From The Wretched of the Earth Like Malcolm X, Frantz Fanon was born in 1925 and died before

his 40th birthday Fanon!s birth"lace was Martini#$e, a %aribbean island which held hi&h stat$s in the French colonial hierarchy %omin& from a middle' class family, Fanon initially concei(ed of himself as French, like many intellect$als from the colonies )t 1*, Fanon left home to (ol$nteer for the Free French )rmy, which fo$&ht to liberate France from +azi occ$"ation d$rin& ,orld ,ar -Fanon stayed in France after the war to st$dy medicine and "sychiatry on scholarshi" .here, confrontin& a white ma/ority and (icio$s, o(ert racism for the first time, he fo$nd he needed to &o beyond the Fre$dian theory ta$&ht in medical school .o $nderstand his "ersonal sit$ation and inform his "sychiatric "ractice, he st$died the analysis of &ro$" deh$manization "resented by the French left'win& "hiloso"her 0ean'1a$l 2artre in his book Anti-Semite and Jew, alon& with )ime %esaire!s anti'colonialist theories, amon& others Fanon be&an to see that in e(en s"eakin& French, the colonizer!s lan&$a&e, he was internalizin& the colonizer!s (al$es which e#$ate 3lackness with e(il -n s$ch a sit$ation, he said, the 3lack man wants to see himself as white and therefore becomes alienated from himself 4Freedom 5oad 6r&7 The Wretched of the Earth 4French8 Les Damns de la Terre, first "$blished 19917 is Frantz Fanon!s most famo$s work, written d$rin& and re&ardin& the )l&erian str$&&le for inde"endence from colonial r$le )s a "sychiatrist, Fanon e:"lored the "sycholo&ical effect of colonization on the "syche of a nation as well as its broader im"lications for b$ildin& a mo(ement for decolonization 4,iki"edia7 %ha"ter 1 %oncernin& ;iolence .he settlers< town is stron&ly b$ilt, all made of stone and steel -t is a bri&htly'lit town= the streets are co(ered with as"halt, and the &arba&e'cans swallow all the lea(in&s, $nseen, $nknown and hardly tho$&ht abo$t .he settler<s feet are ne(er (isible, e:ce"t "erha"s in the sea= =b$t there yo$<re ne(er close eno$&h to see them >is feel are "rotected by stron& shoes altho$&h the streets of his town are clean? .he settler<s town is a well'fed town, an easy'&oin& town= its belly is always f$ll of &ood thin&s .he settler<s town is a town of white "eo"le, of forei&ners? .he town belon&in& to the colonized "eo"le, or at least the nati(e town, the +e&ro (illa&e, the medina, the reser(ation, is a "lace of ill'fame, "eo"led by men of e(il re"$te .hey are born there, it matters little where and how they die there= it matters not where, nor how -t is a world witho$t s"acio$sness= men there li(e on to" of each other? .he nati(e town is a h$n&ry town, star(e@d of bread, of meat, of shoes, of coal, of li&ht .he nati(e town is a cro$chin& (illa&e, a town on its knees, a town wallowin& in the mire? .he look that the nati(e t$rns on the settler<s town is a look of l$st, a look of en(y= it e:"resses his dreams of "ossession? +ational liberation, national renaissance, the restoration of nationhood to the "eo"le, commonwealth8 whate(er may be the headin&s $sed or the new form$las introd$ced, decolonization is always a (iolent "henomenon )t whate(er le(el we st$dy it relationshi"s between indi(id$als, new names for s"orts cl$bs, the h$man admi:t$re at cocktail "arties, in the "olice, on the directin& boards of national or "ri(ate banks ' decolonization is #$ite sim"ly the re"lacin& of a certain !s"ecies! of men by another ! s"ecies ! of men ,itho$t any "eriod of transition, there is a total, com"lete and absol$te s$bstit$tion -t is tr$e that we co$ld e#$ally well stress the rise of a new nation, the settin& $" of a new state, its di"lomatic relations, and its economic and "olitical trends? .o tell the tr$th, the "roof of s$ccess lies in a whole social str$ct$re bein& chan&ed from the bottom $" .he e:traordinary im"ortance of this chan&e is that it is willed, called for, demanded .he need for this chan&e e:ists

in its cr$de state, im"et$o$s and com"ellin&, in the conscio$sness and in the li(es of the men and women who are colonised 3$t the "ossibility of this chan&e is e#$ally e:"erienced in the form of a terrifyin& f$t$re in the conscio$sness of another ! s"ecies ! of men and women8 the colonisers Aecolonization, which sets o$t to chan&e the order of the world, is, ob(io$sly, a "ro&ramme of com"lete disorder 3$t it cannot come as a res$lt of ma&ical "ractices, nor of a nat$ral shock, nor of a friendly $nderstandin& Aecolonization, as we know, is a historical "rocess8 that is to say that it cannot be $nderstood, it cannot become intelli&ible nor clear to itself e:ce"t in the e:act meas$re that we can discern the mo(ements which &i(e it historical form and content Aecolonization is the meetin& of two forces, o""osed to each other by their (ery nat$re, which in fact owe their ori&inality to that sort of s$bstantification which res$lts from and is no$rished by the sit$ation in the colonies Aecolonization ne(er takes "lace $nnoticed, for it infl$ences indi(id$als and modifies them f$ndamentally -t transforms s"ectators cr$shed with their inessentiality into "ri(ile&ed actors, with the &randiose &lare of history!s floodli&hts $"on them -t brin&s a nat$ral rhythm into e:istence, introd$ced by new men, and with it a new lan&$a&e and a new h$manity Aecolonization is the (eritable creation of new men 3$t this creation owes nothin& of its le&itimacy to any s$"ernat$ral "ower= the !thin&! which has been colonised becomes man d$rin& the same "rocess by which it frees itself -n decolonization, there is therefore the need of a com"lete callin& in #$estion of the colonial sit$ation .he naked tr$th of decolonization e(okes for $s the searin& b$llets and bloodstained kni(es which emanate from it Bo$ do not t$rn any society, howe(er "rimiti(e it may be, $"side'down with s$ch a "ro&ramme if yo$ are not decided from the (ery be&innin&, that is to say from the act$al form$lation of that "ro&ramme, to o(ercome all the obstacles that yo$ will come across in so doin& .he nati(e who decides to "$t the "ro&ramme into "ractice, and to become its mo(in& force, is ready for (iolence at all times .he colonial world is a world c$t in two .he di(idin& line, the frontiers are shown by barracks and "olice stations -n the colonies it is the "oliceman and the soldier who are the official, instit$ted &o'betweens, the s"okesmen of the settler and his r$le of o""ression -n the colonial co$ntries the "oliceman and the soldier, by their immediate "resence and their fre#$ent and direct action maintain contact with the nati(e and ad(ise him by means of rifle'b$tts and na"alm not to b$d&e -t is ob(io$s here that the a&ents of &o(ernment s"eak the lan&$a&e of "$re force .he intermediary does not li&hten the o""ression, nor seek to hide the domination= he shows them $" and "$ts them into "ractice with the clear conscience of an $"holder of the "eace= yet he is the brin&er of (iolence into the home and into the mind of the nati(e? ? 4the7 e:"loited man sees that his liberation im"lies the $se of all means, and that of force first and foremost ,hen in 1959, after the ca"it$lation of Monsie$r C$y Mollet to the settlers in )l&eria, the Front de Liberation +ationale, in a famo$s leaflet, stated that colonialism only loosens its hold when the knife is at its throat, no )l&erian really fo$nd these terms too (iolent .he leaflet only e:"ressed what e(ery )l&erian felt at heart8 colonialism is not a thinkin& machine, nor a body endowed with reasonin& fac$lties -t is (iolence in its nat$ral state, and it will only yield when confronted with &reater (iolence )t the decisi(e moment, the colonialist bo$r&eoisie, which $" till then has remained inacti(e, comes into the field -t introd$ces that new idea which is in "ro"er "arlance a creation of the colonial sit$ation8 non'(iolence -n its sim"lest form this non'(iolence si&nifies to the intellect$al and economic elite of the colonised co$ntry that the bo$r&eoisie has the same interests as them and that it is therefore $r&ent and indis"ensable to come to terms for the "$blic &ood +on'(iolence is an attem"t to settle the colonial "roblem aro$nd a &reen baize table, before any re&rettable act has been "erformed or irre"arable &est$re made, before any blood has been shed 3$t if the masses, witho$t waitin& for the chairs to be arran&ed aro$nd the baize table, listen to their own (oice and be&in committin& o$tra&es and settin& fire to b$ildin&s, the elites and the nationalist bo$r&eois "arties will be seen r$shin& to the

colonialists to e:claim ! .his is (ery serio$sD ,e do not know how it will end= we m$st find a sol$tion ' some sort of com"romise ! .his idea of com"romise is (ery im"ortant in the "henomenon of decolonization, for it is (ery far from bein& a sim"le one %om"romise in(ol(es the colonial system and the yo$n& nationalist bo$r&eoisie at one and the same time .he "artisans of the colonial system disco(er that the masses may destroy e(erythin& 3lown'$" brid&es, ra(a&ed farms, re"ressions and fi&htin& harshly disr$"t the economy %om"romise is e#$ally attracti(e to the nationalist bo$r&eoisie, who since they are not clearly aware of the "ossible conse#$ences of the risin& storm, are &en$inely afraid of bein& swe"t away by this h$&e h$rricane and ne(er sto" sayin& to the settlers8 ! we are still ca"able of sto""in& the sla$&hter= the masses still ha(e confidence in $s= act #$ickly if yo$ do not want to "$t e(erythin& in /eo"ardy ! 3$t it so ha""ens that for the colonized "eo"le this (iolence, beca$se it constit$tes their only work, in(ests their characters with "ositi(e and creati(e #$alities .he "ractice of (iolence binds them to&ether as a whole, since each indi(id$al forms a (iolent link in the &reat chain, a "art of the &reat or&anism of (iolence which has s$r&ed $"ward in reaction to the settler!s (iolence in the be&innin& .he &ro$"s reco&nize each other and the f$t$re nation is already indi(isible .he armed str$&&le mobilizes the "eo"le= that is to say, it throws them in one way and in one direction .he mobilization of the masses, when it arises o$t of the war of liberation, introd$ces into each man!s conscio$sness the ideas of a common ca$se, of a national destiny, and of a collecti(e history -n the same way the second "hase, that of the b$ildin&'$" of the nation, is hel"ed on by the e:istence of this cement which has been mi:ed with blood and an&er .h$s we come to a f$ller a""reciation of the ori&inality of the words $sed in these $nderde(elo"ed co$ntries A$rin& the colonial "eriod the "eo"le are called $"on to fi&ht a&ainst o""ression= after national liberation, they are called $"on to fi&ht a&ainst "o(erty, illiteracy, and $nderde(elo"ment .he str$&&le, they say, &oes on .he "eo"le realize that life is an $nendin& contest ,e ha(e said that the nati(e!s (iolence $nifies the "eo"le 3y its (ery str$ct$re, colonialism is se"aratist and re&ionalist %olonialism does not sim"ly state the e:istence of tribes= it also reinforces it and se"arates them .he colonial system enco$ra&es chieftaincies and kee"s ali(e the old Marabo$t confraternities ;iolence is in action all incl$si(e and national -t follows that it is closely in(ol(ed in the li#$idation of re&ionalism and of tribalism .h$s the national "arties show no "ity at all toward the c$stomary chiefs .heir destr$ction is the "reliminary to the $nification of the "eo"le )t the le(el of indi(id$als, (iolence is a cleansin& force -t frees the nati(e from his inferiority com"le: and from his des"air and inaction= it makes him fearless and restores his self'res"ect E(en if the armed str$&&le has been symbolic and the nation is demobilized thro$&h a ra"id mo(ement of decolonization, the "eo"le ha(e the time to see that the liberation has been the b$siness of each and all and that the leader has no s"ecial merit %ha"ter 28 ;iolence in the -nternational %onte:t .his E$ro"ean o"$lence is literally scandalo$s, for it has been fo$nded on sla(ery, it has been no$rished with the blood of sla(es and it comes directly from the soil and from the s$bsoil of the $nder'de(elo"ed world .he well'bein& and the "ro&ress of E$ro"e ha(e been b$ilt $" with the sweat and the dead bodies of +e&roes, )rabs, -ndians, and the yellow races ,e ha(e decided not to o(erlook this any lon&er? E$ro"e is literally the creation of the .hird ,orld .he wealth that smothers her is that which was stolen from the $nder'de(elo"ed "eo"les? %ha"ter @8 .he 1itfalls of +ational %onscio$sness

>-2.65B teaches $s clearly that the battle a&ainst colonialism does not r$n strai&ht away alon& the lines of nationalism? +ational conscio$sness, instead of bein& the all'embracin& crystallization of the innermost ho"es of the whole "eo"le, instead of bein& the immediate and most ob(io$s res$lt of the mobilization of the "eo"le, will be in any case only an em"ty shell, a cr$de and fra&ile tra(esty of what it mi&ht ha(e been .he fa$lts that we find in it are #$ite s$fficient e:"lanation of the facility with which, when dealin& with yo$n& and inde"endent nations, the nation is "assed o(er for the race, and the tribe is "referred to the state .hese are the cracks in the edifice which show the "rocess of retro&ression that is so harmf$l and "re/$dicial to national effort and national $nity? .he national middle class which takes o(er "ower at the end of the colonial re&ime is an $nder'de(elo"ed middle class -t has "ractically no economic "ower, and in any case it is in no way commens$rate with the bo$r&eoisie of the mother co$ntry which it ho"es to re"lace -n its willf$l narcissism, the national middle class is easily con(inced that it can ad(anta&eo$sly re"lace the middle class of the mother co$ntry 3$t that same inde"endence which literally dri(es it into a comer will &i(e rise within its ranks to catastro"hic reactions, and will obli&e it to send o$t frenzied a""eals for hel" to the former mother co$ntry .he $ni(ersity and merchant classes which make $" the most enli&htened section of the new state are in fact characterized by the smallness of their n$mber and their bein& concentrated in the ca"ital, and the ty"e of acti(ities in which they are en&a&ed8 b$siness, a&ric$lt$re and the liberal "rofessions +either financiers nor ind$strial ma&nates are to be fo$nd within this national middle class .he national bo$r&eoisie of $nder'de(elo"ed co$ntries is not en&a&ed in "rod$ction, nor in in(ention, nor b$ildin&, nor labo$r= it is com"letely canalized into acti(ities of the intermediary ty"e -ts innermost (ocation seems to be to kee" in the r$nnin& and to be "art of the racket? .he crystallization of the national conscio$sness will both disr$"t literary styles and themes, and also create a com"letely new "$blic ,hile at the be&innin& the nati(e intellect$al $sed to "rod$ce his work to be read e:cl$si(ely by the o""ressor, whether with the intention of charmin& him or of deno$ncin& him thro$&h ethnical or s$b/ecti(ist means, now the nati(e writer "ro&ressi(ely takes on the habit of addressin& his own "eo"le -t is only from that moment that we can s"eak of a national literat$re >ere there is, at the le(el of literary creation, the takin& $" and clarification of themes which are ty"ically nationalist .his may be "ro"erly called a literat$re of combat, in the sense that it calls on the whole "eo"le to fi&ht for their e:istence as a nation -t is a literat$re of combat, beca$se it mo$lds the national conscio$sness, &i(in& it form and conto$rs and flin&in& o"en before it new and bo$ndless horizons= it is a literat$re of combat beca$se it ass$mes res"onsibility, and beca$se it is the will to liberty e:"ressed in terms of time and s"ace 6n another le(el, the oral tradition ' stories, e"ics and son&s of the "eo"le ' which formerly were filed away as set "ieces are now be&innin& to chan&e .he storytellers who $sed to relate inert e"isodes now brin& them ali(e and introd$ce into them modifications which are increasin&ly f$ndamental .here is a tendency to brin& conflicts $" to date and to modernise the kinds of str$&&le which the stories e(oke, to&ether with the names of heroes and the ty"es of wea"ons .he method of all$sion is more and more widely $sed .he form$la !.his all ha""ened lon& a&o! is s$bstit$ted by that of !,hat we are &oin& to s"eak of ha""ened somewhere else, b$t it mi&ht well ha(e ha""ened here today, and it mi&ht ha""en tomorrow! .he e:am"le of )l&eria is si&nificant in this conte:t From 1952'@ on, the storytellers, who were before that time stereoty"ed and tedio$s to listen to, com"letely o(ert$rned their traditional methods of storytellin& and the contents of their tales .heir "$blic, which was formerly scattered, became com"act .he e"ic, with its ty"ified cate&ories, rea""eared= it became an a$thentic form of entertainment which took on once more a c$lt$ral (al$e %olonialism made no mistake when from 1955 on it "roceeded to arrest these storytellers systematically %ha"ter 4 6n +ational %$lt$re .he claim to a national c$lt$re in the "ast does not only rehabilitate that nation and ser(e as a /$stification for the ho"e of a f$t$re national c$lt$re -n the s"here of "sycho'affecti(e e#$ilibri$m it is res"onsible for an

im"ortant chan&e in the nati(e 1erha"s we ha(e not s$fficiently demonstrated that colonialism is not sim"ly content to im"ose its r$le $"on the "resent and the f$t$re of a dominated co$ntry %olonialism is not satisfied merely with holdin& a "eo"le in its &ri" and em"tyin& the nati(e!s brain of all form and content 3y a kind of "er(erted lo&ic, it t$rns to the "ast of the o""ressed "eo"le, and distorts, disfi&$res, and destroys it? .he +e&roes who li(e in the Fnited 2tates and in %entral or Latin )merica in fact e:"erience the need to attach themsel(es to a c$lt$ral matri: .heir "roblem is not f$ndamentally different from that of the )fricans .he whites of )merica did not mete o$t to them any different treatment from that of the whites that r$led o(er the )fricans ,e ha(e seen that the whites were $sed to "$ttin& all +e&roes in the same ba& A$rin& the first con&ress of the )frican %$lt$ral 2ociety which was held in 1aris in 1959, the )merican +e&roes of their own accord considered their "roblems from the same stand"oint as those of their )frican brothers %$lt$red )fricans, s"eakin& of )frican ci(ilizations, decreed that there sho$ld be a reasonable stat$s within the state for those who had formerly been sla(es 3$t little by little the )merican +e&roes realized that the essential "roblems confrontin& them were not the same as those that confronted the )frican +e&roes .he intellect$al, who is )rab and French, or +i&erian and En&lish, when he comes $" a&ainst the need to take on two nationalities, chooses, if he wants to remain tr$e to himself, the ne&ation of one of these determinations 3$t most often, since they cannot or will not make a choice, s$ch intellect$als &ather to&ether all the historical determinin& factors which ha(e conditioned them and take $" a f$ndamentally !$ni(ersal stand"ointG .his is beca$se the nati(e intellect$al has thrown himself &reedily $"on ,estern c$lt$re Like ado"ted children who only sto" in(esti&atin& the new family framework at the moment when a minim$m n$cle$s of sec$rity crystallizes in their "syche, the nati(e intellect$al will try to make E$ro"ean c$lt$re his own >e will not be content to &et to know 5abelais and Aiderot, 2hakes"eare and Ed&ar )llen 1oe= he will bind them to his intelli&ence as closely as "ossible? 3$t at the moment when the nationalist "arties are mobilizin& the "eo"le in the name of national inde"endence, the nati(e intellect$al sometimes s"$rns these ac#$isitions which he s$ddenly feels make him a stran&er in his own land? >e sets a hi&h (al$e on the c$stoms, traditions and the a""earances of his "eo"le b$t his ine(itable, "ainf$l e:"erience only seems to be a banal search for e:oticism .he sari becomes sacred, and shoes that come from 1aris or -taly are left off in fa(o$r of "a:n"ootiea, while s$ddenly the lan&$a&e of the r$lin& "ower is felt to b$rn yo$r li"s? -n the second "hase we find the nati(e is dist$rbed= he decides to remember what he is .his "eriod of creati(e work a""ro:imately corres"onds to that immersion which we ha(e /$st described 3$t since the nati(e is not a "art of his "eo"le, since he only has e:terior relations with his "eo"le, he is content to recall their life only 1ast ha""enin&s of the by&one days of his childhood will be bro$&ht $" o$t of the de"ths of his memory= old le&ends will be reinter"reted in the li&ht of a borrowed aestheticism and of a conce"tion of the world which was disco(ered $nder other skies 2ometimes this literat$re of /$st'before'the'battle is dominated by h$mo$r and by alle&ory= b$t often too it is sym"tomatic of a "eriod of distress and diffic$lty, where death is e:"erienced, and dis&$st too ,e s"ew o$rsel(es $"= b$t already $nderneath la$&hter can be heard Finally, in the third "hase, which is called the fi&htin& "hase, the nati(e, after ha(in& tried to lose himself in the "eo"le and with the "eo"le, will on the contrary shake the "eo"le -nstead of accordin& the "eo"le!s lethar&y an hono$red "lace in his esteem, he t$rns himself into an awakener of the "eo"le= hence comes a fi&htin& literat$re, a re(ol$tionary literat$re, and a national literat$re A$rin& this "hase a &reat many men and women who $" till then wo$ld ne(er ha(e tho$&ht of "rod$cin& a literary work, now that they find themsel(es in e:ce"tional circ$mstances ' in "rison, with the Ma#$is or on the e(e of their e:ec$tion ' feel the need to s"eak to their nation, to com"ose the sentence which e:"resses the heart of the "eo"le and to become the mo$th"iece of a new

reality in action .he nati(e intellect$al ne(ertheless sooner or later will realize that yo$ do not show "roof of yo$r nation from its c$lt$re b$t that yo$ s$bstantiate its e:istence in the fi&ht which the "eo"le wa&e a&ainst the forces of occ$"ation? ,hen a "eo"le $ndertakes an armed str$&&le or e(en a "olitical str$&&le a&ainst a relentless colonialism, the si&nificance of tradition chan&es? ,e m$st not therefore be content with del(in& into the "ast of a "eo"le in order to find coherent elements which will co$nteract colonialism!s attem"ts to falsify and harm ,e m$st work and fi&ht with the same rhythm as the "eo"le to constr$ct the f$t$re and to "re"are the &ro$nd where (i&oro$s shoots are already s"rin&in& $" ) national c$lt$re is not a folklore, nor an abstract "o"$lism that belie(es it can disco(er the "eo"le!s tr$e nat$re -t is not made $" of the inert dre&s of &rat$ito$s actions, that is to say actions which are less and less attached to the e(er'"resent reality of the "eo"le ) national c$lt$re is the whole body of efforts made by a "eo"le in the s"here of tho$&ht to describe, /$stify and "raise the action thro$&h which that "eo"le has created itself and kee"s itself in e:istence ) national c$lt$re in $nder'de(elo"ed co$ntries sho$ld therefore take its "lace at the (ery heart of the str$&&le for freedom which these co$ntries are carryin& on