Critical Theory

2545 words 11 pages
Choose 2 theories from Semester 1 and highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the theories’ application.

In this essay two theories will be examined in regards to their advantages and disadvantages, when applied. For this, Feminism and Post-Colonialism will be used, as both theories unite in their aim to deconstruct the dominant ideologies and stereotypes in a patriarchal and imperialistic ‘white European male ’ dominated society, thus overthrowing centuries of colonization, subordination, marginalization and exploitation

Feminists seek to reconstruct decrepit ideas of femininity, and extinguish female oppression over the years. Feminist literary criticism, in the first and seconds waves, critique patriarchal language, by exposing
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Some confounded fact we men have been living contentedly with ever since the day of creation would start up and knock the whole thing over" (27), Women are nearly absent from this story, but Marlow's pointing out this fact makes them quite noticeable. This is a remarkable paradox in the text. - Serpil Tunc Oppermann.
In both cases of Post- Colonialist and feminist critique we see a light being shone on the ignorance, perhaps misguided or patriarch ally influenced knowledge of the author.

Another advantage of Feminist criticism is their aim to overthrow the construction of male and female roles in literature just as Post Colonialists try to banish the marginilisation of sub ordinate groups. The stereotypical view that woman write about emotions and men write about solutions, is that of Virginia Woolfe. In an extract from ‘A room of ones own’, Woolfe writes how woman fear and hate men’s power and dominace, which becomes evident in their writing.
‘But one would also expect to find that her mind was disturbed by alien emotions like fear and hatred and that her poems showed traces of that disturbance.’ –Virginia Woolfe
This, Virginia claims is the reason which woman have been excluded from the list great literature over the centuries. The canon is also questioned by Post- Colonialists as being comprised solely of Western culture. P. Colonialists recognize

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