Symbiosis of colour and people ; Critique of Ideology in Doris lessing's The Golden Netebook

Abstract

The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing is a highly acclaimed masterpiece in English literature. It is received and criticized in multiple ways. In other words, the analysis of The Golden Notebook has been multifaceted. The use of five notebooks with different colours has bolstered the presentation of the novel even more. At last, Black, Red, Yellow, Blue, and the Golden Notebook are used by Anna Wulf, the protagonist, to record her writing life, political experience, emotional and fictional sensations, everyday diary, and then acceptance of the fragmentation of life, respectively. The following study is centralized to explore the use of colour and people and its critique of ideology. The study begins with the background analysis of the study, which then leads to the main story of the novel, followed by the exploration of the use of colour and people in the novel. Similarly, reading a novel with the theory of new criticism is done along with the critique of ideology. The representations of each colour are mentioned in detail, whereas the analysis of the red colour, that is, the political life of Anna, is then highlighted in brief. Finally, the study concludes by analyzing the significance of the golden notebook in the novel.

Keywords: fragmented, compartmentalized, disillusionment, writer’s block, trauma, new criticism