Migrating from terror: The postcolonial novel after September 11

Scanlan, Margaret

doi:10.1080/17449855.2010.482372

Cited by 63 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…His mother reverts to alcoholism when his father is later arrested again; the father dies not long after his second release. Scholarly articles on Matar's novel are still rare; Scanlan's (2010) was the only one found, in addition to my own brief (2007) piece on it which appeared in my column "The African Library".…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Ice-Candy-Man and In the Country of Men: The politics of cruelty and the witnessing child

Gagiano

2012

Stellenbosch pap. linguist.

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Using two novels employing child narrators as observers of atrocities by which they are not only profoundly affected, but in which they become implicated (respectively by a Pakistani and a Libyan author), the article sets out to try and discover how the technique of mediation by a child witness and commentator affects the reader's perception of the Partition of Pakistan from India and the early rule of Gen. Quaddafi [or Gaddafi] in Libya, North Africa. The children are pre-pubescent, but intensely aware of sexual politics and emotional cross-currents in their familial, domestic, neighbourly and social contexts as the harsh and terrible political realities of their time and setting either filter into or impact violently upon their own lives. The offered reading is contextualized by considerations of postcolonial texts (as both Sidhwa's IceCandy-Man [also known by the American title of Cracking India] and Matar's In the Country of Men are, broadly speaking) as writings that can serve inter-cultural and trans-modern 'translation' purposes --not only by their publication in English (neither author's first language), but by using each of their child narrators to make cultural 'differences' (inter-)accessible to their readers. The emphasis in both texts on non-Western cultures nevertheless does not (in either case) allow stereotypical concepts concerning members of those cultures (e.g. as being inexplicably inclined to cruelty or violence) to prevail. The profoundly affective power of the descriptions of atrocities in both books (intensified by being observed in relatively unideological and unfiltered ways) become ethical challenges to the reader. The comparative reading techniques employed in the essay are used to sharpen the focus on how each of the children is ineluctably affected by what she or he witnesses and to indicate how both of them are 'betrayed into betrayal'.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Ice-Candy-Man and In the Country of Men: The politics of cruelty and the witnessing child

Gagiano

2012

Stellenbosch pap. linguist.

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“…Margaret Scanlan analyses The Inheritance of Loss as a political novel and analyses the narrative in the context of the aftermath of 9/11. Scanlan believes that "the paranoia that is there about immigrant characters like Biju and Saeed is obvious given the fact that the novel is written after the Twin Tower attacks" (Scanlan, 2010). The critic hints at the elements of cynicism the novel contains.…”

Section: Textual Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although Scanlan does not focus on the effects of the Gorkhaland movement on family relationships, the critic does explore the significance of Biju's return from the US and his subsequent robbing by the insurgents. Scanlan comments that Biju's return to India can be regarded as "the least heroic homecoming" (Scanlan, 2010) in the sense that he cannot be identified as a person who has just returned after a successful life in the US. I carry forward this observation of Scanlan and explore how Biju's return from the US and his subsequent reunion with his father reaffirms the bond of unadulterated love between father and son.…”

Section: Textual Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracing Cultural Morphing and Diasporic Identical Apprehensions: Post-Partitioned (1947) Contextual Ideologies in Liquid Modern Era

Zubair

Ahmed

2020

jass

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This research explores the diasporic experiences of South Asian immigrants and cultural ambivalence in Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss (2006). It highlights the conditions when East Pakistan had to adjust to an altogether new environment separated from their original culture after the Partition of this subcontinent in the year 1947. It reveals that the same historical, ideological, and thematic properties have been coming through generations and diasporic writers select these themes as their major subject of discussion. This research explores the varied nuances of family relationships in the writings of recent diaspora writers like Desai. The surge of globalization has washed away solitary identities. Theories presented by Homi K. Bhabha and Stuart Hall help this study in finding the answers of the proposed research question. This research provides a chance to understand the impact of Post-Partitioned (1947) ideologies behind the theme selection in the writings of diasporic Anglophone writers.

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“…Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another” (Updike, 2006, p. 103). According to Margaret Scanlan, media and political rhetoric in post-9/11 America has significant role in representing Islam as “a religion of violent fanatics” (Scanlan, 2010, p. 267). Hence, a well-noted characteristic in this dominant narrative is that terrorists are wicked, blood-thirsty, barbaric and uncivilized.…”

Section: Reflection On Updike’s Terroristmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political Rhetoric, Fictional Narrative, and Construction of Arab Muslims in the United States: A Critique of Updike’s Terrorist

Altwaiji

2015

Contemporary Review of the Middle East

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Representation of Arab Muslims pervades today's American political rhetoric.With the increasing focus on the Muslim world in general, and Arab Muslims in particular after the September 11 terror attacks it is necessary to determine how Arab Muslims, their beliefs, roles, responsibilities and aspirations are portrayed. Based on the analysis of John Updike's novel Terrorist (2006), the study exposes the consequence of 9/11 rhetorics on the representation of Arab Muslims and Islam in the American fictional narrative. The study utilizes works by Donald Pease and Amy Kaplan as a ground for analyzing political rhetoric and fictional narrative. It investigates the dynamics by which Arab Muslims are radically represented in the post-9/11 American narratives. This anti-Arab backlash has affected even Arab-American Christians who find themselves obliged to prove loyalty to the United States on a regular basis. The study facilitates a more comprehensive understanding of American fiction narrative on the Middle East in general, its recent trends, and possible futures and supplies groundwork for future research on issues related to Arab communities in the United States.We should admit rather that power produces knowledge; that power and knowledge directly imply one another.-Michel Foucault

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Migrating from terror: The postcolonial novel after September 11

Cited by 63 publications

References 2 publications

Ice-Candy-Man and In the Country of Men: The politics of cruelty and the witnessing child

Ice-Candy-Man and In the Country of Men: The politics of cruelty and the witnessing child

Tracing Cultural Morphing and Diasporic Identical Apprehensions: Post-Partitioned (1947) Contextual Ideologies in Liquid Modern Era

Political Rhetoric, Fictional Narrative, and Construction of Arab Muslims in the United States: A Critique of Updike’s Terrorist

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