POST-COLONIAL LITERATURE FOR CHILDRENEDU32PLC

Lecture 2:

Stereotypes and

Little Black Sambo

© La Trobe University, David Beagley 2006

References

• Hollingsworth, J. (2001) The Cult of Empire: children’s literature revisited. Agora. 36(4): 27-33.

• Martin, M. (1998) “Hey, who’s the kid with the green umbrella?” Re-evaluating the Black-a-moor and Little Black Sambo. The Lion and the Unicorn [online]. 22(2): 147-162. Available: Project Muse.

• Sircar, Sanjay (2004) Little Brown Sanjay and Little Black Sambo: childhood reading, adult rereading; colonial text and postcolonial reception. The Lion and the Unicorn [online]. 28(1): 131-156. Available: Project Muse.

Stereotype

• an image or idea that has become fixed by repetition or acceptance, to the point of cliché

• “Image” can be either visual or metaphorical – i.e.– the actual physical appearance

or– the impression being suggested

Colonial Values - when archetypes become

stereotypes

• Colonialism has been a common pattern throughout recorded history – Egypt, Persia, Rome, China etc.

• From 1500s, imperialistic European countries ‘claimed’ new world colonies in Africa, India, South America, North America, Asia, and Australia for various reasons:

cheap raw materials for ‘home’ industries; trade advantages over rival European countries; belief in the need to exert global influence against

rivals. missionary zeal/duty to bring civilization

The White Man’s Burden - Civilization and the Exotic

• Rudyard Kipling - The White Man’s Burden• Henry Newbolt - Vitae Lampada

Explorer/native, Ruler/Ruled distinctions Each is defined by the other; e.g.:

– For the explorer to discover, the discovery must be unknown by “civilization”

– For the “Ruler” to be superior, the “Ruled” must be inferior

For this relationship to be ongoing, it must be validated:– Civilization, improvement – social evolution– Morality, religion – bringing them to the light– Duty, role – it is for their good (they just don’t know it)

Physical environment

The physical environment was seen as:• ‘unowned’ and ‘uninhabited’ – terra nullius• rich in natural resources (including humans for

the slave trade) but dangerous because of local fauna and flora

• a setting for ‘exploration’ and heroic adventure

• as both exotic, tropical paradise and as over-heated, disease-ridden exile from ‘home’

• not a suitable place for females from ‘home’ to live

Indigenous peoples

The indigenous peoples were seen as:• childlike primitives in need of education, western

civilisation and religion• dangerous sub-human heathens who needed to be

eradicated – standing in the way of civilization• having inferior, primitive customs, eating habits,

clothing, housing, social values, and primitive superstitions and beliefs

• arrested evolutionary and cultural development• not having the rights of western people, and

therefore appropriate to treat as slaves and trophies to be brought ‘home’ to Europe and North America.

The duty of the colonizers

Colonisers in these colonies were expected to:

• provide a model of behaviour for the indigenous people, yet …

• remain separate from ‘locals’• maintain the standards of ‘home’

So, where does Literature come into all this?

Literature is an indicator of what matters, and what has happened, in a society

Colonial literature presents the colonial ethos Post-colonial represents how the world has

changedLiterature can be an agent for change Can rewrite the colonial history to highlight what

was suppressed Can seek to achieve de-colonization by

– re-establishing identity and pride – subverting the colonial themes, genres, values or

language Can reshape current attitudes by recognition of the

past

Orientalism and Stereotypes

Orientalism – Edward Said An interpretive framework How society constructs attitudes and

understandingsThe corporate institution for dealing with the Orient –

dealing with it by making statements about it, authorizing views of it, describing it, by teaching it, settling it, ruling over it: in short, Orientalism is a Western style for dominating, restructuring and having authority over the Orient. (p.9)

The Stereotype an image or idea that has become fixed by

repetition or acceptance, to the point of cliché A principal mechanism in ideologies of

discrimination and domination at work in colonialism.

Little Black Sambo - its history

• Helen Bannerman 1899. Writes it for own children on holiday

• Sent to publisher without her knowledge. Published without her having the chance to edit it, and she lost copyright soon after.

• Immediately successful and has been continuously reprinted and, more recently, rewritten.

• Controversy began around 1940s as Afro-Americans began to express a cultural voice

What are the stereotypes?

Setting• Where is it set? • How do you know? Jungle Tigers “Ghi as it is called in India” clothing, home and safety, dinner table Image of Sambo

What are the stereotypes?

Race• Names

– “Sambo” had been used in the Americas since the 1740s for a person of mixed negro/European or Indian descent, and in the USA during the 19th century as a standard term for negroes

– Mumbo Jumbo - noted in 1740s as a spirit or idol in West Africa; thus, primitive religion, voodoo, superstition

What are the stereotypes?

Race• Appearance

– the black-a-moor (from 1500s for black African – Moor), fuzzy hair, big red lips and grin, black skin, rolling eyes

So, why did she choose this racial representation?

What’s the problem?

• Classic trickster folk tale – e.g. Brer Rabbit – with elements still very popular in children’s stories.

• Does it demean the black child, or make him present in white nurseries?

• Are the inconsistencies poor writing, or deliberate?

• Is the problem Bannerman’s and the book’s, or the reader’s?