Having read through all this document offers, until the start of Chapter three, I can only say that Paulo Freire packs a lot of punch in eighty-five pages. To sum up the entirety of what is being offered would take a book in itself, and feel like a fool’s errand, especially when Paulo’s words are so articulate and well spoken. I could never begin to encapsulate or encompass in my limited vocabulary Paulo’s theories. However, I will relate to you something that struck me as inspiring, uplifting, or maybe just revolutionary in a way.
Chapter 1 contains some interesting concepts. On page 46, Paulo Freire explains that the oppressed suffer from an established contradiction in their deepest being, discovering that without freedom they can’t exist authentically. However, though they may desire that existence, also they fear it. Freire writes that sometimes the oppressed become the oppressors themselves; it is that consciousness which they have internalized. Their conflict lies within their choices; to be completely themselves or divided; to eject the oppressor within or not; to accept human camaraderie or isolation. It becomes a choice between following prescriptions or having choices. Freire describes it as choosing between being spectators or actors or choosing to speak out or stay silent. It is a tragic dilemma belonging to the oppressed and their educators must consider it.
The core problem as Paulo Freire sees it is written in this paragraph, which I will not even attempt to recapture because I think his words say it so much better that I can. In Paulo Freire’s words:
“The central problem is this: How can the oppressed, as divided, unauthentic beings, participate in developing the pedagogy of their liberation? Only as they discover themselves to be "hosts" of the oppressor can they contribute to the midwifery of their liberating pedagogy. As long as they live in the duality in which to be is to be like, and to be like is to be like the oppressor, this contribution is impossible. The pedagogy of the oppressed is an instrument for their critical discovery that both they and their oppressors are manifestations of dehumanization” (p. 46).
If you think of the accounts of prisoners in the concentration camps, you can see/remember a hierarchy among them. What the oppressed did was welcome the oppression, in many aspects, and then emulated it as well. The prisoners accepted the oppression, then they became the oppressors to those who were weaker; hence, the cycle continued. Paulo Freire’s concept that the oppressed are “hosts” of the oppressor was enlightening (46). Saying that it is only through that fact’s discovery can they truly be part of their liberation makes perfect sense (46). I find this so powerful.
There’s so much more to offer in just these few chapters of Paulo Freire’s book, and that I highly recommend you check it out. Follow the links from either above or below for a Pdf of a sample containing the first 181 pages of manuscript. Happy Reading!
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 30th Anniversary Edition. Bloomsbury Publishing (The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc.). 2005.
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