Orientalist Representation in Kincaid’s Among Flowers: A Walk in the Himalaya

Abstract

This research casts light on how orientalism has relegated non-west into degraded level even in the postcolonial period. The nonwestern characters in Kincaid’s Among Flowers: A Walk in the Himalaya are subjected to various harrowing experiences. This text presents Sunam,, Khenpo and Rimpoche as representative nonwestern people. Tibetans have their own lifestyle, culture, civilization and attitude to native people. Kincaid portrays the troubled relation between the non-west and west. The entire regional culture and geography of Tibet, Nepal and India appears to be an exotic land caught in the turmoil and tension created by the conflicting interests of various power centers. The zone is stereotyped as the defeated, sterile, surreal, and static world. Most of the characters in this text are found humiliated, defeated, and resigned to their lives due to systematic marginalization of the west. Key terms: Orient, Misrepresentation, Hegemony, Post colonialism, Marginalization