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Jonathan Taffet

Ms. Lee

8th Grade English

October 23, 2017

Psychological Effects of Colonialism

Colonialism is like a zit. It keeps growing and growing and is present for a long time,

until it pops and leaves a mess. Colonialism expands and can last a while, but it has harmful

effects. When it collapses, it leaves the country it colonized in a mess. This is shown in the short

story Children of the Sea by Edwidge Danticat, in which a girlfriend in Imperial Haiti and a

boyfriend are separated. The boyfriend fled Haiti because he was a part of the political minority

which was crushed by the Tonton Macoutes, the all controlling colonial and political leaders.

The couple writes letters to each other, knowing that they may never see each other again.

Similarly, Shooting an Elephant, by George Orwell, is about a policeman in colonial Burma,

who is supposed to be in a position of control and power, but in reality has very little sway to

what the Burmans do. When presented with a problem, the main character has difficulty

choosing between his morals, or going against colonialism. In Children of the Sea and

Shooting an Elephant both short stories convey the negative psychological effects of

colonialism through the theme of oppression by government by using the literary elements of

characterization, symbolism and irony.

The short story Children of the Sea uses symbolism to portray the constant fear of the

Imperialistic Tonton Macoutes that controlled Haiti at that time. In this short story, the girlfriend

lives in Imperial-controlled Haiti. Her boyfriend fled Haiti by boat because he supported and
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advocated for the opposing political power to the Tonton Macoutes. The people who supported

this group that did not leave Haiti were killed by the Macoutes. The girlfriend is quite

superstitious and believes that the butterflies on the island deliver messages. The colorful

butterflies are good signs, whereas the black ones are bad omens. ...besides, manman says that

butterflies can bring news. the bright ones bring happy news and the black ones warn us of

deaths (Danticat 5). When her boyfriend dies on the boat, a black butterfly lands on her. The

use of butterflies by the author as symbolism conveys how imperialism and colonialism have

potentially harmful effects on the physiological aspect of the people subject to it. Due to

imperialism, people like the boyfriend, who dont have opinions deemed fit by the leaders,

must flee the country, hide, or be killed. This constant fear of the position in power is seen in

both short stories. Additionally, in Children of the Sea, imperialism scars families. They have

this thing that they do they hold a gun to their heads. they make the son sleep with his mother.

if it is a daughter and father, they do the same thing (Danticat 12). This demonstrates the

Tonton Macoutes exercising their authority harshly on their subjects just to flaunt their power.

This is common in imperialism. It pulls families apart and totally humiliates them. It is almost a

form of torture, as it strips the people of dignity. Both of these examples show that the Tonton

Macoutes, the political vigilantes, cause major negative psychological effects. Colonialism strips

the people of their humanity, and kills loved ones. Those are just some of many negative

psychological impacts to those that are controlled by colonizers.

Additionally, in Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell uses characterization to show

the anger that the people under colonial rule express to their colonizers. The main character, a

police officer in Burma, tries to do the best he can to keep order in his Burman town. He
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recounts his past encounters with the native Burmans, describing how they would bully him. He

says: when a man would trip me up on the football field and the referee (another Burman)

looked the other way, the crowd yelled with hideous laughter (Orwell 1). This quote

exemplifies that the native Burmans are very resentful to the European colonizers, who are

represented by the main character. They go out of their way to irritate and be a nuisance to the

police officer. This shows how the Burmans do not like their colonizers, but also that they are

afraid to do anything too rebellious, such as a revolt, because they believe that the British are

very powerful. Another example of the negative impact that colonialism has on the mind is

shown by characterization through the main characters thoughts. As he is reflecting on his duty

as a man of power and his situation in Burma colonized by Great Britain, the policeman realizes

his own inner turmoil. He also shows his hatred towards his job and the British in general by

saying as for the job I was doing, I hated it more bitterly that I can perhaps make clear. In a job

like that you see the dirty work of Empire at close quarters...my hatred of the empire I served and

my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible. (Orwell 1).

It can be interpreted that colonialism has made the policemans mindset very aggressive and

angry. He hates his job because he does not agree with colonialism and feels guilty about it, and

because the people torment him (because they hate colonialism, and for them, he represents it)

which makes the police officers job even more tedious and bothersome. All of this goes to show

that colonialism negatively impacts the psychology of all people directly involved with it. Orwell

describes this using a few literary devices, especially through the characterization of the main

character. According to Orwells short story, Shooting an Elephant, colonialism angers,

irritates and makes life harder for both the colonizers and the people that are being colonized.
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In both Shooting an Elephant and Children of the Sea, the authors use elements of

irony to convey the detrimental effects of colonialism on both the colonizers and the ones being

colonized. Primarily shown in Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell uses irony throughout his

story. The police officer in Burma is pursuing a loose elephant upon the request of the natives.

He gets his rifle because the Burmans want him to kill the elephant, however he has no intent to

do so. Eventually, he realizes that he has no control over the situation because the Burmans are

forcing him to kill it and so he does. I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will

of those yellow faces (Orwell 2). In this situation, the elephant could be interpreted to represent

the Burmans. In this case, the situation is ironic because even though killing the elephant is

supposed to put the Burmans out of danger, it is, in a sense, killing them. It could also be

interpreted that for the Burmans to stay safe and go about their normal life, the Europeans,

represented by the elephant, must be put down. Both interpretations show that colonialism causes

anger and violence on colonists and colonies. Irony is also used by Edwidge Danticat in

Children of the Sea. When the boyfriend and girlfriend were split up, it was supposed to save

the life of the boyfriend, but it really just endangered him just as much. On the boat, the

boyfriend says I am more comfortable now with the idea of dying (Danticat 6). This shows

that the imperialism in his country has totally changed his mindset. He now is okay with dying,

meaning he doesnt have much more to live for. Similarly while discussing the situation of her

country and boyfriend, the girlfriend in Haiti mentioned committing suicide. She says there is a

stream down the hill a stream too shallow for me to drown myself (Danticat 22). This also

shows that her perception of imperialism and its impact on her is very negative. In fact, based on

the quote, it impacts her so much that she wants to kill herself. Both authors use similar instances
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of irony to prove the point that imperialism and colonialism negatively impact the people under

control of the oppressive government. Orwell uses irony to emphasize the futility of colonialism

and the futile mentality it imposes on the colonizers and the colonized. Danticat uses irony to

show that imperialism essentially destroys the will to live of the oppressed.

Colonialism and imperialism both have detrimental effects on the perception and

thoughts of both the colonized and the colonizers. Both George Orwell and Edwidge Danticat

use literary devices to emphasize this, while demonstrating the theme of oppression. In

Danticats Children of the Sea, the governments totalitarian control is illustrated through

symbolism. Moreover, George Orwell uses characterization to show the frustration and distaste

the colonized have for colonialism. Finally, in both short stories, irony is used to show the loss

mentally and physically that colonialism and imperialism bring about. Unfortunately,

colonialisms impacts are still around today. In fact, the United Kingdom still controls some

areas that are considered its colonies such as Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos Islands. None of

these territories govern themselves. Colonialism is still present today, and it may never go away.