Colonial Literary Criticism

The purpose of this assignment is to familiarize yourself with Post-Colonial literary criticism and apply some of its tools in analyzing a short story.

Directions

1. Review Post-Colonial literary theory:
   • Bedford/St. Martin’s “Critical Approaches” overview .
2. Read this post by Amardeep Singh on the Post-Colonial concepts of mimicry and hybridity:
   • Mimicry and Hybridity in Plain English
3. Answer these questions regarding “City Lovers”:
   • Who is/are the oppressed? Who is/are the oppressors?
   • What are the cultural practices of the oppressed and the oppressor?
   • How do the cultures intersect?
   • Who is exerting power over whom? How? In what ways?
4. Think about how factors of oppression or hybridization or mimicry affect the two main characters. These effects might be caused by political, social, economic, or cultural oppression.
5. Post a three-paragraph response to the discussion board by clicking on the title of this activity or through the Discussion Board main menu on the left.
6. • In the first paragraph, identify the two characters and the conflict you will analyze.
   • In the second, analyze factors of oppression that seem to be motivating these characters, especially in ways that put them in conflict with each other or their environment.
   • In the third, explain how these factors and this conflict contribute to meanings of the story.
   • Use direct quotations and paraphrases (with in-text citations) to support your claims.