A Diasporic Reading of Gurnah’s Desertion within Colonial Conditions: Acculturation and Otherness
Safoura Sahafi
1
(
Department of English Language and Literature,South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
)
Vida Rahiminezhad
2
(
Department of English Language and Literature,South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
)
Ahmad Sedighi
3
(
Department of English Language and Literature,South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
)
الکلمات المفتاحية: Diaspora, Acculturation, Otherness, Desertion, Abdulrazak Gurnah,
ملخص المقالة :
Diaspora, the voluntary
or forcible movement of people from their homelands into new regions, is a central historical fact of colonization. Colonialism itself was a radically diasporic movement, involving the temporary or permanent dispersion and settlement of millions of people over the entire world. The widespread effects of these migrations continue on a global scale. Diaspora is a cultural concern that encompasses a wide range of concepts, but this study focuses on those diasporic concepts which are intermingled with colonialism such as acculturation and otherness. Abdulrazak Gurnah is a well-known winning prize of 2021 in literature, whose works are mostly centered on diaspora under colonial terms. Therefore, this paper which is a qualitative- library-based research, using Safran’s theory of diaspora, aims to discuss Gurnah's Desertion 2005, through a diasporic lens in order to explore individuals’ socio-cultural behaviors while confronting a new culture, and the ‘otherness’ they feel both in homeland and hostland, within the conditions of colonial antagonism and inequity. This study reveals how the experience of diaspora results in a new cultural knowledge in Rashid and other characters, the otherness they feel both in their colonized country and in the new society they move, and how the colonial governing authority undertakes to change Rashid, as well as other characters.
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