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Frydda Romero

Ms. Lee

8th Grade English R3

10/31/17

The Psychological Effects Of Post Colonialism Introduced In Minutes Of Glory And

Children Of The Sea.

Imagine a regular Sunday morning for you- homemade breakfast and afternoon strolls at

the park. Suddenly you hear gunshots at your front door and men are invading your home. The

chaos of colonialism entering your life has begun. What effects might it hold for you?

The answer to this question is explored in both , Minutes of Glory, by Ngugi wa Thiongo, and

Children of the Sea, by Edwidge Danticat. Minutes of Glory is about a woman, Wanjiru,

who is nomadic when it comes to her job as a barmaid, she struggles with her self- esteem and is

not very confident in her looks, because she doesnt attract as many men as all of the other

barmaids and European Looking with pale skin and straight hair, she also doesnt like her

standing in the world. Children of the Sea is about two lovers who are separated by political

instability in Haiti, they constantly write to each other, knowing that the letters will never be sent

to each other. In these letters the main characters share their feelings of anger, frustration and

despair. Both stories convey the sense of helplessness, whether it be about looks or about never

seeing a loved one again, and in both stories the effects of not having a stable political,

economic, and social standing affect the main characters negatively. These ideas are conveyed

through the use of imagery, symbolism, and man vs. man conflict.
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Through the use of imagery, the authors of Children of the Sea and Minutes of

Glory convey what it looks like in detail to be in a country affected by colonialism. Danticat

and Thiongo show that there is a deeper meaning to an image or representation of something.

In the beginning the female character of Children of the Sea knows things in her village are

not good, but doesnt know exactly what is going on, she doesnt fully experience everything

firsthand. This is until one of her close neighbors gets violently beaten, and possibly killed by

soldiers. Danticat writes, You can hear the guns coming down on her head. It sounds like they

are cracking all the bones in her body...You can hear Madam Roger screaming. They are beating

her, pounding on her until you dont hear anything else. (Danticat 16,17) The author portrays

imagery by making this scene very descriptive to the point of making you feel there, in the story.

This shows what the narrator feels and thinks while the beating is happening. Another example

of imagery is when Wanjiru, from Minutes of Glory goes on her shopping spree. Thiongo

writes, She went into a shop near Hussein Sulemans Street and bought several stockings. She

put on a pair. She next bought herself a new dress. Again she changed into it. In a Bata

Shoeshop, she bought high heeled shoes, put them on and discarded her old flat ones. On to an

Akamba kiosk, and she fitted herself with earrings. She went to a mirror and looked at her new

self. (Thiongo 82) The author conveys this scene with detail, explaining how the main

character looked and how she shopped. In this scene the character shows that she is happy

spending money on herself, because of how many purchases she makes. Wanjiru is shown as

materialistic and conceited in how she looks. The vivid images conveyed throughout both stories

provide just enough detail so that the reader can really feel inside of the story. This also helps
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make it known what type of feelings the characters have with clarity and the psychological

effects of such traumatizing events in an individuals life.

The idea of being in despair and hopeless is shown with symbolism throughout the story,

from butterflies to a boat. After quite some time out at sea the male character finds himself in a

difficult situation and realizes he dying might be a very real possibility, the female character tells

him [male character] that things in Haiti are not good. The male character ends up having to stop

writing and throw his notebook away to prevent the boat he is on from sinking. The female

character sees a black butterfly, which means death, and hopes against hope, that her lover is not

dead, but news on the radio prove that might have been a possibility. Danticat writes, Now there

are always butterflies around me, black ones that I refuse to let find my handLast night on the

radio, I heard that another boat sank off the coast of the Bahamas. I cant think about you being

out there in the waves. (Danticat 28, 29) This quote shows how the character feels about her

lover, she is in denial that he could have died, but still thinks about it. Moreover, symbolism is

displayed in other ways, for example both characters refer to the sea and mountains as an escape

or an end, or something that is endless. Danticat states, At times I wonder if there really is land

on the other side of the sea. Maybe the sea is endless. Like my love for you. (Danticat 15) This

different take on the word sea is used to identify how much the characters love each other, and

how deep that love is, in comparison to how deep a sea is. The use of symbolism reveals that

there is always a deeper meaning to simple wording, all of the examples above can attest to that.

The symbolism gives way to a profound way of looking at text that can make obvious how a

character actually feels. This makes it easier to find what psychological effects a character

experiences.
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Thiongo develops a man vs. man conflict, to express that the main character is unhappy

with herself and wishe to change. In this story the narrator is in self doubt and feels a lot of

jealousy towards others, this leads her to steal from a man, in doing so she experiences freedom

and she gets things to look beautiful, this only lasts a short amount of time and then she gets

caught for stealing. All of this is shown with the way she speaks about changing herself to

become or to look like something different. Thiongo states, They talked heatedly against Ambi,

Butone, Firesnow, Moonsnow, wigs, straightened hair; but they always went for a girl with an

Ambi-lightened skin and head covered with a wig made of imitation of European or Indian hair.

(Thiongo 73) This all shows how, because of colonialism, some women wanted to change how

they looked, to become more european. Another example of man vs. man conflict is in the way

the main character, Wanjiru steals money from a man uses it and doesnt feel guilty. Instead she

used the money to make herself feel better. Thiongo writes, The policeman went and

handcuffed her. She did not resist. Only at the door she turned her head and spat.Then she went

out followed by the policeman. (Thiongo 83) Her, minutes of glory ended. The man vs. man

conflict is a straightforward way of understanding that the main character, Wanjiru, is not

outwardly angry at her state of living (although she is), she is more closely linked to being angry

because of the internal conflicts with herself. This affects her psychologically in the way she

thinks of herself and what she wishes to change about herself. Due to colonialism she believes

looking more western/european is more attractive.

In conclusion the negative effects of postcolonialism are very clear throughout all

stories. All stories make the reader feel helpless, like the characters themselves, we [the reader]

also understands the psychological effects of postcolonialism through both authors use of
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imagery, symbolism, and man vs. man conflict. Thiongo expresses the idea that beauty is in the

eye of the beholder and that, due to colonialism, women still tend to favor westernized or

European traits, above their own. In a sense he proves you can change yourself physically but

cant completely change your true self inside. Danticat reveals that being angry or hopeless

wont change your situation, that fact that the male character knew the risks of getting on that

boat and still did it shows that he might be strong willed but gradually losses that optimism at

sea. Even though the female character doesnt know this, it is shown she is angry for many

reasons but in the end, she also changes and comes to realize death is a possibility, just like the

male character did, in the beginning. Both stories show the side effects of countries with political

instability, much like these stories there are many other stories from different countries. Some of

those stories are current, like Colombias political, economic and social instability. Just like

Colombia, Haiti and Kenya experienced mass violence, although many positive contributions

have been made, and those countries are improving now, that violence will not be forgotten.