Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Wretched of the Earth, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Colonialism, Racism, and Violence
Oppression and Mental Health
Capitalism, Socialism, and the Third World
Decolonization, Neocolonialism, and Social Class
Culture and the Emerging Nation
Summary
Analysis
As the liberation war goes on, the people will suffer many wounds. This chapter, Fanon says, explores the mental disorders suffered during the Algerian War. The reader may find it strange that this book involves psychiatry case files. “There is absolutely nothing we can do about that,” Fanon says. Colonialism is “a great purveyor of psychiatric hospitals.” As it sought to completely negate the humanity of another, colonialism has caused many colonized individuals to question who they are.
Fanon’s comment that there is nothing to be done about the fact that his book contains case files reflects their importance. For Fanon, the psychological effects of colonization are the most significant and lasting effects of colonialism. There is no shortage of mental disorders in the colonial situation, Fanon implies, as colonialism is a “great purveyor” of hospitals.
Themes
When colonialism exists without armed rebellion, and the violence and oppression hit a specific limit, “the colonized’s defenses collapse.” As a result, many are admitted to psychiatric institutions. Algeria, where a liberation war has been raging for seven years, is “a breeding ground for mental disorders.” This chapter includes both Algerian and French patients, and most of them are suffering from a “psychotic reaction,” which means a specific situation triggered the psychotic event. In this case, the trigger is the Algerian War.
Here, Fanon implies that colonialism places so much mental stress on the colonized, they reach a point when they just snap. Algeria’s war has been raging for years, which means the people have had plenty of time to snap (hence it is a “breeding ground for mental disorders). Fanon’s use of the medical term “psychotic reaction” effectively places the blame for such disorders on colonialism, where, in Fanon’s opinion, it rightfully belongs.
Themes
It is of note, Fanon says, that most of the cases of psychotic reaction in this chapter are “relatively benign.” Cases in which one’s entire personality is dislocated are rare. However, Fanon still contends that each of these cases as “pathological processes” are “malignant.” These mental disorders are chronic, they attack the mind and ego, and leave the patient vulnerable. While these disorders are “benign,” the patients’ futures are completely “compromised,” Fanon says.
Here, Fanon explains that even though the medical field considers such psychological problems relatively harmless, Fanon argues that they are not so “benign.” The people suffering from them are horribly afflicted, and there is no reason to believe that such illnesses will ever completely resolve. Thus, the patients’ lives will always be “compromised.”
Themes
