Conversation with the World

We should decolonize the literary canon to include a variety of points of view, so we can become more informed about the real, diverse world today. The literary canon is seen as some of the most important and influential pieces of literature ever written. Almost all of these books are written by white men, and many feature only important white, male characters. The few that do include women or people of color characterize them as less than men. Many of these texts are flat out racist, and people of color cannot relate to them.

Many of us live in our own “bubbles”, oblivious to the horrors of the outside world. Decolonizing the literary canon will expand our points of view and pop those “bubbles”, exposing us to the important issues of the world. Also, as a female person of color, me, and many others do not feel represented by these books praised by so many. The fact that we can’t relate to any of these books or the characters in them, makes them boring and hard to read. 

 

According to the Encyclopedia of Education, an IRA/NCTE standard for the English Language Arts is that: “Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment” (Wood). The books integrated into our curriculum are supposed to teach us about the world and broaden our horizons. We are supposed to get to know ourselves, and that is almost impossible when time and time again, the texts we read feature only white, male characters and are written from a white, male’s point of view. 

To take my conversation to the next level, I analyzed my own thinking, and also interviewed my friend George Perakis, who happens to be a white, male. Here are some of the questions and answers we came up with as very different people:

 

My responses:

 

1. What is your stance on decolonizing the literary canon?

I believe we need to decolonize the literary canon. The white, male characters made by white, male authors just simply don’t teach us relevant information about the real world today and aren’t relatable for many of us. 

2. Did you learn anything significant from the books we read in class this year?

Some books we read this year were informational and enjoyable. However, others weren’t relatable at all and were almost uncomfortable to read. For example, I enjoyed reading 1984 by George Orwell because I could, on some level, relate to Julia, and it was entertaining. However, Lord of the Flies, on the other hand, can be seen as a racist text: “They understood only too well the liberation into slavery that the concealing paint brought” (Golding 172). The book characterizes face paint and an outdoor, “tribe” lifestyle as “savage”, when many Native Americans are living this lifestyle today and it is part of their beautiful culture. It also only features male characters which employs the message that women wouldn’t be able to survive on their own, and is extremely sexist. Golding has even said he didn’t include females in the plot because he believes the “little boys and girls” would have had sex on the island at such a young age. This statement goes further to sexualize women and even young girls. We do not need to be exposed to such a book with an extremely misogynistic author and upfront racism in the plot. We can learn the lessons of dictatorship, democracy, and logic through any other books with these themes and more ethical intentions.

3. Could you relate to any of the characters in the books we read?

Not really. The only characters I could barely relate to were Julia from 1984 and Portia from Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. I could relate to Julia because I am, in some ways, just as naive and innocent from the world as she is. I can relate to Portia in the way that I sometimes don’t feel appreciated, just as she feels with her husband. However, the problem with these characters is exactly the way I can relate to them. Julia is seen as a silly little girl who is also just a sex symbol. Portia is seen as a pathetic wife begging for her husband's attention. The authors of these books portray women as inferior to men. 

 

George’s responses:

 

1. What is your stance on decolonizing the literary canon?

To an extent, I would, but there are limits I would enforce. Too much focus on diversity, and not enough focus on the books themselves is not the best way to decolonize the literary canon. 

2. Did you learn anything significant from the books we read in class this year?

Yes, the different genres and time periods helped me learn a lot about each time period. I agree that we need to see different viewpoints, but different genres can also help us learn a variety of things. The authors also all had very different styles of writing, which helped differentiate the time periods even more. 

3. Could you relate to any of the characters in the books we read?

Yes, I could relate a lot to Jack in Lord of the Flies because both of us have natural leading capabilities and both of us get frustrated and angry when things don’t go our way, not necessarily because we are both white males. In books, I pay less attention to race and gender when trying to relate to characters because it’s harder to picture them in my head, but in movies, I guess I do pay more attention to race and gender, since I’m actually seeing real people. 

 

Many of our answers and thinking on this topic is very different. However, we do agree on one thing: the literary canon should be decolonized to some extent. Some may say that the classic pieces of literature featured are too valuable to take away. This is a valid point, but we don’t need to get rid of all those pieces of literature. I agree that it’s important to learn from our past mistakes, which many of these titles include, so we can grow in the future. Also, to be inclusive of all points of view, it is essential that we do keep a few titles from the popular British, male point of view because everyone deserves representation.

 

Decolonizing the literary canon to me, means including a variety of titles and genres written by a variety of different people. This way, we will all become more worldly and be able to better understand our diverse society today. This conversation with the world is definitely an important one that needs to be talked about more. Understanding our beautiful world starts with understanding the beautiful people in it. Reading is an amazing way to start getting to know each other and all our unique cultures, which can only be done once WE decolonize the literary canon and WE make a change. Remember, it’s good to conversate with the world about our thoughts, but only taking action can actually change it.