ipl-logo

Spatial Identity And Cultural Consciousness In Anita Nair's Novel

1766 Words8 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Individual identity in literature

Spatial identity and cultural consciousness colligate to territories and lived spaces. In Anita Nair 's novels, most of her characters are tied to their geospace of their native lands and they are trying to assert their identity which is acquired by the interaction by diverse elements of cultural formations and significations. Idris:The Keeper of Light is not an exception to it as the main characters of this novel are always rooted to the familiar spaces and are not willing to severe the bond with the locations of culture identity. Moreover, they are aversed to transplant themselves from their homelands to any other place. The issues of rootedness and displacement recur in her novels and the former assert itself predominantly in the real and imagined realms of her fiction.

Keywords: place, space, spatial identity, cultural consciousness, homeland, rootedness, displacement.

Literature reveals spatial identity and cultural consciousness in its varied manifestations. It can also verbalize the attachment of individuals to various places and spaces. The latitudes and and longitudes of their …show more content…

Most of her characters are rooted in the soil of their land. Many of her characters who are away from their roots are always on the look out for their land of desire and solace. All are trying to reclaim their spatial identity and cultural consciousness as they belong to a particular place. Those who have no distinguishable spatial identity like Idris, fail to create it anew even though they wish it very eagerly. Nobody can get away from the force of their own primal bondings and ancestral relations. As most of Nair 's characters value their spatial identity more than anything else and know that it is emanated from the structures of

Show More
Related

Contemporary Ethnic Enclaves In America Summary

560 Words | 3 Pages

In the text “Contemporary Ethnic Geographies in America” informs us about ethnic enclaves in the United States in an article by Brian J. Godfrey. Chapter 3: New Ethnic Landscapes informs us about how a town can become an establishment such as a monument to one city. Ethnic Enclaves: Consolidation of Place-based Identities on page 67 explains the identities found within cultural landscaping and how its shape and effects reflect on the demographics of the city. Historical monuments and services also shape the ethnic enclaves of ones city. I will be analyzing San Francisco’s Chinatown ethnic enclaves

Read More

A Critical Analysis Of Disconnected Urbanism By Paul Goldberger

1064 Words | 5 Pages

One of the most significant advances in technology in recent times has been the invention of the cell phone. Cell phones have become a massive part of the world that people live in today. The ability to communicate with anybody in any part of the world whenever possible has been a substantial improvement to the way individuals live. Technology has allowed people to connect in more ways than ever before, but it is currently disconnecting people from the world right in front of them. Paul Goldberger’s essay “Disconnected Urbanism” incorporates multiple persuasive methods to be successful in effectively convincing its audience that cell phones have taken people away from the places around them.

Read More

State Of Wonder Character Analysis

817 Words | 4 Pages

The concept of exile consisting of contrasting ideas of an “unhealable rift” and “enriching” was brought forth by literary theorist Edward Saif. In Ann Patchett’s novel, State of Wonder, she creates the protagonist Dr. Marina Singh who experiences exile as she first relocates to a small Brazilian town and later ventures into the much larger Brazilian rainforest. The exile that Marina experiences demonstrates the novel’s theme of abandonment through the exploration of exile as a phenomenon that is alienating through the unawareness of surroundings and nostalgia, enriching through the procurement of knowledge and experiences, and requires an individual to survive the mounting pressures. Dr. Marina Singh first enters her exile when she voluntarily

Read More

Analysis Of Jhumpa Lahiri

2148 Words | 9 Pages

Born to Bengali parents in July 1967,in London and with her family’s move to Rhode Island, Jhumpa Lahiri began life in the U.S.A. She grew up in the background of traditional Bengali culture. From childhood, she often accompanied her back to India-particularly to Calcutta (now known as Kolkata).. She observes that her parents retain a sense of emotional exile and she herself grew up with conflicting expectations. In her work, Lahiri, is a second-generation immigrant, reflects on the Indian diaspora and creates a narrative that reveals the inconsistency of the concept of identity and cultural difference in the space of diapora.

Read More

Identity In Ernest Buckler's The Locket

1724 Words | 7 Pages

Throughout literature the constant theme of identity has been explored, with Northrop Frye even suggesting “the story of the loss and regaining of identity is, I think, the framework for all literature.” For characters, true identity isn’t always apparent, it needs to be searched for. Sometimes the inner struggle for identity stems from ones need for belonging. Whether one finds their sense of identity within friends, family, or in a physical “home”. It’s not always a place that defines identity.

Read More

The Five Themes Of Geography: The City Of Chicago

262 Words | 2 Pages

Paris is much more than a name or a point on a map. To me, Paris is nothing like the other big cities of the world; it is my home town, and the greatest part of my life. I lived in Paris, my parents lived in Paris, my grandparents lived in Paris, and all the way back up the paternal side of the familial roots. As such, I have chosen this city to describe using the five themes of geography. Chicago is the third largest city in the United States, and one of the country 's leading industrial, commercial, transportation, and financial centers.

Read More

Analysis Of The Hero's Walk By Anita Rau Badami

1135 Words | 5 Pages

Through the fluctuated characters of Badami, the novel highlights the cultural conflict between east and west in the form of physical as well as emotional integration. Igor Maver writes, “There has recently emerged a pronounced shift to emphasis in contemporary Canadian diasporic writing, for many new texts are set outside Canada and feature reversed migration back to a home place by a westernized / Canadian protagonist who does not so much want to return home as to write back home (e.g. Anita Rau Badami, Michael Ondadje, Janice Kulyk Keefer, Rohinton Ministry, M.G. Vassanji etc.)” The Hero’s Walk is a milieu fluctuates from Toturpuram to Vancouver. A cosmic cultural bay separates the two places.

Read More

Indian Horse By Richard Wagemese

1105 Words | 5 Pages

Exploring Identity in Literature: A Comparative Analysis Imagine living in a world where you are not recognized and respected for who you are. This is the reality for many Indigenous people who have faced centuries of assimilation. In this essay, I will compare and contrast two works of literature that explore the challenges and experiences of the Indigenous people: Indian Horse by Richard Wagemese and Borders by Thomas King. Indian Horse is a novel about an Indigenous boy named Saul, who survives the horrors of residential school. He finds an escape playing hockey, but his past haunts him which later leads him to alcoholism.

Read More

The House On Mango Street Identity Essay

555 Words | 3 Pages

Shaped by the journey of life, each and every human develops an everlasting identity from their perception of the world. Everyone’s identity sticks, but humans contain the capacity to change their identity throughout life; an attribute Esperanza shows greatly. Oppressed by male figures and because of her wealth, and race, Esperanza develops her sense of identity from negative aspects of her life, causing her to feel shame and develop an aspiration to form a new identity. For so long she develops her worth from what others think and say about her, but contains the power to see beyond and what her really life holds for her.

Read More

The House On Mango Street Cultural Identity Essay

504 Words | 3 Pages

Culture identity is something many young people struggle with, especially teens as they go through discovering themselves. Esperanza is the kind of girl who struggles with her cultural background. She envies everyone else she sees as they fit in with the place they are at. Even if the life of others isn’t necessarily amazing she is still jealous for what they do get. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros a very touching story about how a young girl tries to fit in an American society being a Latino.

Read More

Icarus Girl Analysis

1468 Words | 6 Pages

This essay will argue what is meant by the representation of the Other in the novels The Icarus Girl and Shadow Tag. The other is a representation of the questions surrounding identity that arise in these texts. The Icarus Girl focuses on the alternate identities of Jessamy Harrison and her struggle to find a fitting identity because of having a multi-national heritage. Shadow Tag takes a different approach to the question of identity, as Irene America attempts to escape her identity as a domestic abuse victim in the blue diary that she keeps hidden from her husband Gil. There is also the question about the identity of the narrative voice of the novel.

Read More

Interpreter Of Maladies By Jhumpa Lahiri Analysis

1116 Words | 5 Pages

In the novel, Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, nine distinct stories are told that depict families or people of Indian descent who experience different situations and circumstances that affect their lives. Many themes arise throughout the stories, but one that is prevalent through two specific stories, Mrs.Sen’s and Interpreter of Maladies, is the idea of cultural assimilation. Mrs.Sen’s and Interpreter of Maladies both portray the idea of cultural assimilation, but in different ways. Mrs.Sen’s is an example of a woman who resisted cultural assimilation in order to preserve her Indian heritage, while Interpreter of Maladies is a story that depicts a family who have fallen victim to cultural assimilation, thus losing a sense of connection to their Indian roots and being conformed into American culture. Lahiri uses the recurring motif of physical objects and actions to illustrate the various effects cultural assimilation has on certain people.

Read More

Dawes Allotment Report

946 Words | 4 Pages

Far from being genetic, being Indigenous is linked to a particular place. As time moves forward, many Indigenous people find themselves separated from the territories traditionally occupied by their ancestors and living in multicultural settings, thus bringing new ingredients to a contemporary Indigenous identity. (Weaver 2014:1) One’s land is a base for one’s identity. They earn their livelihood from their land.

Read More

Analysis Of One Amazing Thing

1719 Words | 7 Pages

One Amazing Thing. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. USA: Hyperion, 2009. 209pp. Under the rubric of Commonwealth Literature, there is always a bewildering array of overlapping and intersecting experiences between ‘home’ and ‘abroad’.

Read More

Summary Of Susan Abulhawa's Mornings In Jenin

1072 Words | 5 Pages

Israelis now inhabit their ancestral lands and have violently displaced this population of Arabs, causing diaspora. As Susan Abulhawa is a diasporic Palestinian herself, the novel Mornings In Jenin is an understandably hard-to-read narrative of a fictionalized but realistic Palestinian family – all who suffer from being extradited from their own familial homes and cities, only to become a refugee on their own land or in countries far away. The concept of diaspora has been also a sensitive issue with Jewish people, thus motioned to create the state of Israel, over another populated country. Abulhawa’s experience was reflected onto these characters, particularly Hasan and Amal, both of which were not able to find a permanent and secure place to call home, harnessing her feelings of diaspora that would make many people understand the feeling of displacement and unjustified

Read More

More about Spatial Identity And Cultural Consciousness In Anita Nair's Novel

Related Topics

Open Document