Edward Said analyzes the Orient and its underlying philosophy in his book Orientalism. In an effort to comprehend their origins and the factors that led to their dominance, the author analyzes the political, cultural, and historical perspectives of the East as perceived by the West. According to Said (1979), prevailing beliefs date back to the colonial era, when European dominance was at its height. The British division of strategic protectorates and commerce routes was centered on the Middle East. The author notes that at the time, the United States did not even have the status of a world power and had little global impact. Therefore much of the views held by the western world about the region originated from the French and British. According to Said (1979), the study of orientalism stems from the early 18th century and primarily focused on the language, which was predominantly Arabic. It was centred on translating native into European languages. The author narrates that a serious language barrier between the locals and the imperialists made the latter’s rule nearly impossible. Thus, the Europeans believed that by acquiring an adequate amount of local knowledge, they would be better predisposed to exert a firmer rule.
Said (1979) observes that a critical epistemological and ontological distinction made between the orient and occident lines of thought. Orientalism was viewed as an inferior cultural approach and was adopted by the West as way of restructuring and dominating over the East. He believes that the social discourse of the Middle East was not sufficiently understood by the imperialists and the entire premise of orientalism as it was is grossly flawed. Said (1979) believes that the region and its rich culture is not sufficiently represented in the orientalism ideology and that excerpts appropriate for the greater Western agenda are often far more highlighted. Orientalism is often selectively discussed with its most common narrative being an uncivil culture. The author is disheartened by the biased analysis. He narrates,
“Without examining Orientalism as a discourse one cannot possibly understand the enonnously systematic discipline by which European culture was able to manage-and even produce-the Orient politically, sociologically, militarily, ideologically, scientifically, and imaginatively during the post-Enlightenment period ( Said 1979)”.
The major themes explored in the book including colonialism, racism and imperialism. Said (1979) explain that orientalism as an ideology is rooted in deep racism. The author notes that to implement effective rule and succeed in subjugating the predominantly Arab region, the British had to employ massive racial segregation. They presented themselves as the more refined and civilised than the natives. The imperialists engaged in widespread campaign to present Middle Easterners as subpar human beings whose culture in predicated on regressive dogma and general non-civilization. The colonialists sustained the narrative to maintain their control of the region. As the author observes, the Western perceptions persisted. The themes of colonialism imperialism are also explicitly explored in the book. Said (1979) observes that the primary attraction of the East to the British were its abundant resources. The East had been known to produce lucrative commodities such as spices, garments, silk, salt, among others, making them an especially alluring destination for conquest. Additionally, the region was fairly militarily inferiors hence, would not offer sustained resistance against battel-hardened European forces. The colonialists’ continued cultural imposition was designed to culturally desensitise the Arabs as present an exaggerated account of the Orients’ customary disposition.
The major characters in the book include Edward Said, the West, and the East. Said (1979) is an Arab-American historian who seeks to demystify orientalism and explain the extents to which the Arab identity has been desecrated by the Western world for political expediency. Said is critically acclaimed for exhaustively chronicling the cultural exchange between the two societies and the immense negative implications that followed.
The West is portrayed as displaying an infatuated sense of superiority against the Arabs and championing it all around the world. Its condescending and arguably supremacist outlook is primarily operationalised to maintain control over the Arab subjects in the territories they forcibly claimed. Regrettably, the grim and exceedingly offensive views were sustained by the western culture and have since spread to newly dominant cultures such as the United States. Mainly constituted by Arabs, the East is often frequently ignored inaccurately culturally represented.
The theme of Arab identity is prominently depicted in the literature. Said (1979) chastises the Arab elites whom he believes were partially responsible for the spread of orientalism. The author believes that the Arabs became internalised the false, romanticised portrayals of their culture and in essence, became Europeanised. Consequently, they fashioned their cultural ideals not after their historical heritage but as portrayed by Western cultures. Said (1979) regrets that orientalist stereotypes of the Arab culture continue to serve as implicit validation for neo-colonial motivations thus inspiring unjustified military action and other forms of political interventions in the region. To them, Arabs are often not a little more than potential terrorists or oil suppliers. The perception is often then propagated by Western mass media and saturates in the minds of populations all across the world, never mind the fact that it is grossly fictional.
References
Said, E. (1979). Orientalism. 1978. New York: Vintage, 199.
