slave to his inferiority and the white man, slave to his superiority, behave along neurotic lines. As a consequence, we have been led to consider their alienation with reference to psychoanalytic descriptions.

Black people don’t naturally feel inferior. So there  sense of inferiority is produced by racist societies. Who doing discrimination of people on the basis of colours. So Because of the recognition involved in identity White people create their own sense of superiority by saying Blacks are inferior. So the society create inferiority complex into black people. They feel inferiority complex. So this racial discrimination becomes the reason inferiority  from which black people suffering. So both black and white man slave of their complexity which is inferiority and superiority complex. White suffering from superiority complex as same as black people suffering from inferiority complex. 

● Black as biological : 

The  theme throughout cultural representations of Black people. According to Fanon they are a symbol for the biological. This means that they are not thought of as thinking or feeling people but primarily as physical bodies like animals and beasts. So they all like other human beings they have a same feelings and emotions as other being have. The colour of black can be seen as a biological and environmental. Environment plays a vital role into skin colour. So it can be seen as normal thing. The consequence of  sexualisation of Black people. Reduced to their bodies, they are also reduced to the purely physical and sexual side of human life. Fanon argue that  this is why Black people are feared in European society. So black can be seen as natural rather than cruel and regressive people. Black colour also connected with bad things and it also effect lives of black people because their skin is black people consider them as cruel and monster and more regressive people. 

● Colonialism :

Black Skin, White Masks is a book about the powerful effects of colonialism on life in the 20th century people . Fanon examines colonialism’s impact on black as well as white people. Colonialism consider as the main theme. Effect of Colonialism can be seen into the mind of people.

colonized people lost their own culture, identity, and  sense of their own existence they leaving  in a state of profound alienation. Throughout the book Fanon emphasizes that black people are forced to exist into  relation or in comparison to whiteness. White people try to force their religion and culture on black people. In the novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe. Into this novel  Robinson tried to ruled over Friday. He implement his religion and culture over Friday. Friday lost his own identity when Robinson give him a name “ Friday”. Even he lost his land and freedom. So these all things can be seen as the effect of Colonialism. 

● Material and psychological oppressed :

 Black people are Material and psychological oppressed by white people. All the basic material facilities providing white people not black. They feel oppressed into the world which is surrounded by white people. Black people also psychologically oppressed they suffering from the inferiority complex. So it shows how they mentally suppressed by white people. All the opportunity and wealth and economical facilities only provide to white people. Black people have no chances to make their lives more facaliticised. 

Fanon also writes about the racism of white people through the framework of psychopathology. Into this he discussed white people’s phobic means the fear of black people. He also explains that  how this irrational fear can itself be seen as a psychological effect of colonialism. He also gives an example of a woman her fear of black people has affected her so deeply that she suffers from debilitating physicality. 

“We too often tend to forget that neurosis is not a basic component of human reality. Whether you like it or not the Oedipus complex is far from being a black complex.” 

So Fanon uses his knowledge  as a psychiatrist to extend psychological principles to black people. He described the psychological  conditions of black people. He also  highlighting the ways in which black people have starkly different psychological experiences than whites. Here he wants to show the clear difference of Oedipus complex and black complex. Being black face so much difficulties and suffering in to the life. 

● Self Image and self Hatred : 

“Hatred is not a given; it is a struggle to acquire hatred, which has to be dragged into being, clashing with acknowledged guilt complexes. Hatred cries out to exist, and he who hates must prove his hatred through action and the appropriate behaviour. In a sense he has to embody hatred.”

Black people have an image of themselves that is distorted and a very  negative image constructed by the  white colonizers. Black people experience the weight of being hated, detested, and despise by the white society. This experience leads the  feelings of shame and self-hatred. So at the result of that many black people try to become ‘more white’ and as a result it creates shame due to the hopelessness of that task to be white. So the white colonisers have destroyed the self image of black. They consider the black skin as course upon them. To get more importance and love from people they always desire for fair skin. So they lost their self love for being black. They hate themselves for being black. It happens because of  colonized subjects taught them to hate their own blackness and to distance themselves from white people. Fanon also  argues that the white western culture has no any true understanding of the experiences of black people. They only lies about black people by portering them as devil and harmful people. So as a result of that Fanon argues that it is very  difficult for black people to gain an understanding of themselves that is separate from conceptions of whiteness and therefore they also suffers by self-hatred.

● Conclusion : 

 So these are the themes of Black skin , white mask. This book is based on the psychological conditions of black people and their struggle and suffering during their life. Here we can see the effect of colonial power highly shown behind the situation of black people. They always suffer during their lives. They suffers socially,  psychological,  physical, economical. So it shows the sufferings of black into the coloniser world. White people portrayed black as uncivilised,  devil ,  regressive. So they wants to highlight their civilisation into the world by calling themselves more civilised. Into this book reflected the real conditions of. Black people as they have desire for whiteness ,  material and psychological oppressed by white people , self  hatred and  loss of self importance , suffering from inferiority complex and effect of colonialism on their lives. 

● Resources :

https://www.gradesaver.com/black-skin-white-masks/study-guide/themes

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Skin,_White_Masks