Racism in You Laughed and Laughed and Laughed poem by Okara.pptx
1. Thematic study of the poem
'You Laughed and Laughed
and Laughed’ by Gabriel
Okara.
Himanshi Parmar
2. Date - 10 March 2023
Day - Friday
Time - 10:30 - 01:00
Name - Himanshi Parmar
Semester - 4 (Four)
Roll Number - 8
Email. Id. - himanshiparmar3004@gmail.com
Enrollment number - 4069206420210025
Paper number - 206
Paper name - The African Literature
Subject Code - 22413
3. About the poem ‘You Laughed and Laughed and Laughed’.
"You Laughed and Laughed and Laughed" is a poem by Nigerian writer Gabriel Okara.
The poem is a satire on western people who consider themselves superior and Africans inferior.
The poem is also includes theme of Racism.
The poem also includes themes like Cultural Conflict, Modernism, Colonialism, Nationalism and
at last Racism.
~ The poem divided into Nine stanza.
4. Themes
1] Cultural Conflict
~ Cultural conflict between Western and African Culture.
~ The poem is taking side of African Culture and it's heritage because it is a written by African poet.
~ Africa and England has culture differences along with geographical differences.
African culture - Close to nature.
Western culture - Materialistic
~ Conflict of Superior and Inferior.
Western (White) people - Superior
African (Black) - Inferior
5. Western people consider Africans as a inferior and everything that belongs to African Culture / people are inferior
and disgustful for them. For example here in poem we find lines like,
You laughed at my song, you laughed at my walk.
You laughed at my dance, you laughed at my inside. You laughed and laughed and laughed.
Here, The laughter of British people is satirical on African Culture and people.
~ In other case we find that Gabriel Okara defending his people and his culture but somewhere he became
judgemental.
~ The word ice-block laughter, stands for Judgmental views of Gabriel Okara.
~ Okara Consider their laughter as not ice-block laughter.
~In the Judgment of Okara we find pain of unacceptable behavior of western towards Africans.
~ Cultural conflict in this poem shown by comparing Laughter of Western people and African people.
6. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, Modernism is a practice, usage, or expression peculiar to modern times.
In the poem poet use some modern words. In very first line of the poem is,
In your ears my song is motor car misfiring stopping with a choking cough; and you laughed and laughed and
laughed.
Motor car in poem is not only symbolism of modernity but also of Luxurious lifestyle of Western people.
There is one more reference of Modernism in poem.
instead you entered your car and laughed and laughed and laughed
African people are more close to nature and following traditional lifestyle, like dancing, singing for entertainment. while
Western people are More Modern and using luxuries for their Amenability.
2] Modernism
7. 3] Colonialism
According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, Colonialism is a domination of a people or area by a foreign
state or nation : the practice of extending and maintaining a nation's political and economic control over
another people or area.
~ The Poem is a reflection of suffering of Africa as a Colonized Country.
The poem is about Conflict between White and black people.
~ White people of western world considers themselves superior and other (Africans) inferior.
~ Westerns disgusts Africans Dance, walk, Songs etc which reflects their colonized mindset.
~ In Okara’s poem Laughing is like a Mental Torture.They laugh on African culture, their people's dance,
song, walk, inside etc that make them feel inferior. As Okara wrote that,
'your laughter was ice-block laughter'.
8. 4 ] Nationalism
According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, Nationalism is a sense of national consciousness exalting
one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as
opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups.
The poem is reflecting poet's love for his Nation (Africa)
African people are always close to nature, While Western culture is more materialistic.
Being close to nature is representing African nationality in this poem. The poem lines like,
fire of the eye of the sky, the fire of the earth, the fire of the air, the fie of the seas and the rivers
fishes animals trees and it thawed your inside
9. In this lines we find use of many natural sources like sea, eyes of the sky means Sun, fire, air, rivers,
fishes, animals, trees etc.
This all natural sources representing that how African people are very close to nature and nature is
representer of African culture.
Also we find reference of ancient people and nature of Africa in the poem. Here is the line indicating it,
So a meek wonder held your shadow and you whispered; "Why so?" And I answered: "Because
my fathers and I are owned by the living warmth of the earth through our naked feet.”
Except this there is a reference of 'Magic Dance', which reflecting superstitious nature of African
People.
10. 5]Racism
According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, Racism is a belief that race is a fundamental determinant
of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular
race.
As per the information given in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, The word "racism" comes
from the root word "race" combined with the suffix "-ism," which means a belief or doctrine.
The poem is all about pain and suffering of black people as a colonized under white colonizers.
In the poem, poet says that, whites laugh on African people's walk, dance, songs, inside that is
sarcastic laugh on their existence.
11. White thinks that their culture, songs, dance, manners, behavior everything are superior, and rest are
inferior, for example African people.
Not only in Africa but in each country that Britishers colonized, they made them belive that they are
superior and others are inferior.
They thought themselves superior because they believe that they have white skin because god made
them from their own skin while colonized people were black and brown because they were burned in
the fire of hell.
13. Citation
“Colonialism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/
dictionary/colonialism.
Gabriel , Okara. “You Laughed and Laughed and Laughed by Gabriel Okara.” Pick Me Up Poetry, Pick Me
Up Poetry, 2 Apr. 2022, https://pickmeuppoetry.org/you-laughed-and-laughed-and-laughed-by-gabriel-
okara/.
“Modernism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/
dictionary/modernism.
“Racism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/
dictionary/racism.
"Race." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward N. Zalta, Stanford University, 2021, https://
plato.stanford.edu/entries/race/.
