FRANTZ FANON’S INSIGHTFUL ANALYSIS: 5 TRANSFORMATIVE LESSONS FROM ‘THE WRETCHED OF THE EARTH’

IKRAAM SHARIF (AUTHOR), CHARLIE SØRENSEN (EDITOR)
November 22, 2023

Frantz Fanon examines the effects of colonialism in his book ‘The Wretched of the Earth’ (TWOFE) by reviewing the decolonisation process and global advancements in freedom. This book also emphasises how colonialism reduced the human dignity of those violently colonised and the clear need for a robust response to remove colonialism as well as its overall effect on the psyche of the people.

Frantz Fanon was a well-known author and scholar. He was born in 1925 and raised in Martinique’s French territory. Thus, his firsthand experiences with racism, colonialism, and the regal control of global powers directly influenced his commitment to the topic.

This book review discusses the varied concepts of colonialism, violence and psychology and the book’s relevance to society to summarise the book’s impact.


“In the colonies the truth stood naked, but the citizens of the mother country preferred it with clothes on: the native had to love them, something in the way mothers are loved.”J.P Sartre & F. Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth.
The Dynamics of Violence and Decolonisation in Fanon’s Perspective

In the first chapter, ‘Concerning Violence’, we are introduced to the first concept – violence. Frantz Fanon emphasises how decolonisation is inherently violent. Colonialism is fierce from the start and never stops being violent. He notes that “their [the colonies] first encounter was marked by violence and their existence together […] was carried on by dint of a great array of bayonets and canon” (Fanon, 1963, p.36). Violence is the only way for it to end.

He emphasises the value of self-respect and self-discovery, one of his defences against violence. This focus deserves praise since it is global and addresses all colonised people. According to Frantz Fanon, excessive violence enables the colonised to realise that he is not who the coloniser has made him believe he is via belittling, vilifying, and punishing him.

To “[drive] into the locals’ heads the concept that if the settlers were to depart, they would at once fall back into barbarism, degradation, and bestiality,” the coloniser not only “distorts, disfigures, and destroys” pre-colonial history but also psychologically degrades the native (Fanon, 1963, p.210). Here, Fanon creates a striking portrait of the colonised people’s lack of regard for themselves before the liberation that violence grants them. He emphasises that the colonised should not look up to or idolise the settlers.
Fanon’s Exploration of Colonialism’s Psychological Impact

The native is free from “his inferiority complex and his despair and inaction; it makes him fearless and restores his self-respect,” according to Fanon, who describes violence as a “cleaning force” (Fanon, 1963, pg. 94). Once more, Frantz Fanon uses emotive language that tremendously appeals to colonised readers. To portray something as unpleasant and destructive as violence in a good light is an intriguing idea.

A revolution’s use of violence can bring people together and spark a national movement where they can vent the repressed wrath caused by colonialism. Sonnleitner notes in ‘Of Logic and Liberation: Frantz Fanon on Terrorism’ that it is “personally therapeutic” (Sonnleitner, 1987, p.291). Using the adjective “therapeutic” to describe something violent and oppressive, such as colonialism, can arguably be disrespectful to the colonised.

However, whether you agree with Fanon’s moral argument when colonised people have been denied a means of expressing their sentiments for so long, his claim that violence fosters self-respect can be valid.

Fanon claims violence must be acknowledged. As we have seen, he contends that using violence brings about self-respect, self-discovery, and independence. Yet, he goes on to devote chapter five, ‘Colonial World and Mental Disorders’, to the mental illnesses and disorders that are direct results of violence in colonial times.

As readers, we are simultaneously being considered to understand that Fanon is arguing the justification of violence to gain self-respect and how it can damage the psyche of the native people – so which one is it? Does violence damage the mind of the colonised, or does it leave the colonised the ability to fight for freedom and against oppression?
Reconciling Violence with Mental Health in Colonial Contexts

Fanon claims violence must be acknowledged. As we have seen, he contends that using violence brings about self-respect, self-discovery, and independence. Yet, he goes on to devote chapter five, ‘Colonial World and Mental Disorders’, to the mental illnesses and disorders that are direct results of violence in colonial times.

As readers, we are simultaneously being considered to understand that Fanon is arguing the justification of violence to gain self-respect and how it can damage the psyche of the native people – so which one is it? Does violence damage the mind of the colonised, or does it leave the colonised the ability to fight for freedom and against oppression?
Frantz Fanon’s Legacy and the Continued Relevance of ‘The Wretched of the Earth’

Fanon maintains that the atmosphere of a “Manichaean world” (Fanon, 1963, pg. 41) is a primary reason for the general decline in mental health throughout the colonial era. This analogy is for the colonial world, which is morally distinct and geographically separated into two zones.

The author describes this dichotomy when he writes about how the settler’s realm is physically advanced, secure, and clean, and it is abundant with all the resources required for a sustainable way of life; “a well-fed town, an easy-going town; its belly is always full of good things” whilst the town of the colonised is “a place of ill fame, peopled by men of evil repute … hungry town, starved of bread, of meat, of shoes, of coal, of light” (Fanon, 1963, pp.38–39).

The juxtaposing language used to explain the opposite nature demonstrates how the settlers could prosper in the land that belonged to someone else – the natives. Essentially, “Manicheism […] dehumanises the native [and] it turns him into an animal” (Fanon, 1963, p.42). Thus demonstrating that colonisation has dehumanising effects on the people and the nation and causes negative emotions such as bitterness and resentment.

As a psychiatrist, Frantz Fanon holds the same position that the brutality of colonialism has contributed to an increase in mental illnesses and disorders. In chapter five, Fanon meticulously identifies the subtle differences among the many instances of mental illness brought on by colonial violence.

Fanon is aware of a direct relationship between the two concepts, which tends to have a long-lasting effect even after decolonisation. Therefore, Fanon’s claim that violence is a “cleansing force” (Fanon, 1963, pg. 94) is weak because he has already explained in detail how targeted acts of violence and an overall climate of physical insecurity cause a wide range of mental disorders, such as depression, PTSD, hallucinations, and many others.
The Algerian War: A Deep Dive into Colonialism’s Psychological and Physical Traumas

In his book, Fanon explores the Algerian War and how colonialism is a “fertile purveyor for psychiatric hospitals” (Fanon, 1963, p.249). As the war for freedom progressed, there was significant damage to the people that left them institutionalised in hospitals. He writes case studies on person B, an Algerian man who had “insomnia and persistent headaches” (Fanon, 1963, p.254) and how B’s wife had been “dishonoured” by a French officer who told B to forget about her (Fanon, 1963, p.255).

This is another illustration of the heinous atrocities of colonialism. The fact that B’s wife is raped to get close to B underlines the utter dominance of the French colonists over the Algerian people. However, it is interesting to note that in all his cases, Fanon focuses on the impact of the physical violence of colonialism and does not include how sexual violence was used in the Algerian war.


This point is not to diminish the physical violence of colonialism. But if violence is to be considered, all types of violence must be included – especially sexual violence. Branche explores in ‘Sexual Violence in the Algerian War’ (2009) how sexual violence was prevalent in the Algerian War and how “rapes happened, and repeatedly happened” (Branche, 2009, p.248).

She explores how the systematic use of sexual abuse was a technique of cruelty and humiliation (for both men and women) committed by the French army. It was a brutal, dehumanising, and consistent torture, and although death was typically the outcome, it was not the intended outcome.

Colonialism directly links to other types of violence different from physical violence. Branche examines this when Fanon does not discuss it in his book, though it is crucial to understanding colonialism and violence.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Branche, R., 2009. Sexual Violence in the Algerian War. In: D. Herzog, ed. Brutality and Desire: War and Sexuality in Europe’s Twentieth Century, Genders, and Sexualities in History. [online] London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp.247–260. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230234291_10.

Burke, E., 1976. Frantz Fanon’s ‘The Wretched of the Earth’. Daedalus, 105(1), pp.127–135.

Fanon, F., 1963. The Wretched of the Earth. New York: Grove Press.

Ighilahriz, L (2001) Algérienne (gathered by Anne Nivat), Paris: Fayard/Calmann-Levy.

Sonnleitner, M.W., 1987. Of Logic and Liberation: Frantz Fanon on Terrorism. Journal of Black Studies, 17(3), pp.287–304.