Prejudice and Racism in Heart of Darkness, A Grain of Wheat, and A smal

The Literary Response to Racism in Heart of Darkness, A Grain of Wheat, and A small place   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Racism and prejudice can be regarded as both societal and individual phenomena, developed and manifested at all levels of society; from government policy through organizational structures, inter-group and interpersonal interactions to intra-personal attitudes and feelings. Media and literature react to these perceptions and have taken part in shaping the attitudes and feelings of society. The novels "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad, "A Grain of Wheat" by Ngugi wa Thiong'o, and Jamaica Kincaid's essay "A small place" represent a literary response to the insidious tool of racism in colonial and postcolonial history.    Racism has typically been reflected by structural inequalities rooted in history and been perpetuated over time. The belief that one group was inferior to another was essential in order to justify the process of dispossessing indigenous groups of their land during colonization. The colonial powers instituted and maintained differentials between different ethnic and cultural groups by parceling out admission to education or employment, and by restricting access to law and medical care. These inequalities consequently served to emphasize difference rather than similarity among the colonized and the colonizer, thus reinforcing stereotypes of superiority or inferiority. The policies and practices were aimed to reflect a belief that the dominant culture is the "normal" one, which served as a standard by which all else could be judged.    Ngugi wa Thiong'o is an African post-colonialist writer who portrays his experience of colonial racism from a native's view. In his novel A Grain of Wheat, he picture... ...o. 7 The Post Colonial Studies Reader: Editors Bill Ashcroft; Gareth Griffiths, Helen Tiffin. Publisher: Routledge New York, 1999 DiBeta, Karen: A Grain of Wheat: Dispelling the Great Myth http://www.tcnj.edu~lmccaule/emposit.htm   Accessed June 29, 2001 Human Rights Watch: Leave No One to Tell the Story. Genocide in Ruanda.Doc.# 171-1 http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/rwanda/Geno1   Ã‚  Accessed June 19, 2001 Eurofic: European Forum for International Cooperation. Platform of the European Commission on Development and Cooperation, 115 Rue Stepin, Brussels, Belgium http://www.oneworld.org/eurostep   Accessed June 21, 2001 Omoregie, F.K: Rodney, Cabral and Ngugi as Guides to African Postcolonial Literature English Department, University of Botswana http://landow.stg.brown.edu/post/africa/omoregie11.html#mungoshi1   Accessed June 28, 2001