Portrayal of 'Natives'

“faces like grotesque masks […] they had bone, muscle…

, a wild vitality, an intense energy of movement.” (p16)

“A lot of people, mostly black…

and naked, moved about like ants.” (p18)

“Six black men advanced in a file […] Black rags were wound around their loins, and the…

short ends behind waggled to and fro like tails. I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope.” (p18) 

How are they described?

• Black Africans described in terms of bodily features. This is another binary 🡪 to be of body is the binary opposite of to be ‘of mind’. The depiction here deprives the natives of minds and by extension does not credits them with thoughts or any form of intelligence. 

• ‘Masks’ implies that white skin is authentic; black skin is somehow a costume. 

• Relating them to animals contributes to the sense that they are relentlessly dehumanised. 

• Relating their bodies to the ‘knots in a rope’ also suggests that their identity is ‘bound’ to their oppression.