A symbolic association can be made between colonialism and the novel Possessing the Secret of Joy on both a cultural and individual level. First, colonialism can be symbolically likened to a circumcision that defaces and physically and psychologically incapacitates an entire culture of people, robbing them of their identity, health, and function. Second, colonialism can be likened to the novel on an individual level in that specific individual persons have their lives and happiness ripped from them as their lives or the lives of those they love are devastated, mutilated, bled to death, and destroyed.