Honour and Shame in the Construction of Difference in Abdulrazak Gurnah's Novels

Siundu, Godwin

doi:10.4324/9781003285250-10

Cited by 1 publication

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“…He also cannot bear watching his wife leave the house to go satisfy Hakim's sexual urges. Siundu (2013) reflected: "Gurnah's fiction provides a narrative where honor is infused in the characters' grappling with the challenges of their respective socio-cultural status, while simultaneously capturing the fluidity of the concepts and experiences of honor and shame" (p. 4). Masud resorts to avoidance, staying away from his wife because her recurring absences to be with someone else make him anxious and stir up repressed emotions.…”

Section: Defense Mechanisms In Salim's Familymentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Psychoanalytic Reading of Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Gravel Heart

Areqih

2022

JELPEDLIC

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Abstract Psychoanalytic criticism probes deeply into human behavior, uncovering unconscious anxieties, desires, and problems. This study examines Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Gravel Heart (2017) from a psychanalytic perspective, highlighting Salim’s different stages of life and tracing the troubles he encounters. Psychoanalytic theory is applied to the concepts of family and early childhood experiences, as well as defense mechanisms: fear of abandonment, social shame and inferiority, low self-esteem, avoidance, fear of intimacy, and death and loss. The theme of death and loss becomes a hallmark of Salim’s mysterious family, which is full of secrets. Despite Salim’s accomplishments as a teenager, he finds himself occupied by his family conflicts. Later, he accepts his uncle Amir’s invitation to move to the United Kingdom (UK) to attend college. This study found that Salim’s traumatic experiences at an early age influenced his future choices and behaviors, particularly when he moved to the UK and met friends of different races from all over the world, each with their own story, which was definitely varied from his own. Eventually, Salim became overwhelmed by feelings of social inferiority, loss, and failure because he could not change his fate to a more brilliant future. The mysteries he spent his life attempting to solve, ultimately about his father, uncovered that his alienation and isolation was because of the dishonor his mother brought to the family to save her brother, Amir, from jail. However, his father’s story was revealed too late to heal Salim’s past trauma.

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Section: Defense Mechanisms In Salim's Familymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Once the person leaves home, nostalgia haunts them in their new place of refuge. Godwin Siundu (2013) studied honor and shame in the construction of differences in Gurnah's novels. He explained the manifestations of honor and its intersection with cultural, social, and religious values.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Psychoanalytic Reading of Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Gravel Heart

Areqih

2022

JELPEDLIC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Honour and Shame in the Construction of Difference in Abdulrazak Gurnah's Novels

Cited by 1 publication

References 0 publications

A Psychoanalytic Reading of Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Gravel Heart

A Psychoanalytic Reading of Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Gravel Heart

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