There are many positions which can be taken within post-colonial theory. The canon of English literature can be re-read from post-colonial perspectives, and subordinate or minority voices from the \u27margins\u27 of various imperialisms can be unearthed and amplified. But this body of theory in itself contains dimensions of tension and contradiction. Do postcolonial readers, in focusing upon re-readings of canonical works, merely give the canon a new lease of life? To what extent are re-readings actual reinforcements and perpetuation of such canons? To ask if we continue the project of colonialism through such re-readings is also to raise a question mark over our \u27amplification\u27 of marginalized voices