Postcolonial Literature

ISBN-13: 9780748639397 / Angielski / Miękka / 2013 / 240 str.

Dave Gunning

Opis

This guide places the literary works themselves at the centre of its discussions, examining how writers from Africa, Australasia, the Caribbean, Canada, Ireland, and South Asia have engaged with the challenges that beset postcolonial societies. Dave Gunning discusses many of the most-studied works of postcolonial literature, from Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart to Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, as well as works by more recent writers like Chris Abani, Tahmima Anam and Shani Mootoo. Each chapter explores a key theme, drawing together works from different times and places. An extensive guide to further reading and tips on how to write about postcolonial literature successfully conclude this introductory volume.

Spis treści

Series Preface
Chronology

Introduction
Some Omissions
Colonial Spaces and Colonial Ideologies
General Categories and Specific Cases
Possible Unities and the Use of Theory
About this Book

Chapter One: Finding a Voice
Macaulay’s Minute
Trading with Tradition: Derek Walcott
Where Language is Concealed: Eavan Boland
The Empire Writes Back
Very Indian English: Nissim Ezekiel
The Language of the African Novel: Ng?g? and Achebe
The Palm-oil with which Words are Eaten: Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
Rotten English: Ken Saro-Wiwa, Sozaboy
Mongrels and Silence: Keri Hulme, The Bone People
Summary

Chapter Two: The Need to Belong
From Terra Nullius to the Mabo Decision
In the Interior: Patrick White, Voss
Immemorial and Recent: Les Murray
The Time of the Nation and the Space of the People
Claiming the City: Sam Selvon, The Lonely Londoners
Hating the Place you Love: James Berry, Windrush Songs
New Beginnings and Responsibilities: J.M Coetzee’s Disgrace
Summary

Chapter Three: Coming of Age, Coming into Difference
National Allegory
A Shadow of the Nation: Roddy Doyle, A Star Called Henry
In Two Minorities: Shyam Selvadurai, Funny Boy
Natural and Ethical Behaviour: Shani Mootoo, Cereus Blooms at Night
Trapped: Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions
Inheritance and Accidents: Zadie Smith, White Teeth
Summary

Chapter Four: Communities, Values, Transgressions
Learning to Listen: Nadine Gordimer, Burger’s Daughter
Avoiding Historical Pitfalls: Thomas King, Truth and Bright Water
Motes in the Eye of History: Diaspora Space
How Newness Enters the World: Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses
The Rushdie Affair and the Umma
Faith with and without Agency: Leila Aboulela, Minaret
Nostalgia and Resistance: Mohsin Hamid, The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Summary

Chapter Five: War Zones
Frantz Fanon and the Cleansing Power of Violence
Ghosts from the Future: V. S. Naipaul, A Bend in the River
True Nationalism: Tahmima Anam, A Golden Age
A Ban on Wreaths: Agha Shahid Ali, The Country Without a Post Office
States of Exception, Biopolitics and Necropolitics
A Duty to Stay Alive: Chris Abani, ‘Buffalo Women’
Giving Your Life for the Truth: Michael Ondaatje, Anil’s Ghost
Summary

Chapter Six: Challenging Histories
A Scab on the Wounds of History: Anita Desai, Clear Light of Day
Squaring History’s Books: Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things
Can the Subaltern Speak?
Made Noble in the Fire: Peter Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang
The Sort of Secrets you Could Use: Sally Morgan, My Place
Beyond the Mesmeric Power of Tradition: The Black Atlantic
Not Going Home: Caryl Phillips, The Atlantic Sound
A Terror of Symbols: Amitav Ghosh, In an Antique Land
Summary

Conclusion

Student Resources
Guide to Further Reading
Writing about Postcolonial Literature

Index