A Critique on Wole Solynka’s “Telephone Conversation”

in relation to Postcolonialism

Wole Solynka’s “Telephone Conversation” written in 1963 contributes to the ideology of

racial discrimination and bias oppression against those of color in an era of liberal progression,
attributing to a literary postcolonialism paradigm. Solynka was born in 1934, a time where World
War II entered Nigeria shortly in September 1939 under the government’s acceptance of the
United Kingdom’s declaration of war on Nazi Germany. Racism in during the World War II and
the Post War has relentlessly been evident among the years, with black men in the military were
relegated so segregation divisions and much more support roles, rather than equalizing in the
dominion force. Solynka grew with this culture present during his early stages in time, having to
withstand war altogether in Nigeria, thus stigmatizing the racial discrimination viewpoint
towards today’s evident society and in his poetry altogether.

In relation to the opening paragraph, regardless of any given context or information

disputed (in exception to his race) has been indifferent to the land owner. This depicts a sense of
neutrality between the two characters, where communication is merely spoken and not visual.
The context teaches us how imagery can circulate a complete bias, when adapted to the story.
When the man reveals himself as an African over the telephone, a description of relation to
culture and color, the owner proceeds in disbelief relating to prejudice.

The drastic shift in tone comes to how emphasized the land owner speaks, in terms of
capitalization and the reiteration of the same repeated question: “ARE YOU LIGHT OR VERY
DARK?” depicts her needed assertion over something that has been stigmatized. Placing the time
setting into consideration, stereotypes are evident, giving readers a hinge that society has not yet
undergone the development to encompass moral liberty and equality amongst society. This takes
us back into the time of institutionalized racism and legal discrimination throughout post Civil
War and World War.
 Ill-mannered descriptions of the landlady on the telephone came abruptly as she began to
proceed to ask the buyer on the color of his own skin. Cryptic responses that soon followed by
the man came with both irony and sarcasm, highlighting the absurdity of her pose to raise such a
question. Former senate at the time in 2008, “A More Perfect Union” is a speech delivered by
Barack Obama, tackling the remarks of white privileges and racial inequalities brought about in
the United States that cooperates with a similar response to what Wole Solynka’s “Telephone
Conversation” strikes on.

Wole Solynka’s short but cynical story scrapes what tends to be such a profound issue for
many, especially those living in supremacy, on those who dramatize and create more concerns
over a particular trait that does not conform to their own “standards”. Solynka continues to give a
ludicrous essence over something that should not be taken heavily of, which must be driven into
something that should be a conforming normative. In the notion of postcolonialism, political
references and historical events from 1930’s to as late as 2000’s contribute to the essence of this
narrative, as these events continue to stem discrimination as such.