The Power and Use of Language

           in Wide Sargasso Sea 

The novel Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys tells the story of Antoinette, who is the daughter of a former slave owner living in Jamaica during the time of Colonialism. One of the aspects in the novel is the power and use of language, because Antoinette is in contact with four different languages or rather two languages and two varieties of each language, namely British English, African American English, French and patois. Her parents are colonizers from England, so she is expected to speak British English in her family. But Antoinette is raised by her nanny Christophine, who is from Martinique and speaks French, as well as the Creole language spoken in Martinique, called patois. Moreover, Christophine knows English, but whenever Christophine speaks English, she has the typical African American accent. I personally think that Jean Rhys has a nice way of mentioning all languages in the novel, because she lets each character speak in his or her language and does not translate what is said in Patois or French. So the reader knows immediately if the person speaking is black or white and which social class he or she belongs to, because each group has its own way of speaking.

Language is not only used to communicate, but is also part of our identity. Antoinette serves as a good example and shows that her identity problem is also expressed in her use of language. In part I the story is told from Antoinette’s perspective as a child and whenever she speaks she mixes the different languages and this shows us that she does not know where she belongs.

The following quote gives in insight into the problematic situation of Antoinette and her husband, which is partly linked to the problem of language and identity.

She kissed Antoinette on the cheek. Then she looked at me, shook her head, and muttered in patois before she went out.

‘Did you hear what the girl was singing?’ Antoinette said.

‘I don’t always understand what they say or sing.’ Or anything else.

‘It was a song about a white cockroach. That’s me. That’s what they call all of us who were here before their own people in Africa sold them to the slave traders. And I have heard English women call us white niggers. So between you I often wonder who I am and where is my country and where I belong and why was I ever born at all.

(Rhys, Jean. 1968 (1966). Wide Sargasso Sea. London. Penguin. p. 76)

Although her husband is from England and is in charge and in power of his workers and servants, he cannot express his power, because of the language barrier. In my opinion one of the reasons why he mistrusts his servants is because he cannot understand what they mutter. Moreover, although he knows some words of French he does not want to use them, since to him English is the language of power. He might also fear to use French because he might make mistakes and because of these feel inferior to his servants.

In addition to the problems of communication and identity language also has an impact on sympathies. If one likes a certain language, accent or dialect one rather likes the person speaking the language on the one hand. On the other hand if one does not likes a person one also tends to dislike his or her language, accent or dialect. Hence language is closely liked to sympathies. We can see this  in the following quote of Antoinette’s husband, who as we know from the novel does notlike Christophine.

‘Don’t you like Christophine?’

‘She is a worthy person no doubt. I can’t say I like her language.’

‘It does not mean anything,’ said Antoinette.

‘And she looks so lazy. She dawdles about.’

(Rhys, Jean. 1968 (1966). Wide Sargasso Sea. London. Penguin. p. 62)

Comment on: 

Edward Said, 

“Two Visions in Heart of Darkness”

Edward Said claims that Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness contains two visions. On the one hand the novel can be seen as a vision on colonialism in general and on the other hand it can just be seen as a story, which is set in the time of colonialism.

I personally support the second vision and think of Heart of Darkness as a story. Although it contains many issues of that time, after all it is a novel and not a scientific book on colonialism. Therefore I think the author cannot be criticized for not presenting a full picture of the historical and political background.

Essay on:

A programme for comparative ethnology

(I)Bartholomé de Las Casas

(by: Anthony Pagdan)

After studying de Las Casas’s essay it is interesting to read Anthony Pagdan’s article, in which he describes not only de Las Casas’s views regarding the ‘Indies’, but although the opinions of his adversaries and the sources for their argumentations.

De Las Casas’s major opponent, Juan Ginés Sepúlveda, also bases his argumentation on Aristotle but he interprets his writings differently. According to Sepúlveda the Spaniards had the right to treat the ‘Indians’ the way they did because they were culturally inferior.

For me, it is really hard to understand their thoughts at that time, since today it seems so obvious that the ‘Indies’ were no barbarians or inferiors, but rather came from a different background and hence had a different culture. But Pagdan’s essay underlines that at that time de Las Casas’s way of thinking was very progressive.  He was one of the first, who realized that that all human beings, even the Spaniards, “had once been barbarians” (p.141). Hence at one point at a time his ancestors were also wild and their lifestyle had probably been similar to the life of the ‘Indies’. De Las Casas discovers that all human beings live a ‘primitive’ life until one person enters the group or rises from the group and establishes a social body and after the social body is established, some kind of religion follows. Based on his Christian background it was obvious that for him Christianity was the only true religion and that other cultures could be saved by converting to Christianity (p. 142).

I just wonder why he did not realize that the ‘Indies’ probably already had some kind of social body, in which each person had a special function and that their rituals, myths and beliefs were just a different type of religion. 

‘The devastation of the Indies: A brief account’

Essay on

            ‘The devastation of the Indies: A brief account’

                                                                                  By: Bartolomé de Las Casas

The Spanish Dominican priest, bishop and writer Bartolome de Las Casas describes in his Essay ‘The devastation of the Indies: A brief account’ how the Spanish Christians treated the ‘Indians’ after the discovery of today’s America. In terms of political correctness I will, in the following paragraphs, refer to ‘Indians’ as Native Americans.

According to de Las Casas the first encounter with the Natives and the Spanish Christians in 1492 was peaceful, because of the kind temper of the Native Americans. But soon the discoverers started to interfere in the peaceful life. They tried to convert them into Christians and the essay points out that they were eager to learn and obey their new Catholic faith. Although the Native American treated the Spanish with respect, the Spanish Christians were lead by their desire for land and gold and started to exploit the Indians. To achieve their goals they attacked, tortured, enslaved and killed the Native Americans, who were by far inferior because they did not use any modern weapons. This was the start of several decades lasting wars fought between Christians and Native Americans. Closing the summary quoting de La Casas:

‘the wars waged by the Indians against the Christians have been justifiable wars and [] all the wars waged by the Christians against the Indians have been unjust wars, more diabolical than any wars ever waged anywhere in the world.’ (p. 13)

Especially considering the time and de Las Casas Christian background as a priest and bishop, his thoughts were very daring stating that the Christians behaved incorrectly. I strongly agree with his views of the Christians fighting unjustified wars. But I do not believe that the Native Americans were eager to become Christians as he points out on page two. As far as I know they have their own gods, myths and beliefs.