Throughout the article Said uses multiple people trying to explain how the Western world is above Egypt because of how they act and govern themselves. He explains how ‘knowledge is power’, and since the only European knowledge of The Orient is that the Arabs are dumb, dirty, cant follow directions, etc: England wants to take over and colonize Egypt because they feel it would benefit them. The point of having different cultures is the differences between them, but since England doesn’t understand these changes, they think that the Arabs are less than and unworthy, even going so far as to say that they are “incapable of drawing the most obvious conclusions” (Cromer 38) and more insults against them. Said spends his time in the article to combat these views, explaining how Egypt actually has a longstanding history of self-government that has succeeded throughout the years, and how their justification for taking over is not enough. There are many points in the story where Said elaborates on how knowledge is power, but the Europeans dont actually have the real knowledge of the Orient, just what they have seen and think is true.
