Season

One of the interesting ideas that I want to discuss is the theme of colonization in this novel. I think that Mustafa's choice to describe himself as the colonizer and the women he seduces as the colonized as particularly intriguing. For one, there is obvious irony here because in reality, Mustafa is the one who has been colonized, or educated, by the English, yet he claims to be a colonizer. Also, the fact that he desribes these horrible actions against women by relating them to colonization reveals his view, and possibly the author's view, on colonization as being directly relatable to the violence he is committing. Then, there is the fact that the lawyers and jurors in England who are trying Mustafa are on his side and are defending him over the girls of their country. My interpretation of this action is that the people in the court are not necessarily supporting Mustafa as an African person, but as a direct representation of colonization. As in, they are supporting their own system of colonization, since Mustafa is a protege of English colonization. In essence, they are just supporting their beliefs in colonizing nations and people, not necessarily his actions.