Wendt RA


Today (9/30) in class we spoke about how Things Fall Apart, Potiki, and Sons for the Return Home are initial landmark books for postcolonial literature for their respective cultures. They are the first of many catalysts, in a sense, for newer authors and generations to think more introspectively about how they arrived at their current positions both culturally and personally. But, the first of any type of expression is often experimental and could lean more heavily on the audience than the author to discern and create an impactful meaning. In Sons, I feel that the sparseness of the dialogue and perhaps the reason for its, at times, unclear delivery is to convey some underlying discords and issues that Wendt was unsure how else to communicate. I would argue that a very traceable trend between the several protagonists we’ve encountered this year and the antagonists (whatever secular/non-secular individual/group they maybe) is the lack of effective, relatable communication. The sense of talking (or feeling…) past someone is very evident in these examples of postcolonial literature. Dumbed down to a misunderstanding, but on a much grander scale, you could argue that it is in fact the whole premise of the genre: exposing the subtleties of misunderstandings, which is quite difficult to do through narrative. Wendt’s solution, I believe can be observed in his use of dialogue, which he tends to layer without quotations and present in a block fashion. A prime example of this can be seen at the end of chapter 21, page 116, where the dialogue is stacked and free flowing without breaks or quotations. The intimate nature of the conversation would make it difficult for any reader to fully understand, but more so is the presentation, which requires the reader to actively recall which character says what at every new line. The lines tend to blend and could even blur the meaning of the text. This unconventional demonstration of language, I believe, is a tool Wendt uses to convey just how difficult it is to truly understand another way of thinking and culture.

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