Colonialism, Language, and Cultural Identity in the Novels of Abdulrazak Gurnah

Author(s): Dr. Shakil Jilani Shaikh

Abstract:

The political, cultural, and linguistic systems of African societies have been profoundly influenced by colonialism. By illuminating the past, literature has contributed to revealing the psychological consequences and historical realities of colonial domination. Novels by Abdulrazak Gurnah explore colonialism, migration, displacement, and cultural negotiation in East Africa. In this paper I will explore how Gurnah’s fiction is a mirror of colonial power structures, the ramifications of which I will be exploring in what ways power relations manifest in language and identity. Drawing on the novels Paradise, By the Sea, Desertion, and Afterlives, the study shows how colonial encounters created linguistic hybridity and cultural transformation. In doing so, it also addresses the struggle of those negotiating between traditional cultural values and colonial modernity. Gurnah’s stories are evidence of the complexities of colonial history and its effects on cultural identity (Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin 2).

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Pages: 87-90     |    3 View     |    1 Download