When the Wretched of the Earth Begin to Write Decolonizing Literature in African Society through Fanon

Abstract

Frantz Fanon argues that the intellectuals of postcolonial countries have a duty to rise above the ranks in colonial systems to uplift their cultures through writing and activism.  By exploring this argument through the lens of various African authors such as Chinua Achebe, Chimamanada Ngozi Adichie, and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’, we see that the path to decolonization of literature is complex and undefinable.  But, as all three authors seem to agree, the duty must lie in the hands of the oppressed to defy colonial systems and reconstruct new frameworks for cultural and academic practices.  Fanon's theories provide a basis upon which these various perspectives are discussed, allowing for intermingling of ideas on how best to decolonize within postcolonial Africa.