M. Butterfly Essay -- Literary Analysis, David Henry Hwang

At the end of the play M. Butterfly, a jailed French diplomat turned spy named Gallimard says, "There is a vision of the Orient that I have" (Hwang 3.3.7). In that moment he is implying that there are still beautiful women, as he thought his "Butterfly" was. This is suggestive of the colonial appeal. Colonization is made possible by one society characterizing another in a way that makes it seem like a good idea. The characterization of these cultures, such as the Orient or Africa, is carried out through literature, works of art, and drama. Certainly, plays, poems, books, and stories are only a few of the ways used to convince the masses of a modern nation of the justification to colonize. If one wants to rebel against colonization, one would need to place corruption upon the colonizer so to support the liberation. This approach looks to be accepted in drama, where there are two excellent illustrations of postcolonial literature, M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang, and A Tempest by Aime Cesaire. Both plays are re-worked versions of and Puccini's opera, Madame Butterfly and Shakespeare's The Tempest, and retain similar characters and basic plots. Shakespeare's and Puccini's works created symbols of other cultures. Caliban is the black devil, and Cio-Cio San is the timid and beautiful "Butterfly." These symbols have become stereotypes in Western culture, and formed, the justification for colonization. To pin these works against the idea of colonization, Cesaire and Hwang must greatly alter the content. They do so, but they also mimic the styles of the original versions. A Tempest is written in modern English, and Shakespeare's songs are substituted with slave tunes. Hwang dr... .... And in imagination I will remain† (Hwang 2.2.137-138) Song ends up winning in the end by reversing the roles and possessing the power. The only actual effect of the victory is Gallimard's suicide, which seems to hurt Song. The inconclusiveness in both of these endings could be a result from the unknown quality of the postcolonial world. Colonization forces us to endure and incorporate the unknown and unwanted. What follows cannot be a simple return to native ways. Whatever society arises will be a combination of the old and the new, set free to make its own way. Our world is made up by the stories that are told. The Tempest and Madame Butterfly constructed characters that became symbols of entire cultures. These symbols are carried on in M. Butterfly and A Tempest, showing us how the underlying issues might look different, but they never really change. M. Butterfly Essay -- Literary Analysis, David Henry Hwang At the end of the play M. Butterfly, a jailed French diplomat turned spy named Gallimard says, "There is a vision of the Orient that I have" (Hwang 3.3.7). In that moment he is implying that there are still beautiful women, as he thought his "Butterfly" was. This is suggestive of the colonial appeal. Colonization is made possible by one society characterizing another in a way that makes it seem like a good idea. The characterization of these cultures, such as the Orient or Africa, is carried out through literature, works of art, and drama. Certainly, plays, poems, books, and stories are only a few of the ways used to convince the masses of a modern nation of the justification to colonize. If one wants to rebel against colonization, one would need to place corruption upon the colonizer so to support the liberation. This approach looks to be accepted in drama, where there are two excellent illustrations of postcolonial literature, M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang, and A Tempest by Aime Cesaire. Both plays are re-worked versions of and Puccini's opera, Madame Butterfly and Shakespeare's The Tempest, and retain similar characters and basic plots. Shakespeare's and Puccini's works created symbols of other cultures. Caliban is the black devil, and Cio-Cio San is the timid and beautiful "Butterfly." These symbols have become stereotypes in Western culture, and formed, the justification for colonization. To pin these works against the idea of colonization, Cesaire and Hwang must greatly alter the content. They do so, but they also mimic the styles of the original versions. A Tempest is written in modern English, and Shakespeare's songs are substituted with slave tunes. Hwang dr... .... And in imagination I will remain† (Hwang 2.2.137-138) Song ends up winning in the end by reversing the roles and possessing the power. The only actual effect of the victory is Gallimard's suicide, which seems to hurt Song. The inconclusiveness in both of these endings could be a result from the unknown quality of the postcolonial world. Colonization forces us to endure and incorporate the unknown and unwanted. What follows cannot be a simple return to native ways. Whatever society arises will be a combination of the old and the new, set free to make its own way. Our world is made up by the stories that are told. The Tempest and Madame Butterfly constructed characters that became symbols of entire cultures. These symbols are carried on in M. Butterfly and A Tempest, showing us how the underlying issues might look different, but they never really change.