Browsing by Subject "Colonial discourse"
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Item Legacy of Colonial Mindset in Kiran Desai's The Inheritance of Loss(Department of English, 2008) Dawadi, SurendraKiran Desai's first novel The Inheritance of Loss (2006) expresses the view of an outsider-insider who tries to comment on the turbulent politics of the nation she has become effectively disjointed from consequent to her strategical location in the US. But the novel, by presenting the people, climate and culture of Kalimpong, mixed with Indians and Nepalis, mostly through the elitist and distant metropolitan perspective, and consequently in a darker light than they might have been, draws a totally negative picture of everything of Nepalis both in India and Nepal. The disgusting images of all these and numerous other references do provide seemingly exotic but really depraved image of the Indian things. The novelist, doubtless, has tried to offer some of the negative images of the whites to counterbalance the ones about the Indians, but such attempts come to nothing in the final analysis. This research paper aims to establish the truth of the notion that literature is always rooted in the particularities of its production. The personal biases and slants of the author, as well as the motive behind attempting the work in the first place greatly influence the tone of the work. As brought up in the western hemisphere, it is really tough job for her maintaining a neutral attitude, let alone a friendly one, while she is telling stories about India. Next, she wrote the novel primarily with the aim of reaching the western readership. Hence the profusion of the references to the mystic, esoteric, and the grotesque—this all to make the novel marketable at the intended literary market that still demands works saturated with all the spice stuff even after years of Indian independence from the British Raj.Item Mixed Representation of the "Other" in Orwell's Burmese Days(Department of English, 2006) Parajuli, RajanColonial discourses have created various images to represent the Eastern countries and people as the 'Other'. It establishes a created form of reality in the readers' mind. It functions as a power to dominate, educate and govern over the non-western countries. George Orwell's Burmese Daystextualizes the mixed representation–the mixed attitudes of the author–of Burma and Burmese people. Orwell has partially expressed his love-hate attitudes towards the native Burmese and the white imperialists through his characters. He has readjusted the paradigm of center and margin by creating central position to the white Europeans and by marginalizing the native Burmese people as the 'other'. In this sense, the novel shows how Orwell detested imperialism and the native people as well. It also reveals his colonial mentality i.e., how he shares the sense of superiority as the white race. Besides, he presents the white characters as superior beings and the black Indians as helpless and worthless inferior beings. So through these mixed representations of Burmese people, Orwell tries to justify the mission of colonization as the mission of civilization.Item Multiculturalism as an Antidote to East-West Despair in The White Castle(Department of English, 2008) Gyawali, MinaFerit Orhan Pamuk’s third novel The White Castle is characterized by a confusion or loss of identity brought on in part by the conflicts between European and Islamic values. The deep-rooted tension between East and West, traditional communalism and modern secularism often get elaborate treatment in Pamukian literature. They are often startling, disturbing and unsettling or even mysteriously exhilarating, as is the novel undertaken in this thesis. The present dissertation has the message that the survival of people from the different cultural and geographical domains is made possible by the ability in accepting differences as given which we need not try to obliterate. In the novel itself, a Turkish scientist successfully settles in Italy whereas a Venetian enjoys his life and post of power as a royal astrologer at the court in Istanbul. Actually the difference of cast, colour and creed are all man-made, therefore not essential to defining human life and existence. This is the liberal and reconciliatory message of the novel studied in this thesis.Item Postcolonial Counter Discourse in Ahdaf Soueif‟s The Map of Love(Department of English, 2018) Aryal, RajanThis research work reveals the Ahdaf Soueif‟s efforts to erase the binary and the stereotypical perspective of the West, white, English and Christian authorities towards the Islam and other Oriental religions and traditions in „The Map of Love.‟ The term Oriental is related to the Eastern people and traditions. However, Westerners think that they are Occidental. It means modern, developed, and more civilized than Oriental. Thus the West creates the binary and stereotype between Oriental and Occidental. Orientals are taken negatively and Occidental is taken positively. The West discriminates over the East by the construction of differences between the Orientals and Occidental. The West and English create the discourse to justify; they are as superior, rich and more civilized to the Easterners. The Westerners define themselves more civilized to the Orientals. On the basis of such contradictory discourse they dominate over Orientals through colonization. Soueif, in „The Map of Love‟ emphasizes on the peace, humanitarian values, social justice freedom and mutual understanding among the people who are from different races, religions and the good cultures. The English widow, Anna transforms herself into the Islam tradition and likewise the Islam Sharif Basha shows his love and respect towards the English people like Anna. They celebrate each other‟s rituals. Sharif urges Anna to celebrate the Christmas and she also prefers to involve in Islam cultural rituals without hesitation. She follows the Islam ritual in her marriage with Sharif. They celebrate the English New Years Day in the family.