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Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14540/26

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Political Symbolism in George Orwell’s Animal Farm
(2025) Wanem, Karishma; Jib Lal Sapkota
This study examines Animal Farm through the lens of semiotics, interpreting the novella as a political allegory that communicates complex ideological messages through signs and symbols. It takes theories from Roland Barthes, who writes symbols as ideologically created cultural signifiers shaped by codes, myths, and ideology that uncover hidden power relations. Charles Baudelaire, who believes symbolism to be a poetic device that causes moral, religious, and political truths that are impossible to state directly and Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, who perceive symbolism within cultural production as a symptom of material circumstance and class warfare. Within this framework, Orwell's text encodes political meaning into setting, object, and character to denounce totalitarian regimes and revolution ideal treachery, particularly in the Russian Revolution and Stalinism. Stalinist government is embodied in Napoleon, the Seven Commandments change as ideological tools, and the windmill symbolizes empty promises of progress. The farm itself is a mini-state ruled by propaganda and coercion. In reading the semiotic systems contained in these works, the study reveals how Orwell uncovers political deception structures and the erosion of justice and truth and ultimately establishes the continued timeliness of Animal Farm as a work commenting on authoritarianism and the semiotics of political oppression. Each element within the text, from the individual of Napoleon (as a signifier of Stalinism) to the evolving Seven Commandments and the symbolic windmill capabilities as a signal machine that constructs and conveys political meaning. Through this semiotic framework, the study reveals how Orwell’s use of allegorical signs and symbols exposes the mechanisms of political deception and the erosion of reality and justice. Ultimately, this semiotic analysing enhances know, how of Orwell’s narrative techniques and underscores the enduring relevance of Animal Farm as a complicated critique of authoritarianism and the semiotics of political control. Keywords: Semiotic, Allegory, Imagery, Symbolism, Satire, Paradox, Political Power Dynamics, Authoritarianism
Representation of Masculinity in Han Kang's The Vegetarian
(2025) Rai, Tilak
This thesis explores how The Vegetarian by Han Kang represents and critiques hegemonic masculinity in contemporary Korean society. While the novel is frequently interpreted through feminist, ecofeminist, or psychological lenses, this study shifts the focus toward the male characters Yeong-hye’s husband, father, and brother-in-law and examines how their identities are shaped, performed, and destabilized in response to Yeong-hye’s silent rebellion. The Vegetarian exposes the fragility, emotional repression, and performative nature of hegemonic masculinity. When Yeong-hye resists patriarchal control, the male characters react with coercion, violence, and detachment, revealing how masculinity relies on female subordination for its survival. The study is grounded in Raewyn Connell’s theory of hegemonic masculinity, which defines masculinity as a culturally dominant and socially constructed practice that sustains male power through everyday gendered performances. Han Kang presents masculinity as unstable and harmful both to women and the men who perform it. Mr. Cheong’s desire for a passive wife, the father’s violent assertion of control, and the brother-in-law’s objectification of Yeong-hye all demonstrate different but interconnected expressions of patriarchal masculinity. Their identities collapse when Yeong-hye withdraws from expected roles, suggesting that masculinity is not natural or fixed but a vulnerable performance dependent on power dynamics. This research is significant because it fills a gap in scholarship by offering a masculinity-centered reading of The Vegetarian. It contributes to a deeper understanding of gender power structures in Korean society and shows how literature can critique dominant ideologies. Keywords: Hegemonic Masculinity, Patriarchy, Resistance, Power Dynamics
Climate Change as Slow Violence in Barbara Kingsolver's Flight Behaviour
(2025) Bhusal, Ram Prasad; Jib Lal Sapkota
The present study explores the impact of climate change on displaced monarch butterflies and farming in Turnbow farming of Tennessee in Barbara Kingsolver‟s novel Flight Behaviour. DellarobiaTurnbow and Ovid Byron demonstrate a profound sense of connection to nature, and a strong protest against harmful human activity like logging. However, their differing views on the arrival of butterflies in Turnbow farming show a tension between those who romanticize natural things and those who are seriously worried about anti-nature activities. Nevertheless, their constant mutual understanding that appears as the novel progresses is their fascination towards nature and ecological system. Gradually, they share similar views in their attempt to resist patriarchal and capitalist systems that seek to exploit nature bringing climatic adverse situation. Following the qualitative research design, this study brings ideas from the works of Amitav Ghosh, Dipesh Chakrabarty, and Lawrence Buell to develop a theoretical framework for analyzing the primary text under scrutiny. Keywords: capitalism, flight, nature, ecological denial, slow violence, climate fiction
Ethics beyond the Human ; A post-humanist reading of lan McEwan's machines like me
(2025) Giri, Manisha; Laxman Bhatta
This research analyzes the ethical, societal, and relational consequences of artificial intelligence in Ian McEwan’s Machines Like Me through a post-humanist perspective. Utilizing Rosi Braidotti’s post-anthropocentric ethics, alongside insights from Donna Haraway, the study investigates how the novel questions conventional ideas of moral agency and human superiority. By employing textual analysis, it examines the moral capabilities of humanoid robots, focusing on their emotional intelligence and capacity for independent decision-making. The results indicate that McEwan regards AI as subjects of ethical importance, which aligns with Braidotti’s perspective on non-human agents as members of an extended moral community. The novel encourages a reevaluation of legal accountability, interpersonal relationships, and ethical standards in a society that is rapidly advancing technologically, providing important literary insights into modern debates surrounding AI. Key words: Ethics Dilemma, Humanoids, Post-Humanism, Artificial Intelligence, Identity, Morality
Representation of Maoist War in Wagle’s Palpasa Cafe
(2024) Pandey , Sangeeta; Anju Gupta
This thesis explores the representation of the Maoist war in Narayan Wagle's Palpasa Cafe from the perspective of trauma studies. The research studies the process and the effect of the trauma in different social/cultural groups caused by the Maoist insurgency and the subsequent death and terror. The research uses the notion of cultural trauma discussed by Jeffrey C. Alexander. This study points out that the novel depicts the consequences of the war without trying to dig out the reasons for the conflict itself. Drishya’s trauma is depicted through several layers of his experiences and reflections, which bring profound change regarding his survivors’ guilt. The loss of Palpasa and the constant threat of violence lead to a sense of disillusionment in Drishya. His trauma is a complex interplay of personal loss, survivor guilt, allied dreams, and the broader context of political and social turmoil. So, it has strategically employed resourceful characters as carrier groups to create a discourse about the victim and the perpetrators, but it fails to present a balanced portrayal of the armed conflict in Nepal. Keywords: Insurgency, Trauma, Representation, Maoists, War, Crisis
Between Apathy and Responsibility: Cinematic Representations of UN Peacekeeper’s Moral Dilemma in Hotel Rwanda and No Man's Land
(2025) Gurung, Anand; Dhruba Karki
This dissertation examines the moral dilemma faced by individuals and UN peacekeepers through an analysis of two films: Hotel Rwanda and No Man’s Land. Although the institutional failures of the UN--caused by limited mandates, geopolitical interests and bureaucratic failures--during the Rwandan and Bosnian wars have been widely examined in scholarly literature, cinematic depiction of individuals caught between institutional orders and moral convictions in these two conflicts remains relatively under explored. The analysis is carried out to do just that by using multidisciplinary theoretical lens such as Darley & Latane’s Bystander Apathy Theory, which helps explain the passivity and inaction of individuals and institutions (like the UN) in the face of violence. Similarly, the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) Doctrine, a global political commitment adopted by the United Nations in 2005 to prevent genocide, offers the critical tools for examining the bureaucratic complicity that gives the impression of apathy and failure in protecting vulnerable populations. The findings of this research reveal key similarities as well as differences in how the two films portray UN peacekeepers as both victims of and complicit in systemic failure and why the much vaunted UN neutrality, when devoid of moral courage, only contributes to the continuation of atrocity. Ultimately, by analyzing cinematic portrayals of peacekeepers caught in moral dilemmas, this study highlights the need for greater accountability and ethical responsibility within global institutions and calls for a renewed commitment to the humanitarian principle of protecting vulnerable populations. Keywords: bystander apathy, genocide, humanitarian interventions, peacekeeping, UN
Renegotiation of Narrative Space in Robyn Davidson’s Tracks and Sara Wheeler’s Terra Incognita: Travels In Antarctica
(2025) Timala, Raj Lakshmi; Anirudra Thapa
This thesis is founded on the premise that the genre of travel writing has historically been seen as a masculine genre closely bound to the ideals of mobility, conquest, and exploration that marginalises and excludes women from participation due to socially imposed expectations of domesticity and immobility. Thus, this androcentric framing or a genre based on a masculine ideology generates anxiety for women travel writers, as travel writing produced by women has often been and continues to be sidelined in travel writing scholarship. Struggling with such anxieties and insecurities, women travel writers have constantly been on the lookout for strategies and unique narrative techniques to combat the established societal norms. This study explores two late twentieth-century women travel writers and their navigation of genre and gender expectations: Robyn Davidson's Tracks (1980) and Sara Wheeler's Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica (1996). The study thus argues that both writers through their travel narrative engage in a renegotiation of narrative space that exhibits how gendered anxieties complicate the boundaries of the travel writing genre. Both authors enter territories—the Australian desert and Antarctica— traditionally constructed as masculine domains of conquest within travel writing. Drawing on theoretical insights from Mary Gerhart, Jacques Derrida, and Judith Butler, I analyse how Davidson and Wheeler employ personal narrative, self- reflexivity, and genre hybridity to establish authority within a tradition emphasising male-coded values of objectivity and detachment. This thesis thus through Tracks and Terra Incognita, explores the complexities that female travel writers like Davidson and Wheeler face, and reveals how their work destabilises the traditional tropes of exploration and redefines the boundaries of the genre of travel writing.
Echoes of Silence: Role of Cultural Attitudes in Adolescent Trauma in Jay Asher’s 13 Reasons Why and Naoko Yamada’s A Silent Voice
(2025) Limbu, Yzunchho; Bal Bahadur Thapa
This dissertation investigates the interplay between adolescent trauma and cultural frameworks by examining the Western paradigm of individualism and the Eastern paradigm of collectivism through a comparative analysis of Jay Asher’s novel 13 Reasons Why and Naoko Yamada’s animated movie A Silent Voice. The adolescents depicted in 13 Reasons Why and A Silent Voice come from a culturally distinct backgrounds, one rooted in individualism and the other in collectivism. However, their voices are similarly silenced by social structures, cultural expectations, and institutional failures, raising critical questions about how adolescent trauma is shaped and suppressed across different cultural contexts. Centering on Cathy Caruth’s trauma theory, particularly focusing her emphasis on belatedness and the necessity of acknowledgement, the study interrogates how trauma is voiced and silenced in narratives about adolescents. The research further draws on the theories of Jeffrey C. Alexander and Ron Eyerman to contextualize adolescent psychological responses and social roles within their respective cultural frameworks. The study reveals how the Western narrative privileges self-expression and vocal autonomy, as seen through Hannah Baker’s posthumous tapes, whereas the Eastern narrative prioritizes group harmony and silent endurance as illustrated by Shoya and Shoko’s reticence. By analyzing the motif of silence versus voice, the research highlights how cultural norms either inhibit or enable trauma expression and recovery. This qualitative study incorporates close analysis, with attention to guilt, shame, institutional complicity, and the redemptive potential of listening and acknowledgement. This research contributes to trauma studies by foregrounding adolescence as a culturally sensitive and under-theorized site of trauma articulation. Keywords: Adolescence, trauma, culture, silence, voice, individualism, collectivism
Irony of Colonialism in Herbert George Wells' The War of the World
(2025) Mukhiya, Pradeep; Maheshwor Paudel
This research analyses the forces of conflict, violence, destruction, technology as domination, vulnerability, moral contradiction of empire, and psychology of colonized people in H.G. Well’ The War of the Worlds. Wells echoes Martians as all dark and savage replications of brutal European colonizers and chaotic narratives related to cultural hegemony and domination over and subjugation of indigenous populations. So the study engages with the issues around irony of colonialism such as alien(Martians) invasion on Earth, reverse colonization, dominant imperial power and politics, use of advance technology, and dehumanization of that contemporary time and Wells stands as a witness of these all issues in his novel. This research also examines power dynamics, ecological aspects, apocalyptic scenario, hypocrisy of colonialism and existence of alien. The study employs theoretical insights related to post-colonialism particularly discussed by Frantz Fanon and Edward Said. The main aim of this research is to seek the issues of irony in the novel, applying the post- colonial lens. This research finally concludes that Wells’ novel uncovers the moral and symbolic ironies within the text, challenging the justification of colonial violence, depicting the psychological state of colonized population, showing the rise and fall of power, moral failures of empire and exposing the fragility of imperial power when roles are reversed. Keywords: Martians, irony, conflict, violence, destruction, technology, imperialism, power, alien
Coping with Transgenerational Trauma in Tommy Orange‘s There There
(2025) Pithakote, Garima; Anju Gupta
This thesis explores the enduring impact of transgenerational trauma on Native Americans as portrayed in Tommy Orange’s novel There There, with a focus on the coping strategies characters employ to confront and heal from inherited grief. The study problematizes the long-term psychological and cultural consequences of colonial violence and displacement, particularly how trauma is transmitted across generations and manifests in urban Indigenous life. The central argument of this research is that storytelling, cultural gatherings such as the Big Oakland Powwow, and acts of personal resilience serve not only as coping mechanisms but also as tools for reclaiming identity and resisting cultural erasure. This paper employs a qualitative approach based primarily on textual analysis of Orange’s There There. For this work, different scholars’ insights and views are discussed. The informations are collected from secondary sources like books, journals, articles and electronic resources. The theoretical parameters used in this analysis are grounded in Dominik Lacapra’s concept of ‗Acting Out‘ and ‗Working Through‘ and Jeffrey C Alaxender’s concept of ‗Cultural Trauma‘. This paper demonstrates that while trauma persists across generations, healing is possible through acts of resilience, resistance, and the reclamation of identity. This study contributes to broader discussions on the intersections of trauma, identity, and resistance, offering valuable insights into the role of cultural practices in coping mechanisms with historical and inherited grief. Keywords: transgenerational trauma, coping mechanism, cultural trauma, cultural dislocation, resilience, post-traumatic stress disorder
Critique of American Multiculturalism in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie‘s Americanah
(2025) Acharya, Marshal; Laxman Bhatta
This thesis examines the limitations and contradictions of American multiculturalism as portrayed in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americana by interrogating the gap between the ideals of multiculturalism and its practical implications. The analysis examines how Americana challenges the superficial nature of multiculturalism, which often emphasizes performative displays of diversity rather than addressing deeper issues of equity. It delves into themes such as the commodification of culture, the silencing of immigrant perspectives, and the racialized dynamics of identity and belonging. Central to this exploration are Ifemelu’s experiences in America, her reflections on race, and her critiques of societal norms, which highlight how multiculturalism frequently upholds existing hierarchies, pretending to promote inclusivity. The theoretical framework for this analysis is rooted in Charles Taylor’s The Politics of Recognition, Derrick Bell’s Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Afef Benessaieh’s Multiculturalism. Taylor’s concept of recognition provides a foundation for examining how multicultural practices in Americanah either uphold or fail to provide genuine cultural recognition. Meanwhile, CRT focuses on systemic racism and helps show how multiculturalism can uphold racial inequalities while pretending to promote inclusion. Benessaieh’s concept of multiculturalism describes multiculturalism as too static and superficial which enshrines difference without enabling transformative cultural encounters or the fluid blending of identities. This study highlights the shallow nature of American multicultural practices, challenging their effectiveness in addressing systemic inequalities. It encourages a critical re-evaluation of multicultural ideals and emphasizes the need for authentic recognition and structural transformation to build a genuinely inclusive society. Keywords: multiculturalism, politics of recognition, systemic racism, cultural exclusion, recognition, alienation
Rebuilding Identities amidst Women Acid Attack Survivors in Nepal
(2025) Chhetry, Tek Bahadur; Bal Bahadur Thapa
This study explores the narratives of the women acid victims of Nepal from the pluralist views in light of trauma literature. Although the classic model of trauma claims that truth cannot be attained due to the distortion of the traumatic experience, hence ‘unknowable’ and ‘unspeakable’, the revisionist model argues that trauma ruptures the order of life and can also reorient lives, when dealt with, from the standpoint of its variability in literature and society. Acid attacks have devastating psychological effects on survivors, leading to issues such as anxiety, depression, social isolation, and even suicidal ideations. However, the four testimonies of Nepalese acid survivors in this study reveal that psychological trauma is not an individual affliction but a socio-cultural wound, wherein identities are not only shattered but also contested. Drawing upon Cheryl Glenn’s ‘rhetorical feminism’ as a major insight from her work, Rhetorical Feminism and This Thing Called Hope, the study analyzes survivors’ narratives to address the feminist agency aligning with the revisionist model of Michelle Baelev’s ‘reorientation of consciousness.’ The researcher argues that oppressed gender norms can be challenged through the acknowledgement of traumatic events, rhetorical listening, and spatial rhetoric in rebuilding victims’ identities. The survivors fought an ordeal to remake identities in the new normal by ways of developing resilience, rhetorical resistance, activism, and advocacy. It is significant for social workers and policymakers to tailor effective interventions for trauma evacuation and social healing. Further, it is expected to open a discourse on burn violence, a pressing issue for future research in the Nepalese context. Keywords: agency, psychological trauma, reorientation of consciousness, rhetorical feminism, spatial rhetoric, rebuilding identities, trauma evacuation
A Resistance to Patriarchy in Han Kang’s The Vegetarian
(2024) Lama, Sunmita; Dinesh Bhandari
his paper explores resistance to patriarchy in Han Kang’s The Vegetarian from a feminist perspective. A woman making a choice on her own in a patriarchal society is largely a matter of suspicion and more importantly a rejection of male chauvinism. Women’s choices are based on the patriarchal doctrine and if they trespass the boundary, either they are considered as a ‘mad-woman’ or they are discarded from their iconic position as ‘good-woman.’ Han Kang’s The Vegetarian articulates a similar issue, portraying Yeong-hey, the protagonist who becomes vegetarian after seeing a brutal and bloody dream. Her choice is never considered to be valid nor is she treated humanely. When she gradually loses her mental control, she rejects the patriarchal values by disobeying her husband and father and also engulfs herself in social taboo. With this in mind, this paper investigates the woman’s action or the performative resistance against male chauvinism in light of Judith Butler’s notion of performativity and Rosi Braidotti’s concept of becoming a woman. Focusing on the protagonist—Yeong-hye, the study inspects women’s choices to overcome the patriarchal notion of women’s subjectivity. In doing so, it claims that locating women in societal discourse demands a restless stand on their choice which gives pace to their retaliation and consolidates the process of becoming a woman. This study discloses the construction of gender as a matter of choice that continuously wrestles against patriarchal forces. Moreover, it unpacks that women achieve alternative positions in human society that defy the patriarchal regulation by embodying self- reflexivity, if they are not considered as the subject themselves. Keywords: patriarchy, conventions, dominance, subjectivity, self-reflexivity, and embodiment
Transcendentalism and self- Realization in Siddhartha and The Razor's Edge
(2025) Dhungana, Ishwar Prasad; Ramchandra Paudel
This research examines the spiritual journeys portrayed in Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha and W. Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge, focusing on how both protagonists reject conventional paths to enlightenment in favor of self- determined quests for meaning. Both novels present striking parallels in their critique of materialism and religious dogma. Siddhartha abandons traditional Buddhist teachings to forge his path through worldly experience and ascetic transformation, while Larry Darrell rejects post-war American materialism to pursue spiritual awakening across cultural boundaries. Again, two different cultural and religious aspects have fusion for the similar purpose which becomes a unique and worth mentioning finding in the spiritual and transcendental arena. This kind of phenomenon is quite interesting and fruitful for the sake of humankind irrespective of dissimilar background like consciousness, education, culture and thoughts. The researcher interprets their journey through ‘liminality’ and ‘transcendentalism ‘in order to explore the deep psychological plight and innovation these two protagonists - Siddhartha and Larry from Siddhartha and The Razor’s Edge go through respectively. This comparative analysis explores how both works navigate the tension between societal expectations and individual spiritual authenticity. Through close textual examination, I demonstrate how both protagonists undergo transformative cycles of immersion in and withdrawal from society, suggesting that genuine enlightenment emerges from integrating rather than escaping worldly experience. Beyond their individual literary merits, these novels collectively illuminate universal aspects of the human search for transcendence and meaning. This research contributes to scholarly discourse on comparative spirituality in literature by examining how these narratives, despite their distinct cultural origins, converge in their representation of spiritual awakening as a personally determined journey that transcends cultural and religious boundaries while still being shaped by them.
Cultural Adaptation in Chorkheli Performance
(2025) Chaudhary, Anukriti; Shiva Rijal
Chorkheli, a traditional dance practiced by the Tharu community primarily in the Saptari and Udaypur districts, remains relatively unknown to many outsides of these regions. This thesis aims to underscore the importance of Chorkheli for the Tharu people and delve into its aesthetic qualities, particularly through the accompanying songs. In an age marked by modernity and migration, cultural exchanges are becoming increasingly common, often leading to greater influence on indigenous cultures. However, this study highlights how the Tharu have not only preserved their tribal culture and identity but have also embraced and adapted the cultural practices and festivals of their neighboring communities.Through ethnographic research, interviews with Chorkheli performers, analysis of the dance’s lyrics, and an integration of key theoretical perspectives such as Schechner’s views on performance and Guneratne’s research on the Tharu, this thesis explores how Chorkheli serves as a cultural symbol of Tharu identity. The performance is not merely a representation of their traditional culture but also reflects the dynamic interplay with neighboring and global influences. Drawing from a variety of sources, including personal interviews, academic articles, journals, and books, the research highlights how Chorkheli stands as an evolving art form shaped by intercultural interactions.Additionally, this study addresses the declining frequency of Chorkheli performances, particularly among the younger Tharu generations, and seeks to identify the factors contributing to its diminishing presence. Despite this, the research concludes that Chorkheli remains a powerful marker of Tharu identity. It not only reinforces their tribal roots but also fosters unity within the community while accommodating regional and global cultural influences, ensuring its continued relevance in the modern era. Keywords: Tharus, Chorkheli, cultural adaptation, performance, identity
Association of Fidelity and marketability in the Adaptation of Bhagat's Five point someone into Hirani's Three Idiots
(2025) Kaini, Gobinda; Dhruba Bahadur Karki
This dissertation explores the complex relationship between fidelity and marketability in the adaptation of Bhagat’s Five Point Someone into Raj Kumar Hirani’s Three Idiots with a specific focus on how the film balances loyalty to the source text while addressing the demands of the cultural industry. Bhagat’s novel offers a critical examination of India’s rigid educational system whereas the film significantly reconfigures the original narrative by altering characters, themes, and plot elements to heighten emotional resonance and broaden mass appeal. This study, therefore, argues that these deviations from textual fidelity are not a mere creative freedom, but a strategic adaptation designed to enhance the film's marketability in a competitive entertainment landscape. By applying adaptation theory alongside frameworks of the cultural industry, this research emphasizes how the restructured narrative, star power, and emotional storytelling work together to make the film more accessible and commercially successful. The film’s deliberate prioritization of market-driven elements, without entirely abandoning the novel’s core theme, allows Three Idiots to reach a wide audience and achieve significant box-office success. Keywords: Fidelity, Marketability, Adaptation, Culture Industry, Box-office
Universality of Traumatic Experiences in All Quiet on the Western Front and The Yellow Birds
(2025) Shrestha, Minarva; Anju Gupta
My dissertation explores the universal nature of war trauma experienced by soldiers. The study presents Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front and Kevin Powers’ The Yellow Birds, to unfold the intensity of traumatic experiences on soldiers participating in war from two different timelines. Remarque narrates traumatic experiences of soldiers from the World War I (1914 to 1918) while Powers recounts those of soldiers from the Iraqi War (2003-2011). Through vivid depictions of physical and psychological destruction, these novels show pointless human cost at the face of war. Set in two different wars with almost a century apart, the protagonists Paul Baumer and John Bartle from All Quiet on the Western Front and The Yellow Birds respectively undergo similar devastating psychological scars unpacking the reality that the essence of war trauma on soldiers remains the same across the world over times. Both novels exhibit the enduring and timeless experience of trauma in terms of soldiers’ alienation from the self, their disconnection with civilian life, emotional numbing, survivor’s guilt and fragmented narratives in the light of the theoretical framework of trauma studies. Moreover, the explicit depiction of acting out and implicit presentation of working through in both narratives intensify the difficulty of dealing with shell shock and traumatic scars which have remained similar across generations. So, through the lenses of trauma proposed by Cathy Caruth, Judith Herman and Dominick LaCapra, traumatic experiences undergone by soldiers are mapped out in this research work. Through the shared patterns of psychological impact, both novelist Remarque and Powers make a compelling case for understanding trauma as a universal human consequence of organized violence. Both these books share striking similarities in their portrayal of war trauma, dehumanization, psychological fragmentation, desensitization that define soldiers’ bittersweet role of camaraderie. These shared elements highlight on the timeless nature of war’s traumatic impact. Both the novels focus on war’s universal capacity to annihilate identity enduring the psychological wounds. This dissertation has the power for cross-cultural empathy surpassing languages, uniforms, or even ideologies. This approach can be a radical step towards recognizing the importance of global solidarity and peace building.
A comparative study of Female dancers in the East and West Films
(2025) Lama, Sarita; Dhruba Bahadur Karki
This dissertation, entitled “A Comparative Study of Female Dancers in the East and West Films,” explores cine dance with the female dancers in the lead role in South Asian and Western films. The researcher categorizes Yubaraj Lama- directed- Nepali film Pratigya and Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed Indian cinema Devdas as South Asian films. The Next Dance, an American film, has been chosen to represent the Hollywood film industry. In this dissertation, I have examined cinematic techniques to unfold differences in appearances, characters, and roles of the female characters in these cinemas. This research work critically examines a reserve trajectory of representation of the female dancers in the East and the West. Contrast in cinematic representation can be seen in character representation and plot development. While watching these films in the theater, viewers can underscore and speculate differences through the shots, dialogues, camera angles, costumes, and makeup. They are observed through ideas and perspectives from Timothy Corrigan and Patricia White’s The Film Experience, where writers have studied the subtle nuances of chosen films. The researcher follows their idea on the application of cinematic techniques and interpretative strategies to analyze the events and characters' relationship in films. The study comparatively examines dance shots in the South Asian Pratigya and Devdas and the Hollywood film The Next Dance in the theoretical and conceptual frame of the culture industry of Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer. It is the culture industry that transforms dancers and dancing into a market product. In that line, dancers Mithila Sharma-stared- Shraddha in Pratigya and Madhuri Dixit-stared- Chandramukhi in Devdas become the products of demand and supply in capitalist market. In The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception, Adorno and Horkheimer state that movies and radios act as the promoters of art but in reality, they are just business associations running after the ideology of capitalism. The film, is only possible by the blatant cash investment. To secure their invested economy the makers create the strategies. In such anything in the cinema can be the product for the demand of public. In a similar vein, the selected South Asian films seem to follow the idea of Adorno and Horkheimer since Lama and Bhansali look similar in converting women dancers into glittering appearances with their sensual bodies in front of camera. Nevertheless, The Next Dance denies body exposition. This cinema stands in the meaning of dance, which is “expression” as stated by Maxine-Sheets-Johnstone in The Phenomenology of Dance. Johnstone iteratively confirms that dance is an art. However, this definition seems molded in the East in comparison to the West, despite the performances of both Sharma and Dixit in the Pratigya and Devdas are choreographed by the veteran maestros Basanta Jung Rayamajhi and Birju Maharaj. Nonetheless, the shots in the cinemas are Extreme-Close Up (ECU) shots that focus on the specific parts of women dancers that foreground their external beauty more than the dance itself. In contrast, The Next Dance features the kinesthetic movement (dance) either in the wide or Medium-Long-Shot (MLS) that underpins merely the moved body rather than any other part of the female dancer. To support the idea the paper brings the example of veteran dancer-actor Helen’s songs from the different movies and even Rakhi Sawant and Nora Fatehi from today’s date from the Indian cinemas. While as the secondary source paper chooses Save The Last Dance and Reconstruction for the Western films. The paper also introduces some female feminist theorists who raise their voices against women’s objectification in the visual, like Laura Mulvey, Lucy Irigaray, Anne Smelik, and Pallavi Chakraborty.
Eco-splritual imagination in desai's Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard and calvino's The Baron in the Trees
(2025) Gautam, Sushil; Ram Chandra Paudel
This research explores the eco-spiritual imagination in Kiran Desai’s Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard and Italo Calvino’s The Baron in the Trees, focusing on the arboreal sanctuaries of their protagonists as spaces of transformation and transcendence. Both Sampath and Cosimo abandon societal conventions to embrace life among the trees, forging profound connections with the natural world that challenge humanity’s alienation from its environment. These narratives interweave ecological awareness with spiritual enlightenment, presenting the tree as both a literal refuge and a metaphorical bridge to higher consciousness. By examining the protagonists’ journeys, this study uncovers a critique of materialism and anthropocentrism, while advocating for reimagined relationship with nature. Ultimately, it highlights how literature can serve as a powerful medium for promoting ecological harmony and spiritual renewal in the face of modern environmental crises.
Heroine’s Journey and the Fashioned Body in David Frankel’s The Devil Wears Prada
(2025) Ghimire, Gaurab; Dhruba Bahadur Karki
This research examines the character development of the protagonist in the movie, The Devil Wears Prada in light of the heroine’s journey model. This paper shows how the movie presents its protagonist, Andrea as a modern day heroine. Andrea goes on a journey of self-actualization in the movie. The journey of the character does not follow the conventional model, that is, the hero’s journey as proposed by Joseph Campbell, which is more prominent in modern storytelling and filmmaking. Instead, this research borrows the concept of the heroine’s journey put forward by authors like Maureen Murdock and Victoria Lynn Schmidt. The plot follows Schmidt’s idea of Containment, Transformation and Emergence in which the heroine emerges as a self-actualized person. The backdrop of our protagonist’s journey is not some ancient fantasy land or a magical world but she is a modern woman navigating the modern world of fashion. This study analyses the unique feminine journey in the movie which is primarily an introspective and cyclical journey rather than a physical and a linear one which we generally see in a traditional hero’s journey. This study ultimately contributes to a deeper understanding of storytelling by emphasizing the heroine’s journey as a distinctive approach to character development in modern storytelling. Keywords: heroine’s journey, feminine hero, modern-day heroine, self-actualization, contemporary cinema, modern storytelling

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