Altered Self-Image According to Thiongo, Orwell, and Kincaid

The writer of the essay Decolonising the Mind, Ngugi wa Thiongo, expresses his views that Kenyans had been stripped of their native languages and lost an important way to express themselves. In the essay Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell presents imperialism metaphorically through the use of animals to illustrate the power and instability of imperialism. Jamaica Kincaid focuses her essay, On Seeing England for the First Time, on how her view of England ultimately changes when she visits England for the first time. All three writers make a clear point on how alienation affects an individuals life. The writers say that alienation affects an individuals self-image due to the views that were forced by the colonizers upon the†¦show more content†¦The educational system of Kenya went so far as to fail students who had not mastered English. The writer goes to explain that this type of cultural contact negatively affected the individuals, because speaking in G#297;k#7919;y#7919; represented his culture. When these two items came together, language and culture, it represented the individuals identity and self-image. He illustrates that he believed that language, rather than history or culture, was the key explanatory structure for human life and the enabling condition of human consciousness. In the essay, he presents the choice of language and the use to which language is put is central to peoples definition of themselves in relation to the entire universe. He portrays to the reader that when Britain attacked Kenya physically to take control, it also attacked the cultural root of Kenya. Thiongo makes this clear to the reader to demonstrate that alienation of Kenyas own culture resulted in the loss of the language and culture in Kenya. He also argues that this situation caused a disharmony in Kenyans self-image. Thiongo explains his own reasons for beginning to write in G#297;k#7919;y#7919; after 17 years of abstaining. G#297;k#7919;y#7919; is his native language and speaking it allows himself and his people to reject oppression from England and any other governing powers. Thiongo states that his experience of life illustrated