Characteristics of Postcolonial Literature

Postcolonial literature is the literature by people from formerly colonized countries. It exists on all continents except Antarctica Postcolonial literature often addresses the problems and consequences of the decolonization of a country, especially questions relating to the political and cultural independence of formerly subjugated people, and themes such as racialism and colonialism. A range of literary theory has evolved around the subject. It addresses the role of literature in perpetuating and challenging what postcolonial critic Edward Said refers to as cultural imperialism.

Characteristic of Postcolonial Literature

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1)Use of own language: Authors use native language within their writing

2)Rewriting history: The British wrote the histories of the empires they conquered. 

Postcolonial writers don't like this version of history. It's a version that casts colonizers as heroes, as rescuers who "saved" everyone from ignorance and darkness. So postcolonial writers set about writing history from their own perspective, showing how colonialism was actually a pretty violent, terrible thing. More importantly, these writers also show how history is a matter of perspective, and there are always many perspectives: there is no one"true" history

3)Valorization of Cultural Identity: You know how a big justification for colonialism was, basically, that the cultures of colonized peoples were inferior to those of Europeans? Well, postcolonial writers challenge this idea, and they do this by valorizing their own indigenous cultures. "You've got religion?" they say to the colonizer. "So do we. You've got the culture? So do we. We've got our own literature and our own art, from sculpture to painting to bodypainting, dudes."

4)Nationhood and Nationalism: Postcolonial writers are really interested in nationhood and nationalism. A lot of these writers are very patriotic. They write books on behalf of their nations. Their work is often nationalist because postcolonial writers like to highlight and valorize their nation's cultural, political and social identity.