Reading Response 5 (Fanon)

Do we change who we are when we leave what we are used to, or do we become who we are meant to be?

In this chapter, Fanon talks about language and the effects it has in the lives of people of color. When Black people go to France, they begin to learn French (which is considered a very romantic and elegant language) and they return home with a feeling of superiority. France is the place where the colonizers of black people come from, and thus when the black person visits France they are constantly reminded that this is not where they come from. White people come from France and they come from Africa. They are constantly reminded that they are supposed to feel inferior and that Whites are superior. Fanon explains that when some of these black individuals return home, they speak their language instead of speaking French like they learnt to. This is to show their family or close ones that they have not changed, but the truth is we all change eventually and with every new experience we live. I believe that if we go somewhere or do something that does us well and that calls us, it is something that will change us wether we want it or not. To deny that leaving for someplace else that the one we already know will not change who we are is simply a lie. Every new experience, relationship, or place we encounter changes us without us even noticing. That is how it should be for us to grow and learn as individuals, that is simply how we become who we are meant to be and we allow ourselves to go further than what we already know.