Alienation, Inferiority, and Assimilation in Edward P. Jones’s The Known World

In Postcolonialism the issue of the influential power of dominant hegemony over the resultants of cultural confrontation between colonized and colonizer is preponderantly under scrutiny. Frantz Fanon is an influential figure in building upon this conceptual framework; whose oeuvre is bestrewed with postulations regarding the consequences of colonization and racism on the identity, experience, and the psyche of colored people. By utilizing Fanon’s thought, this paper intends to analyze different aspects of the black experience, such as alienation, inferiority, and assimilation in Edward P. Jones’s Pulitzer-winning novel, The Known World (2003). Throughout the novel, the conduct of free or bonded black characters within the institution of slavery reflects that of the white culture, and Fanon’s ideas are called upon to investigate the origin and possible consequence and implications of such behaviors.