V15N52023

The Self-made Victim in the Crosshairs of East-West Confrontation: Ravi’s Odyssey in O V Vijayan’s The Legends of Khasak

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Jerome Vadackel       
Guest Lecturer, St Berchmans College, Changanassery  & PhD Researcher, Christ University, Bengaluru.

Rupkatha Journal, Special Issue on Poetics of Self-construal in Postcolonial Literature, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n5.05
[Article History: Received: 08 November 2023. Revised: 29 December 2023. Accepted: 30 December 2023. Published: 31 December 2023]
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Abstract

A pathbreaking novel in Malayalam literature, Khasakkinte Ithihasam (Legend of Khasak), was written by O V Vijayan and published in 1969. It is a novel that weaves together the existential journey of the protagonist, Ravi, with the religion, characters and culture of the fictional village Khasak. The paper is written to place in relief Ravi’s inability to complete his education and analyse it in the background of the contrast Vijayan brings between Eastern and Western modes of thinking. The subsequent struggles he encounters in the single-teacher school in Khasak are read as being born of a more acute subliminal struggle. Drawing useful parallels for comparison from Jacques Derrida’s essay “The Gift of Death,” Ravi’s character, particularly his indifference towards Western education and death drive, is studied, which interestingly provides insights also into his problematic sexual life which lies at the centre of his journey to Khasak.

Keywords: Deconstruction, Politics of Education, Coloniality, Sexual Politics, Translation.

Sustainable Development Goals: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, Gender Equality
Citation: Vadackel, J. (2023). The Self-made Victim in the Crosshairs of East-West Confrontation: Ravi’s Odyssey in O V Vijayan’s The Legends of Khasak. Rupkatha Journal 15:5. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n5.05 

Interrogating the Discourse of Racism and Identity Crisis in Mohsin Hamid’s The Last White Man

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Somy Manzoor1*  & Balkar Singh2 
1,2 Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India. *Corresponding Author.

 Rupkatha Journal, Special Issue on Poetics of Self-construal in Postcolonial Literature, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n5.16
[Article History: Received: 15 November 2023. Revised: 29 December 2023. Accepted: 30 December 2023. Published: 31 December 2023]
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Abstract

The present study focuses on the concepts of the Discourse of Racism and the Identity crisis in Mohsin Hamid’s novel The Last White Man. The term ‘discourse’ is propounded by the French philosopher Michel Foucault in his various books. Discourse is an ideology which produces knowledge and meaning about an object. The knowledge is not the truth about the object. It is the constructed knowledge which is propagated by the dominant power. In the study, the novel The Last White Man, will be explored through the discourse of Racism which is a constructed and discursive knowledge that the dark people should be hated and treated as inferior ones. It is beneficial to a certain section of the people (whites) and others (blacks) who go through an identity crisis because of this discursive ideology. In the novel, the characters Anders and Oona go through an identity crisis because of the discourse of racism that blacks are inferior to whites, which is not the reality. It is just the colour which changes, their intelligibility remains the same. Over time the whole neighbourhood is changed. All the people in the beginning feel the identity crisis, but in the end, they accept this change as the notion of racism is all constructed by the dominant white people. It is an ideology (a discourse) which is beneficial to a few. The main idea threaded in the novel is that race should not be given a universal meaning nor be made into a recurrent topic in contemporary writing as biological essentialism is untenable.

Keywords: Discourse, Ideology, Power, Dominance, Racism, The Last White Man, Identity Crisis.  

Sustainable Development Goals: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Citation: Manzoor, S. & Singh, B. (2023). Interrogating the Discourse of Racism and Identity Crisis in Mohsin Hamid’s The Last White Man. Rupkatha Journal 15:5. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n5.16 

Construction of Ideal Self in Salman Rushdie’s Victory City

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V. R. Amirthavarshini1 & R. Bhuvaneswari2*
1,2 School of Social Sciences and Languages, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vandalur – Kelambakkam Road, Chennai – 600127, Tamil Nadu, India. *Corresponding Author

 Rupkatha Journal, Special Issue on Poetics of Self-construal in Postcolonial Literature, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n5.15
[Article History: Received: 12 November 2023. Revised: 29 December 2023. Accepted: 30 December 2023. Published: 30 December 2023]
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Abstract

Indian literature often employs mystic characters to reflect sociopolitical themes. The central narrative of Salman Rushdie’s Victory City (2023) revolves around Pampa Kampana, a young female protagonist. Through mystical direction, she builds an empire and uses poetry to pass on her cultural legacy. The objective of this research is to demonstrate Pampa’s progression using the framework of self-construal theory. Nevertheless, her interaction with diverse personalities and surrounding settings during her 247-year lifespan demonstrates her interdependent construal. Her character arc changes significantly as she goes from being a young orphan who lost her family and experienced tragedy to being a resolute queen and mother of Bisnaga City. Her pursuit of the throne within the societal constraints of gender showcases her resolute nature as an individual. External variables cause her self-construal to become unstable. Her journey, from being a vulnerable orphan who experienced physical abuse to becoming a champion for gender equality in Bisnaga, demonstrates her remarkable resilience. The research highlights how Pampa Kampana eschews independence in favour of interdependence when navigating social dynamics, familial ties, and cultural norms of human civilization. It mirrors the struggles and journey faced by most women.

Keywords: Salman Rushdie, Historical fiction, Narratives, Identity, Power, Self-construal theory.

Sustainable Development Goals: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, Gender Equality
Citation: Amirthavarshini, V. R. & Bhuvaneswari, R. (2023). Construction of Ideal Self in Salman Rushdie’s Victory City. Rupkatha Journal 15:5. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n5.15 

Victimhood Self-construal, Irony of Tears and Melancholy amid Wealth: Critical Assessment of Select Literary and Visual Metaphors on the Niger Delta Environmental Despoilment

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286 views

Thank-God I. Igwenagu1 , Alphonsus C. Ugwu2 , Norbert O. Eze3  & Emeka Aniago4*
1Fine & Applied Arts, University of Nigeria
2Mass Comm., University of Nigeria
3,4Theatre & Film Studies, University of Nigeria. *Corresponding author.

 Rupkatha Journal, Special Issue on Poetics of Self-construal in Postcolonial Literature, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n5.14
[Article History: Received: 17 November 2023. Revised: 28 December 2023. Accepted: 29 December 2023. Published: 30 December 2023]
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 Abstract

Studies on self-construal indicate that man is propelled by what happens around him to react in a certain manner and this reaction, we suggest is a human universal common and a representation of conscious purposive response to concomitant environmental and circumstantial realities. This purposive response encapsulates messages, which an observer articulates and interprets; hence, our study is about deepening our understanding of the factors and variables responsible for victimhood self-construal projected in select texts on the Niger Delta environmental despoilment. Drawing from the theories of eco-criticism, victimhood, and self-construal, this study utilizes an interpretive approach to discuss select instances of victimhood portrayals in the poem ‘Delta Blues’ by Tanure Ojaide, in the drama Hangmen also Die by Esiaba Irobi and in the film Blood and Oil, directed by Curtis Graham. The study examines the primary reason, which is the dispossession of livelihood by environmentally destructive oil exploitation, adduced by the Niger Delta inhabitants to understand how it generates variables that instigate victimhood self-construal. Our observation is that in the texts the inhabitants’ victimhood self-construal can be described as purposive, the propelling variable is their concomitant environmental realities and the texts as communication media have different encumbrances and advantages regarding their efficacy and utility for advocacy.  

Keywords: eco-criticism, eco-literature, eco-film, Niger Delta, self-construal, visual metaphor.

Sustainable Development Goals: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, Life on Land
Citation: Igwenagu, T., Ugwu, A. C., Norbert O. Eze, N. O, & Aniago, E. (2023). Victimhood Self-construal, Irony of Tears and Melancholy amid Wealth: Critical Assessment of Select Literary and Visual Metaphors on the Niger Delta Environmental Despoilment. Rupkatha Journal 15:5. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n5.14 

William Gibson’s Sprawl Trilogy: Connection between Humans and Artificial Intelligence

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339 views

Shuchi Agrawal
Professor, Amity Institute of English Studies & Research, Amity University NOIDA. 

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 4, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n4.19
[Article History: Received: 20 September 2023. Revised: 27 December 2023. Accepted: 28 December 2023. Published: 29 December 2023]
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Abstract

Artificial intelligence as it is envisioned in literature, reflects moral and social standards, sculpts societal hopes and fears, spurs scientific progress, and perhaps even foretells the future. Artificial intelligence (AI) is being developed by humans, including programmers through their code and authors and readers through millennia of discourse, starting with ancient automatons and continuing with contemporary concepts of AI. The question of what we are producing as AI becomes more human—and possibly superhuman—and what literature can teach us about these AI imaginaries are also topics covered in this paper. The researcher seeks to explain the connections between artificial intelligence and literature in this work by highlighting the numerous ways that machine intelligence helps the production and comprehension of narrative. This study will also look at the connection between humans and artificial intelligence in William Gibson’s Sprawl trilogy and how his cyberpunk trilogy allows readers to think about how the lines between humans and technology are blurring and how technology can both liberate and enslave people.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence, science fiction, cyberpunk, robotics, posthumans.

Sustainable Development Goals: Better Education
Citation: Agrawal, S. (2023). William Gibson’s Sprawl Trilogy: Connection between Humans and Artificial Intelligence. Rupkatha Journal 15:4. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n4.19 

 

Portrayal of Patriarchal Subjugation of Women in the Selected Works of Anita Nair

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Divyani Sharma1*    & Swati Chauhan2  
1,2 Department of English, Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, Faridabad, Haryana, India

Rupkatha Journal, Special Issue on Poetics of Self-construal in Postcolonial Literature, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n5.08
[Article History: Received: 12 November 2023. Revised: 26 December 2023. Accepted: 27 December 2023. Published: 29 December 2023]
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Abstract
This study will investigate how patriarchy works as a vehicle for women’s subjugation. Many female authors were born within a predominately patriarchal environment, where women have historically been subservient to socially imposed norms. Anita Nair has emerged as one of India’s most committed modern authors. She freely expresses her views about women in autocratic Indian culture. She also offers insight into how society views women and what it expects of them. The paper will portray women’s sufferings and the status of women in society. It will also shed light on the importance of education. The idea of ‘half’ by Simone De Beauvoir in her work The Second Sex will illuminate the concept of self. The paper will highlight the shifting scenarios of women and how new women transcend the confines of patriarchal setup and create new identities through Anita Nair’s novels- Ladies Coupe, Mistress, and The Better Man.

Keywords: Freedom, Individualism, Modernism, Patriarchy, Tradition, Womanhood.

Sustainable Development Goals: Gender Equality
Citation: Sharma, D. & Chauhan, S. (2023). Portrayal of Patriarchal Subjugation of Women in the Selected Works of Anita Nair. Rupkatha Journal 15:5. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n5.08 

Editorial Introduction: Poetics of Self-construal in Postcolonial Literature

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1.1K views

Maria-Ana Tupan     
Doctoral School, Alba Iulia University, Romania.

Rupkatha Journal, Special Issue on Poetics of Self-construal in Postcolonial Literature, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n5.00
[Article History: Published: 28 December 2023]
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How man is made and how he makes himself was at the crux of the anthropological inquiry launched by Immanuel Kant in his 1798 Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View. The subsequent story of the discipline, progressively aided by others, both from the field of humanities (philosophy, sociology, psychology, ethnography) and of sciences (biology, physics, physiology, psychiatry), followed one or the other paths opened by the Königsberg philosopher.

The self grounded in physiology is considered by Kant egoistic, self-centred and motivated by irrational drives: involuntary perception, subconscious associations, arbitrary taste or unaccountable desires. Keep Reading

Exploring Black Writers’ Literary Strategies for Interdependence and Global Solidarity

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389 views

Ananya Buragohain1*     & Lakshminath Kagyung2    
1,2 Department of English, Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh, Assam, India. *Corresponding author.

 Rupkatha Journal, Special Issue on Poetics of Self-construal in Postcolonial Literature, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n5.10
[Article History: Received: 11 October 2023. Revised: 24 December 2023. Accepted: 25 December 2023. Published: 27 December 2023]
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Abstract

This paper seeks to explore the techniques and strategies used by African and Afro-American writers to disseminate a sense of Black interdependence and solidarity on a global level. It will examine how Black authors are unceasingly using a planned strategy in their literary works to encourage Black people to envision a sustainable future for themselves. We contend that Black authors and critics are incessantly using the literary medium to inspire Black audiences to self-heal themselves from the trauma associated with European colonization of Africa in the bygone days and this issue is yet to receive a noteworthy observation in the literary field. Hence, this paper will examine various dimensions associated with the Black literary genre to explore more about the philosophies and strategies imbibed by Black writers to encourage their people to self-heal from their past while comprehending the significance of mutual interconnectedness. The select works this paper seeks to study comparatively are Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart (2010), Alice Walker’s epistolary novel The Color Purple (2014), Rivers Solomon with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes’s fantasy fiction The Deep (2020), and Nnedi Okorafor’s science fiction Lagoon (2014). The frameworks used for this study are Postcolonialism, Africanfuturism, Afrofuturism, and African feminism which are treated as the vantage ground for this reading.

Keywords: Black solidarity, Gender, Racism, Interdependence, Sustainable future.

Sustainable Development Goals: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Citation: Buragohain, A, & Kagyung, L. (2023). Exploring Black Writers’ Literary Strategies for Interdependence and Global Solidarity. Rupkatha Journal 15:5. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n5.10 

The Narrative Construction of National Identity in Nadine Gordimer’s July’s People

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Aparajita Dutta Hazarika1*  & Smita Devi2    
1,2 Department of English: Assam Don Bosco University, Assam. *Corresponding author.

 Rupkatha Journal, Special Issue on Poetics of Self-construal in Postcolonial Literature, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n5.12
[Article History: Received: 10 October 2023. Revised: 25 December 2023. Accepted: 26 December 2023. Published: 27 December 2023]
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Abstract

At a time when Gordimer was writing her short stories and novels which stretched over four decades beginning from the 1940s to the 1990s, several historical and political events were taking place in South Africa. Gordimer’s entire oeuvre of fiction was her way of responding to those historical and political events that unfolded in the country. Many writers and critics believed that the history of the Nationalist Government from 1948 onwards has been faithfully recorded by the novels of Nadine Gordimer and they “will provide the future historian with all the evidence required to evaluate the price that has been paid by the people”. (Green, 563) She published her first collection of short stories in 1949, a year after the first Nationalist Government was elected to power. Her body of work from 1949 to 2000 covers the entire period of apartheid in South Africa. Therefore, she was a writer with serious intent and meant to convey through her novels her rigid stand against apartheid. The term ‘apartheid’ means ‘apartness’, a policy meant to segregate people on the foundation of their race and colour. In The Essential Gesture: Writing, Politics and Places (1988), Gordimer noted that it was not the “problems” of her country that set her to writing; rather, it was learning to write that sent her “falling, falling through the surface of the South African way of life”. (Gordimer 1988, p. 272) This paper shall attempt to study how Gordimer constructs identity in her novel July’s People (1981). The paper posits that the most important theme in Gordimer’s novels has been identity, an issue that she has been dealing with since her childhood, due to her situation as the daughter of immigrant parents, and living and writing in South Africa at a time when her country was divided based on colour.

Keywords: apartheid, identity, politics, history

Sustainable Development Goals: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Citation: Hazarika, A. D. & Devi, S. (2023). The Narrative Construction of National Identity in Nadine Gordimer’s July’s People. Rupkatha Journal 15:5. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n5.12 

Postcolonial Trauma in the Lives of Indian Tribes

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347 views

Nihal Zainab1    & H. Sofia2  
1,2 B. S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science & Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

 Rupkatha Journal, Special Issue on Poetics of Self-construal in Postcolonial Literature, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n5.11
[Article History: Received: 13 October 2023. Revised: 25 December 2023. Accepted: 26 December 2023. Published: 27 December 2023]
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Abstract

India is a country that is home to 1.4 billion people. These people are part of wide and intricate groups, communities, castes and tribes. While close to 91.4% of the Indian population has progressed into the colonial standard of civilization, according to the Census Report 2011, about 8.6% of people are still living in their original and natural way of life. These people are the tribes of India whose way of life has been romanticized as the ‘Indian Culture’. A section of tribal people continues to live in mountains, and forests and construct only mud houses or huts. They have little access to basic amenities like healthcare, education, electricity and water. While few tribes have moved out of their original ways of life by converting to other religions, certain tribes are still governed by their respective leaders, following the religions and customs that were taught to them centuries ago. It is at times difficult for the State Governments to reach the tribes since most of them resist any such advancements. European Colonization of India led to the discovery of several tribes that were until that point in time living in harmony with nature and forests. This paper will analyze through literature the pre-colonial and post-colonial lives of certain Indian tribes living in the mountains of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Keywords: tribes, trauma, assimilation, resistance, decolonization, Indian Culture.

Sustainable Development Goals: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Citation: Zainab, N. & Sofia, H. (2023). Postcolonial Trauma in the Lives of Indian Tribes. Rupkatha Journal 15:5. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n5.11 

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