A major religion founded in Persia during the 3rd century, which is primarily concerned with the struggle between light (good) and dark (evil) forces. Fanon uses Manichaeanism as an analogy for colonialism. The colonial world is a “Manichaean World,” he claims, that is divided into the colonist—or the light and good—and the colonized—or the dark and evil. This basic belief in the evil of Africans is the basis for the rampant racism that plagues colonial society.
Manichaeanism Quotes in The Wretched of the Earth
The The Wretched of the Earth quotes below are all either spoken by Manichaeanism or refer to Manichaeanism. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 2: Grandeur and Weakness of Spontaneity
Quotes
The people who in the early days of the struggle had adopted the primitive Manichaeanism of the colonizer—Black versus White, Arab versus Infidel—realize en route that some blacks can be whiter than the whites, and that the prospect of a national flag or independence does not automatically result in certain segments of the population giving up their privileges and their interests.
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Manichaeanism Term Timeline in The Wretched of the Earth
The timeline below shows where the term Manichaeanism appears in The Wretched of the Earth. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: On Violence
...than the colonized, who are the indigenous population. This colonial world, Fanon says, “is a Manichaean world,” where the colonist makes the colonized into the epitome of evil. To the colonists,...
(full context)
The Manichaeanism of colonial society is left intact during decolonization, only the colonists are the evil ones....
(full context)
Chapter 2: Grandeur and Weakness of Spontaneity
Those who embrace the Manichaeanism of the colonizer and believe in black against white realize that “some blacks can be...
(full context)
