The Sound of Silence

An example of a recent scholarly paper with postBrontë-related content:

The Sound of Silence: Through “Things Fall Apart” by Achebe and “Wide Sargasso Sea”

by Rhys Bora Aega1, Maltepe University, Türkiye

Journal of Translation, Literature and Linguistics 2023, VOL. 2, (2), 99-113 

The canonical works Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (first published in 1899) and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (first published in 1847) had their reflection in literature with their modern counterparts, Chinua Achebe’s (1995) Things Fall Apart and Jean Rhys’ (1997) Wide Sargasso Sea, respectively. Both written in an attempt to offer a re-examination of traditional colonial discourse, Things Fall Apart and Wide Sargasso Sea have major differences in their methodologies. While Achebe offers a pre-colonial insight to underline the impact of colonial forces on African societies, Rhys instead derives a prequel mainly addressing gender issues from Jane Eyre for similar purposes. Comparing Heart of Darkness with Things Fall Apart and Jane Eyre with Wide Sargasso Sea through a postcolonial reading, this paper aims to explore to what extent these works differ from each other in terms of their approach to colonialism, racism, and gender roles. It is concluded that the modern works by Achebe and Rhys succeed in levelling criticism at their canonical counterparts by skilfully surfacing the effects of colonialism, racism, and patriarchy as they give voice to voiceless people, who are initially left silenced by Conrad and Brontë.