Essay about Orientalism - 2624 Words

The definition of orientalism takes up no more than two sentences in the dictionary. Coincidentally, Orientalism came to be such a complex and deep concept which Said devotes his entire book in discussing about it. His book – Orientalism unfolds the history of the Orientalism, reveals the â€Å"dark† side of an orientalist’s mind and describes the different dimensions of Orientalism. He also attempts to expose the truth of the Orient, which he warned that: â€Å"One ought never to assume that the structure of Orientalism is nothing more than a structures of lies or of myths, which were the truth about them to be told, would simply blow away† (Said). In order to understand the truth Said`s referring to, one ought to first understand the origin and†¦show more content†¦And authority here means for â€Å"us† to deny autonomy to â€Å"it† – the Oriental country – since we know it and it exists, in a sense, as we know itâ⠂¬  (Said, 32). [Because they have the knowledge about the Egyptians, they feel like they have the power and authority to take over the nation and colonializing it.] Surely, Balfour’s claim of the profound knowledge about Egypt is actively linked with political imperialism and colonization of Egypt. Said reinforces his argument about knowledge and power once again by referring to the quote by Cromer â€Å"knowledge gives power, more power requires more knowledge, and so on in an increasingly profitable dialectic of information and control (Said 36).Thus, Knowledge serves as a powerful tool to allow the West to explore, control and govern the â€Å"Other†. Consequently, knowledge about the Orient is the start and the result of European domination, possession, and rationalization of the Orient, as one shall see in the following paragraphs. Domination/Possession: Another key feature about Orientalism is that it puts Europe in the position of power and domination (Said, 40). 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