The Wretched of the Earth
What is the theme in The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon?
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Colonialism as a disease is a major theme in this story. Fanon makes the compelling (and then-shocking) case that colonialism is an unhealthy condition for the Algerian because it deprives him of not only economic and social security, education, and a chance at a better life, but more fundamentally because it robs him of his basic humanity. Colonialism as a form of institutionalized violence generates psychiatric illnesses that stem from a complete devaluation of the self, accompanied by various phobias and extreme anxiety states that grow out of violence. In the last chapter, he presents a number of cases of mental disorder directly attributable to colonialism or to the war for independence.