In the beginning of this chapter, the author states that as the colonizer needs an image so does the colonized. Albert Memmi goes into the concept of the “Mythical Portrait of the Colonized,” and in this chapter he explores the myth of the colonized being lazy. He explains the processes in which the colonizer dehumanizes and cheats the colonized out of wages. The colonizers impose the idea on others that the colonized are lazy to justify the low wages that they are being the paid and the cruelty they are subjected to. There are qualified workers of European descent that could do the same jobs as the colonized, but their wages are 3-4 time more than the colonized. Therefore the colonizer continues to use the colonized because it is cheap labor. The colonized are only used for the muscle and their ability to move things. …show more content…
No matter how the colonized reacts to a situation they will always be seen as lazy. One thing I wanted to mention about Memmi’s book is his language it is very gendered and anchored towards men. The only time within this chapter he’s talked about women is when the colonized woman has lost a child or husband. For the time frame in which the book was written, I understand why the language is so gendered. Memmi also addresses the language used to describe the colonized. For example, the colonized were seen as weak and the colonizer was there to protect them. This may sound contradictory on Memmi’s part, but what he is getting at is the colonized as weak in mind and like mentioned before strong by muscle. It was easier to control the colonized when they were weak in mind because they will comply with whatever the colonizer wants. There is no real protection that the colonized needs except the protection from the colonizer. This is also another way to control the colonized from responsibilities that they may be deemed to