Reflections On Exile

“Reflections on exile by Edward W. Said provided me with a totally different aspect of what exile is how people that have been exiled live, feel and attribute to society. I must say before reading this article, exile was never a topic that I spoke of or even considered. In fact, I was unaware that exile took place in places such as America, Paris and Mexico City; I was under the influence that exile took place in exclusively rural countries and more frequently found in heroic novels or movies. I was particularly interested on the topic of exile of Haitians in America; I feel that Said used that example as well as Muslims from India and Bikinians in Oceania to show that the extremity of exile varies. The most unusual case was that of exiles being exiled from other exiles.
Said initially describes exile as an “unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between self and its true home”. After reading the text readers learn that it the experience is much more profound in that exile is not necessarily a negative experience but can be seen as an alternative. He even comments on my prior notions on exiles being identified with heroic and “triumphant episodes” in literature, stating that they are only “efforts meant to overcome the “crippling sorrow of estrangement” that they face. Interestingly enough many exiles become novelist, poets, chess players and political activist. The most fascinating of these professions are the exiles capability to become writers and contribute to the world of literature. I am particularly fond of the example Said gave of: Conrad, Joyce, and Darwish’s writings and how they give deeper insight to the life and experiences through stories and poetry by pulling from there’re own experiences.