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FOREGROUNDING OF POSTCOLONIAL ELEMENTS IN HANIF KUREISHI’S THE BLACK ALBUM
Corresponding Author(s) : Muhammad Azeem
Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews,
Vol. 9 No. 3 (2021): May
Abstract
Purpose of the study: This study aims to examine the postcolonial elements i.e, hybridity, mimicry, and ambivalence concerning Hanif Kureishi’s novel The Black Album (1995). The protagonist of the novel faces religious, economic, social, racial, and ethnic identities in a tormenting and perturbing social order of England.
Methodology: This article is based on inductive reasoning and thus exploratory due to its qualitative nature. A close reading method is applied to the text of this paper. For this purpose, the researcher has read carefully the book Close Reading (The Basics 2018) by David Greenham. The method consists of five stages through which the paper scrutinized.
Main Findings: The researcher endeavors to find out religious, economic, ethnic, cultural, and social factors behind the identity crisis faced by the protagonist. Hybridity, mimicry, assimilation, and ambivalence play a very vital role in the social life of the protagonist. The researcher found that Shahid Hassan is caught between two identities i.e, Islamic fundamentalism and liberalism. Islamic fundamentalism offered him much peace and satisfaction with the Islamic religion whose leader is Riaz Al Husain but the liberalism attracts his attention with drugs, sex, music, freedom, rock n` rolls, and carefree life in form of Deedee Osgood who is his mentor and is a college lecturer too. He becomes the victim of hybrid identity and remains in an ambivalent state of mind. Being a British immigrant, he always remains in search of his true identity. Being a postcolonial novel, it helps the students, teachers, and literature lovers to know about the biased and rude behaviour of the whites towards non-whites.
Application of the study: Foregrounding of postcolonial elements is very significant only in the field of postcolonial study because it highlights economic, religious, political, social, cultural, and ethnic factors of identity crisis.
Novelty/Originality of this study: This study is an original contribution as it examines the economic, political, racial, social, and ethnic issues faced by the protagonist. The researcher employed Homi Bhabha’s postcolonial elements to examine the identity crisis faced by the protagonist. Moreover, the close reading method for data analysis is based on originality as well as novelty.
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- Alexander, I. B. (2011). Freedom and the city: contemporary British fiction and the cultural politics of disenfranchisement. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of York: UK. https://www.palgrave.com/ gp/book/9781137393715
- Ashraf, M. (2005). Postcolonial Criticism: Famous Publisher.
- Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G., Tiffin, H. Ed., (2007). Post-Colonial Studies; the Key Concepts. Routledge Print.
- Bhabha, H. K. (1994). Interrogating Identity: The Location of Culture. Routledge Print.
- Ellingsen, L. H. (2012). An Englishman born and bred, almost Identity and Belonging in Hanif Kureishi`s The Buddha of Suburbia. (Master’s Thesis, The University of Oslo, Norway). https://www.duo.uio.no/bits tream/handle/10852/34757/AnxEnglishmanxbornxandxbred-MA1.pdf?sequence= 1&isAllowed=y (June 10, 2020).
- Fanon, F. (1967). Black Skin, White Masks. Grove Press.
- Felski, R. (2000). Nothing to Declare: Identity, Shame, and the Lower Middle Class. Publications of the Modern Language Association of America. https://doi.org/10.2307/463229 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/463229
- Grin, M. S. (2005). The Search for Identity in "The Buddha of Suburbia" by Hanif Kureishi. https://www.grin.com/document/388006. (June 28, 2020).
- Greenham, D. (2018). Close Reading The Basics, Routledge Print. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203709979
- Gilbert, B. M. (2001). Hanif Kureishi. Manchester: Manchester University Press Print.
- Gergen, J. K. (1991). The Saturated Self: Dilemmas of Identity in Contemporary Life. Basic Books.
- Godlasky, R.S. (2005). Envisioning the Post-Community in Contemporary British Fiction and Film. http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses_1/available/etd-11072005-201354/unrestricted/Godlasky_dissertation.pdf [Access ed 4 August 2012].
- Gun, O. (1997). Through traveled eyes: representations of subcontinental migration. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation), UK. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/2923/1/1997orgunphd.pdf
- Jameson, F. (1991). Postmodernism or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Duke University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822378419
- Kara, G. (2020). The Problem of Immigrant Identity In Buddha of Suburbia By Hanif Kureishi. Akademikdil Ve Edebiyat Dergisi, 4(1), 179–199. https://doi.org/10.34083/akaded.703403 DOI: https://doi.org/10.34083/akaded.703403
- Kaleta, C. K. (1998). Hanif Kureishi: Postcolonial storyteller. The University of Texas Press.
- Kureishi, H. (1989). The Buddha of Suburbia. Faber and Faber Limited Press.
- Kurieshi, H. (1995). The Black Album. Faber and Faber Limited Press.
- Kureishi, H. (2005). Something to Tell You. Faber and Faber Limited Press.
- Loomba, A. (1998). Colonialism/ Postcolonialism. Routledge Print.
- Louis, W. R. (2013). Irrepressible adventures with Britannia: personalities, politics, and culture in Britain. I.B. Tauris.
- McLeod, J. (2000). Beginning Postcolonialism. Manchester University press.
- Ranasinha. (2002). Hanif Kureishi: Writing the self. Manchester University Press. https://www.goodreads. com/book/show/50352615-hanif-kureishi
- Rushdie, S. (1988). The Satanic Verses. Viking Penguin.
- Rushdie, S. (1992). Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism 1981-1991. Granta Books Print.
- Schoene, B. (2009). The Cosmopolitan Novel. Edinburg University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3366/edinburgh/9780748638154.001.0001
- Said, E. (1997). Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World. First Vintage.
- Said, E. (1979). Orientalism. First Vintage.
- Thomas, S. (2005). A Monograph on Hanif Kureishi. Palgrave Macmillan:Basingstoke Press.
- Upstone, S. (2008). A question of black or white: Returning to Hanif Kureishi's The Black Album, The Open Humanities Journal, 4(1), 1705-9100. https://www.postcolonial.org/index.php/pct/arti cle/view/679
- Walsh, T. (2008). The in-betweeners: Irish animation as postcolonial discourse. Loughborough University.
- Young, R. (2005). Colonial Desire, Hybridity in Theory, Culture and Race. Routledge Print. https://www.routledge.com/Colonial-Desire-Hybridity-in-Theory-Culture-and-Race/Young/p/book/97804150 53747
- Yousaf, N. (2002). Hanif Kureishi’s The Buddha of Suburbia. Readers Guide. The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/hanif-kureishis-the-buddha-of-suburbia-97808264 53242/
References
Alexander, I. B. (2011). Freedom and the city: contemporary British fiction and the cultural politics of disenfranchisement. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of York: UK. https://www.palgrave.com/ gp/book/9781137393715
Ashraf, M. (2005). Postcolonial Criticism: Famous Publisher.
Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G., Tiffin, H. Ed., (2007). Post-Colonial Studies; the Key Concepts. Routledge Print.
Bhabha, H. K. (1994). Interrogating Identity: The Location of Culture. Routledge Print.
Ellingsen, L. H. (2012). An Englishman born and bred, almost Identity and Belonging in Hanif Kureishi`s The Buddha of Suburbia. (Master’s Thesis, The University of Oslo, Norway). https://www.duo.uio.no/bits tream/handle/10852/34757/AnxEnglishmanxbornxandxbred-MA1.pdf?sequence= 1&isAllowed=y (June 10, 2020).
Fanon, F. (1967). Black Skin, White Masks. Grove Press.
Felski, R. (2000). Nothing to Declare: Identity, Shame, and the Lower Middle Class. Publications of the Modern Language Association of America. https://doi.org/10.2307/463229 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/463229
Grin, M. S. (2005). The Search for Identity in "The Buddha of Suburbia" by Hanif Kureishi. https://www.grin.com/document/388006. (June 28, 2020).
Greenham, D. (2018). Close Reading The Basics, Routledge Print. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203709979
Gilbert, B. M. (2001). Hanif Kureishi. Manchester: Manchester University Press Print.
Gergen, J. K. (1991). The Saturated Self: Dilemmas of Identity in Contemporary Life. Basic Books.
Godlasky, R.S. (2005). Envisioning the Post-Community in Contemporary British Fiction and Film. http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses_1/available/etd-11072005-201354/unrestricted/Godlasky_dissertation.pdf [Access ed 4 August 2012].
Gun, O. (1997). Through traveled eyes: representations of subcontinental migration. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation), UK. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/2923/1/1997orgunphd.pdf
Jameson, F. (1991). Postmodernism or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Duke University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/9780822378419
Kara, G. (2020). The Problem of Immigrant Identity In Buddha of Suburbia By Hanif Kureishi. Akademikdil Ve Edebiyat Dergisi, 4(1), 179–199. https://doi.org/10.34083/akaded.703403 DOI: https://doi.org/10.34083/akaded.703403
Kaleta, C. K. (1998). Hanif Kureishi: Postcolonial storyteller. The University of Texas Press.
Kureishi, H. (1989). The Buddha of Suburbia. Faber and Faber Limited Press.
Kurieshi, H. (1995). The Black Album. Faber and Faber Limited Press.
Kureishi, H. (2005). Something to Tell You. Faber and Faber Limited Press.
Loomba, A. (1998). Colonialism/ Postcolonialism. Routledge Print.
Louis, W. R. (2013). Irrepressible adventures with Britannia: personalities, politics, and culture in Britain. I.B. Tauris.
McLeod, J. (2000). Beginning Postcolonialism. Manchester University press.
Ranasinha. (2002). Hanif Kureishi: Writing the self. Manchester University Press. https://www.goodreads. com/book/show/50352615-hanif-kureishi
Rushdie, S. (1988). The Satanic Verses. Viking Penguin.
Rushdie, S. (1992). Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism 1981-1991. Granta Books Print.
Schoene, B. (2009). The Cosmopolitan Novel. Edinburg University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3366/edinburgh/9780748638154.001.0001
Said, E. (1997). Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World. First Vintage.
Said, E. (1979). Orientalism. First Vintage.
Thomas, S. (2005). A Monograph on Hanif Kureishi. Palgrave Macmillan:Basingstoke Press.
Upstone, S. (2008). A question of black or white: Returning to Hanif Kureishi's The Black Album, The Open Humanities Journal, 4(1), 1705-9100. https://www.postcolonial.org/index.php/pct/arti cle/view/679
Walsh, T. (2008). The in-betweeners: Irish animation as postcolonial discourse. Loughborough University.
Young, R. (2005). Colonial Desire, Hybridity in Theory, Culture and Race. Routledge Print. https://www.routledge.com/Colonial-Desire-Hybridity-in-Theory-Culture-and-Race/Young/p/book/97804150 53747
Yousaf, N. (2002). Hanif Kureishi’s The Buddha of Suburbia. Readers Guide. The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/hanif-kureishis-the-buddha-of-suburbia-97808264 53242/