Content Details | NUML Online Research Repository

Title DIASPORA: A CONSTRUCT OF PALIMPSESTS IDENTITIES IN WHITE TEETH BY ZADIE SMITH AND THE NAMESAKE BY JHUMPA LAHIRI

Author(s) SYEDA MADIHA BATOOL

Abstract ABSTRACT Title: Diaspora: A Construct of Palimpsests Identities in White Teeth by Zadie Smith and The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri This research is concerned with the analysis of the ways in which the diasporic characters in the texts White Teeth by Zadie Smith and The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri establish their new palimpsest identity. The study utilizes Thomas De Quincey’s theory on palimpsest as its major concern along with the concept of hybridity, mimicry and third space as proposed by Homi k Bhabha in Location of Culture to trace the relevant evidence from the selected texts. This study describes palimpsest in relation to hybridity, mimicry and third space and how they make the identities of the characters palimpsest. The characters in these texts inhabit the two spaces of past and present altogether through their memories and by adapting to the foreign cultures which relate them to palimpsest. It is not possible for people to meet, connect and mingle in diverse spaces without sharing their cultural values. Inclusion sets a way forward to acceptance which produces hybrid spaces whereby people are informed about each other's past and values. In the selected literary texts, the first-generation diaspora who mostly seem to resist the foreign culture by restricting their off springs not only allow palimpsest metaphor to reveal their silenced past but also the ways in which their interaction with other cultures places them with palimpsest. The second-generation diaspora, however, is more inclined towards adaptations yet their intermittent visits to their native culture and their roots lying elsewhere is what keeps them lurking in between, making them a continuous subject of palimpsest. This research study will provide literary scholars with a new stance towards the application of palimpsest metaphor in literary domains. It will also help them to trace this concept in other literary genres.

Type Thesis/Dissertation MS

Faculty Languages

Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2024-09-27

Subject Literature

Publisher

Contributor(s)

Format

Identifier

Source

Relation

Coverage

Rights