From Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth The town belonging to the colonized people, or at least…
The native imagines taking the settler’s place, which means moving from the subordinated position into one of power and privilege. Desperation is plausible in the hungry…
Choose your answer
From Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth
The town belonging to the colonized
people, or at least the native town, the
negro village, the medina, the reservation,
is a place of ill fame, peopled by men of
evil repute. They are born there, it matters
little where or how; they die there, it
matters not where, nor how. The native
town is a hungry town, starved of bread, of
meat, of shoes, of coal, of light. The native
town is a crouching village, town on its
knees, a town wallowing in the mire. The
look that the native turns on the settler is a
look of lust, of envy…. The colonized man
is an envious man. And this the settler
knows very well… It is true, for there is
no native who does not dream at least once
a day of setting himself up in the settler’s
place.
(From Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of
The Earth)
Why does the native look at the
settler’s town with envy ?
1. it arises from a sense of
desperation
2. he has no other option in his
life
3. he wants to occupy a position
of power.
4. he wants to be the colonizer
instead of the colonized.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer B
The native imagines taking the settler’s place, which means moving from the subordinated position into one of power and privilege. Desperation is plausible in the hungry town, but the express wish is to occupy the colonizer’s position. The passage does not say that the native has no other possible course in life.
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