Postcolonial Ed Lit Education, Death, and Postcolonial Literature

The peculiarities of the postcolonial struggle for identity and independence are entirely unique to the historical occupation and colonization that ended, at least ostensibly, in the middle of the twentieth century. Peoples that had full histories and rich cultures prior to the arrival of Europeans or European-descended individuals from the New World found themselves largely without the foundations of these cultures to support themselves once these Europeans had departed, yet also unable to achieve the promises of the Western cultures that had arrived on their shores. Former value systems and ways of life had been eradicated, and nothing substantial was put into place to subsidize what was lost. Instead, the indigenous peoples of the world had to find methods of combining the old and the new in attempts to carve out new identities and self-directed histories in a way that had never really been seen before.

Given the Western belief in rationalism and empiricism as well as the power that academic learning imparts, it is perhaps not surprising that formalized education was seen as a vital element in achieving a greater sense of equality in both the distribution of material wealth and access to power. Many post-colonial communities became entirely focused on the education...

This is part of Dangarembga's commentary on the effects of colonialism on measures of success within Tambu's (and the author's own) African community: it is truly only at the expense of other members of that community, and even at the expense of family members, that one can achieve success, and thus families select individuals for advancement and sacrifice their own lives to make this advancement possible. The possible discontinuation of Tambu's education due to her uncle's displeasure also shows the tenuous nature of the relationship between the old and new ways; despite being educated in England, this uncle feels that Tambu should fulfill certain traditional…