Psychological trauma of colonialism in Things Fall Apart and Petals of Blood

Psychological Trauma of Colonization

The Psychological Trauma of Colonialism

Colonialism is one of the most traumatic events that can befall humanity. It takes a once peaceful existence and plunges it into chaos. Like a robber that breaks into a house, colonialism steals away the victim's sense of security. They can be ripped from their home, family, and everything that they know, having it replaced with a life that is less than human. Colonialism is more than economic loss, it is the loss of dignity and humanity. This research will explore the psychological trauma of colonialism using examples from Things Fall Apart and Petals of Blood. It will support the thesis that in order for a people to be colonized, there is a turning point in the psychology of every individual that must be reached.

Change Management and the Colonists

Colonialism means a drastic change from former lifestyles and cultures. Change is at first, met with resistance. Some will give in almost immediately and others will resist until they are broken, such as Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart. Okonkwo never gave up his traditional culture and accepted the changes in his village and culture. In the end, he committed suicide, rather than to give up his culture and former way of life. He never adjusted to the ideals imposed by the white invaders.

Adjustment to colonialism reflects the coping mechanism in a person. The psychological adjustments that are necessary in colonization of another race are similar to the challenges that change managers face today. When a company decides suddenly to change the way they are doing business, or when new management takes over, it is similar to colonization. From the worker's standpoint, they cannot stop the change, but their daily lives are severely affected by it. These similarities make research into the psychological adjustments in change management applicable to the colonialism problem.

Colonialism, like change in the work environment involves the establishment of new norms within the culture. Old habits and familiar comforts are replaced with a new set of rules and norms. Colonialists of the African cultures did not know it, but they were experts in change management. They knew to expect resistance and how to overcome it. Missionaries came with a bag of strategies and plans to help them assimilate the other culture. In today's society, the colonialists would be experts in managerial change, as that is essentially what they accomplished with the native African tribes. They were very efficient at what they set out to do.

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This treatment was meant to lessen the status of the leaders in front of their own people and to demonstrate that their status meant nothing to the white men. Okonkwo did suffer a loss of status under the new regime.

As more of the village began to accept white culture, Christianity, and the other changes that it brought, those who resisted had a more desperate plight. Peer pressure was a key to winning over more and more of the villagers. The more people that accepted the changes proposed by the whites, the more difficult it was to resist the new norm. This pattern was also seen in Petals of Blood. Those that could not see the benefits were most resistant to the change.

In both Things Fall Apart and Petals of Blood the central theme revolves around the changes in African culture that were a result of colonialism. Some of the same symptoms of resistance and adaptation to change are seen in both novels. Those that could see the benefits of the change were much more malleable than those that could not. Those that resisted were eventually overcome by marginalization by the rest of their society. As more and more of the tribe disintegrated into the new cultural norms, the resistance was weakened. In this way, colonialism served as both a destructive and creative force.

For the resistance, the case became more desperate as time went on. They lost more and more of their dignity and status. They also lost their ability to lead their people. Their status under white rule was wiped out and it became clear that they were no longer the leaders of their people. In Things Fall Apart, we find the following statement by Obierika as he looked upon his friend's dangling body, "That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now he will be buried like a dog...

" This statement shows that the once great leader is nothing in the eyes of the white colonists. This has a trickle-down affect on those around him. When Okonkwo gave in to the struggle, those around him lost their final hope of every overcoming the colonialists.

Through an examination of two African historical novels, one can see many similarities in the psychology of change between colonialism and change management in corporate take-overs. Change begins slowly and there are always some that will readily accept the new regime and others that will put up a resistance. The reasons for resistance to change are similar to corporate change.

One can find examples of the same psychological reactions in both novels. The resistance becomes more violent as it loses ground and the total change and loss of familiar culture becomes eminent. The colonialists had their system well-refined by the time they assimilated the final African Tribes. They used those that are least resistant to change to create social pressure on more resistant factions. In the end, the majority marginalized the resistance and they were dehumanized and broken.