THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE EAST AND THE WEST IN TERMS OF ORIENTALIST DISCOURSE
[HACER KÜF]
1120313036
17.11.2016
Word Count: 2012
This essay is a partial fulfilment for the midterm exam
In this essay I shall define, describe and analyse how the east is perceived in the medieval narratives by referring to the text that we have studied at lessons. To answer this question, we begin by taking a closer look at Edward Said’s Orientalism, the Case of the East in the Medieval Context article, Project Muse article and two primary texts ( the Songs of Roland, the Man of Law’s Tale). There are many studies about this topic. We analysed them at lessons. My purpose is to identify the differences between the East and the West. We will examine each one separately.
Edward Said examine the kind of thougt in the East about the Orient.Said examines the historical, cultural, and political views of the East. We will look at the Edward Said’s Orientalism. “Orientalism is a style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological distinction made between "the Orient" and (most of the time) "the Occident." Thus a very large mass of writers, among whom are poets, novelists, philosophers, political theorists, economists, and im-perial administrators, have accepted the basic distinction between East and West as the starting point for elaborate theories, epics, novels, social descriptions, and political accounts concerning the Orient, its people, customs, "mind," destiny, and so on.” Here Edward Said said that orientalism is related to epistemological and ontological distinction. Epistemology means the theory of knowledge and ontology mean the branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being. According to Edward Said, orientalism is related to knowledge and being. This is the distincion between the ontology and epistomology. “Orientalism, which is something more historically and materially defined than either of the other two. Taking the late eighteenth century as a very roughly defined starting point Orientalism can be discussed and analyzed as the corporate institution for dealing with the Orient—dealing with it by making statements about it, authorizing views of it, describing it, by teaching it, settling it, ruling over it: in short, Orientalism as a Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient.” According to this meaning Orientalism is about historic and tangible. Orientalism is something related to West description of East in order to its historical events. “…European culture gained in strength and identity by setting itself off against the Orient as a sort of surrogate and even underground self.” European culture think itself as a strenght because of the thinking of his underground. They think that they is superior power from the East. They are most powerfull.
“My point is that Orientalism derives from a particular closeness experienced between Britain and France and the Orient, which until the early nineteenth century had really meant only India and the Bible lands.” It is about the religion. According to this quatation we can make inference that religious informations effect the Orientalism. We can say that particular closeness effect the religion and religion effect the orientalism. If some countries close to each other, it means that their religinon effect each other.“The exteriority of the repre- sentation is always governed by some version of the truism that if the Orient could represent itself, it would; since it can not, the representation does the job, for the West, and faute de mieux, for the poor Orient.” Here Edward Said said that East can’t represent itself so someone should represent it. Because there are many exteriority in East. East must be represented but they can not represent themselves so West’s thoughts are represent the East.
Now, we will examine the case of the East in the Medieval Context article. “ Thus, the East is characteristically produced in the Orientalist discourse as voiceless, sensual, female, despotic, irrational and backward, while the west is represented as masculine, democratic, rational, moral, dynamic, and progressive.” Here there are generally negative statements about the East and positive statements about the West. For example; called female for East and male for West. Here East is seen as a female but West is seen as a male. Maybe there is metaphor because female represents powerless but male represents power, energy. These characteristics show us that Orientalist discourse said that West is more powerful than East. There are many adjective to represent East according to West, according to orientalist discourse. “Otherness (which refers to race and religion) is always associated with the East.” The characteristics of the otherness is being different from the society. Here we understood that East is different from the society. It did not take place in the society, metaphorically.
There are many characteristics about the East and the West in The Song of the Roland. It is a primary text. It gives information about the topic. It belongs to French literature. This long epic poem tells the story of Charlemagne's life with the army. “The existence of the Orient in the French literature dates back to the Middle Age. In this period, the religious feelings play a great role on the comprehension of the Orient.” Here we see that religion is an effective factor in Orientalism. The French King Charlemagne has been campaigning for Spain for seven years to conquer Spain again.Saragosse's Muslim king decides to make a treaty with Marsille. Beacuse he did not want to war again and again. Charlemange assigns an delegate for this. Although Roland is a knight who volunteers for this job, King Ganeolon is elected delegator.But he is a betrayer. He allows the soldiers under the command of Roland to be ambushed in the Pyrenees. This event takes place in the Song of the Roland. “The presentation of the other side, of the Muslims, poses a problem for the poet: he must make them unquestionably evil and base, clearly less noble, less manly, and less brave than the Christians, but nonetheless a worthy enemy.” Here the East ( muslims) represent evil and base but the West (Christians) represenet power and strenght. The eligion is effective decisive factor to Orientalism. If someone was Muslim, he had been in East and he had not been as powerful as Christian, who had been in West. When we look at the other source, we can realize that the East is seen as bad but the West is seen as good. “ Muhammad is worth more than Saint Peter of Rome; If you serve him, victory will be ours.” Here of course Pagans think that Muhammad is worthy but at the same time we understand that Christians think the opposite. “ The Franks are most noble men; Great harm is being done by those dukes and counts Who give such advice to their lord. They destroy and torment him and others too.” There is a conflict between good and evil. According to this quatation we can see that Franks are more royal than the others. They want to destroy the others. “Marsile has a boook brought forward, Containing the law of Muhammad and Tervagant. This is what the Spanish Saracen swore: That if he fins Roland in the Rearguard, He will do battle against him with all his men, And, if possible, Roland will surely die there.” There is conflict between the Saracens and Franks. They think that Saracens are religious like Franks but they have wrong things. According to Franks their religion contain good and true but Saracens’ religion contain bad and wrong. So Marsile want to give his religion for Saracens. His religion should organize their religion system.
“ The Saracens, then, should be understood not as a race but as a culture, in Appadurai’s sense of situated difference: group identities are constituted by the conscious mobilization of certain attributes ‘to articulate the boundary of difference’-attributes then naturalized as ‘essential’ to group identity.” There is a cultural characteristics of Saracens. Religion is important but according to Appadurai we can not recognize Saracen with religion, we can recognize them with their culture. Culture is an important role to create someone’s identity. Every society should have their own culture. Thanks to these cultures people can seperate them with each other. “In the Middle Ages, Bartlet has argued, the priviledged form of difference was not race but custom: peoples were distinguished not by biological esence but by language, law, ‘dress, domestic rituals, dietary habits, hair-stles and a host of other habitual practices.” As we can see here Bartlett also discuss that people can seperate each other with their culture like their language. For example, people can understand easily someone speak Turkish, the he or she must be a Turkish. Another example of this, someone who is a man and wear skirt, we can say that he is a Scottish.
“They trowe that "no Cristene prince wolde fayn
Wedden his child under oure lawes swete
That us were taught by Mahoun oure prophete."” There is a religious theme. This quatation says that Pagans should marry with another Pagan not with Christian. It is distinction between the Pagans and the Christians. As you csn see, religion is important fort he society and if someone want to marry with someone who has different religion, society does not give a permission.
“I seye, by tretys and embassadrye
And by the popes mediacioun
And al the chirche and al the chivalrie,
That in destruccioun of Mawmettrie
And in encrees of Cristes lawe deere,
They been acorded, so as ye shal heere.” Here all Christians limited to Custange’ marriage because they did not want to this marriage because of religion difference. Christians want to spray Christianity and destroy Islam.
“"Lordes," quod she, "ye knowen everichon,
How that my sone in pointe is for to lete
The hooly lawes of oure Alkaron,
Yeven by Goddes message, Makomete.
But oon avow to grete God I heete,
The lyf shal rather out of my body sterte,
Than Makometes lawe out of myn herte!” Here Soltan’s mother reject this marriage according to Koran. Like Christians, she did not want to this marriage.
“Thanne saw they therin swich difficultee
By wey of reson, for to speke al playn
By cause that ther was swich diversitee
Bitwene hir bothe lawes.” There is a cultural differences between the Soltan and the Custance. If they marry, there are many problems because of the cultural differences. This differences is not a inascapeble obstacle in their marriage. As we can see culture is really important interms of religion. “In sterres many a wynter therbiforn
Was writen the deeth of Ector, Achilles,
Of Pompei, Julius, er they were born,
The strif of Thebes, and of Ercules,
Of Sampson, Turns, and of Socrates
The deeth, but mennes wittes ben so dulle
Thatn o wight kan wel rede it atte fulle.” There is inability to predict future by man. God determine the future. Our failings is our misunderstanding. God organize everything and we live in terms of these plan. "In hir is heigh beautee, withoute pride,
Yowthe, withoute grenehede or folye,
To alle hir werkes vertu is hir gyde,
Humblesse hath slayn in hir al tirannye,
She is mirour of alle curteisye,
Hir herte is verray chambre of hoolynesse,
Hir hand ministre of fredam for almesse." There is a description of the identities of the Custance and the girl. They are different from each other because of cultural differences. This quatation say that the girl is beautiful and its her goodness.
All of this points to the fact that Oryantalism refer to East in the eyes of the West. According to these studies we can understand that tehere are many differences between the East and the West. East can not represent themselves effectively so West describe the East in a badly way. The West see the East as a powerless. West think that they are superior to the East. According to Orientalist discourse we can understand that actually culture play a decisive role. West’s culture and East’s culture is different from each other. When we look at orientalist discourse we can say that East’s culture is seen as different from the West and according to West East is inadiquate from them. When we look at Edward Said’s Orientalism book in detaied, we can easily understand the differences between them.
Bibliography
Said, Edward (1977) Orientalism. London: Penguin
Düzgün, Hülya Taflı (2016) The Case of the East in the Medieval Context
The Song of Roland
Kinoshita, Sharon (2001) Project Muse
The Man of Law’s Tale
Boyacıoğlu. Fuat (2012) The Religious Fanatism in the Song of Roland and
the Alteration of Historical Events
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Song of Roland.” SparkNotes LLC.
n.d.. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/songofroland/ (accessed
November 10, 2016).