MIMICRY, MIGRATION, AND ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION: INTERROGATING POSTCOLONIALISM IN SELECT NOVELS OF SAMARES MAJUMDAR

Abstract

The study of identity in general and cultural identity in particular has been one of the key concerns in the humanities and social sciences over the last five decades. This is true for literary studies in the context of India where debates surrounding the construction of cultural identity in and through literature are regularly raised. As one may be aware, the traditional/popular conception of cultural identity advances it as a collection of actions and attributes which are performed and practiced in social settings. The thesis argues that one’s cultural identity gets impacted in various ways when one migrates to a new land and attempts to mimic the natives there. In the process, one’s language, religion, choice of dress and food get impacted by it and its consequences are deep and everlasting. More specifically, this thesis argues that the select novels of Samares Majumdar help to extend the breath of postcolonial literature by contributing through their thematic and technical levels. I address their various features of mimicry, migration, and economic exploitation and that of the theory of cultural identity. I contend that the novels I have selected are model narratives that strives to forge a more persuasive means of (re)presenting various types of mimicry, migration, and economic exploitation and their effects on cultural identity of the characters. Third chapter examines the impact of migration on cultural identity. Migration is currently one of the most burning issues throughout the globe. Every government is deeply concerned about this issue which has great impact on economy of the state or the country. Besides, its impact on economy and host of other things, migration affects people’s social and cultural identity immensely. Hence, as other important issues in the 21st century, migration has started to get a i huge space in literature and has become one of the most significant themes of it. This chapter, through Majumdar’s two texts - Sky over the Mountain (2007) and Another Outsider (2014), attempts to understand the challenges migrants face regarding cultural and social identity after migrating to a new place - within the country or outside the country. These issues are matters of great significance and in this era of migration, these issues necessitate an urgent and unavoidable discussion regarding homelessness and cultural and social identity as migration has emerged as an integral part of many human lives. The intrusion of migration into the arena of human life has emerged to be one of the latest modes of human existence. This iconic turn, being an inseparable part of human existence, demands attention due to its close association with cultural and social identity of human. Taking into consideration the views of the critics like Edward Said and Frantz Fanon in this regard, the study tries to analyse the texts. This chapter attempts to throw light on the above-mentioned issues present in characters’ life in particular and in a migrant’s in general. The chapter examines the impacts of economic exploitation in the life of the migrants. It also investigates in how many other ways migration influences the nations/territories involved. To that end, the study reads Samares Majumdar’s Leaves of Blood and Another Outsider. This chapter would draw its theoretical trajectory from Karl Marx, G.A. Cohen, Adam Smith, and David Ricardo. The thesis proves that when a person migrates to a new place - be it inside the country or outside the country- and starts mimicking the cultural aspects of the natives/superiors, initially the person struggles a lot and his/her attempts become source of laughter for the natives. Migration impacts both the countries or territories involved in a migration economically and culturally. When a migrant attempts to speak the language or to eat the food as the choice of the natives/superiors or tries to look like them by wearing the dresses like them, he/she looks “almost the same but not quite.” After some time, these attempts make the natives/superiors feel threatened and turns out to be a form of protest or resistance. This chapter summaries the preceding chapters and discusses the further scope of research in this area.