Counter-Discourse in Postcolonial Literature
If there's one characteristic that we could use to lump together all of these different literatures emerging from all over the world, it's that they form part of a counter-discourse to colonialism.
Remember how we defined colonial discourse as the collection of narratives, statements, and opinions generated by colonizers about the colonized? Well, counter-discourse is—you guessed it—the collection of narratives, statements, opinions that postcolonial writers generate in opposition to colonial discourse.
In the counter-discourse of postcolonial writers, we'll find beliefs such as "white people are the best," "Africans are lazy," and "Asians are stupid," contradicted again and again. That's because such ideas and statements form the foundation of colonial discourse, and that was made up to justify the economic exploitation of colonized peoples.
Chew on This
For a great example of counter-discourse, see how Jean Rhys rewrites Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre in Wide Sargasso Sea.
Look at these quotations to consider how Charlotte Brontë deals with "foreignness" and "the other" in Jane Eyre.