Conclusion

Abstract

Imperialistic powers deprived the colonized people not only of their territories and wealth but also of their imagination. The first task of writers seeking for alternatives to these de-realized representations of themselves involved building up a strong sense of identity in their independent nations. Consequently any grid such as mimesis which offered an articulation of this new awareness was favoured. Initially formalist questioning about the nature of reality smacked too much of the old colonialist sense of alienation. Genres such as the utopia were shunned because what set out to be ‘ideal’ systems were always imposed on the conquered people from the outside by a Prospero wishing to manipulate all these potential Calibans. The construction of unshackled identities often involved a recourse to orality, the use of the allegory and the creation of national epics which need not be overly didactic since, so often, heroism and mock-heroism are represented in equal proportions. The surface of mimesis, with its appeal to the metropolitan logos and its mirage of objective reality was frequently undermined by subterranean native layers of perception. One may debate how much of this ‘tradition’ was indigenous or reflected the influence of European currents such as surrealism. The rich body of post-colonial literature distinguishes itself through its definitely hybrid nature