THE SENSE OF BELONGING: HYBRID OR REINVENTION? A STUDY OF K. S. MANIAM’S IN A FAR COUNTRY

Zanyar Kareem Abdul

Abstract


The issue of race, identity, and multiculturalism are focal points in modern novels. K. S. Maniam, as an Indian-Malaysian as such, explains the same question again in his writings. There is a longing or rather a forlorn look at India as the Motherland of some of the Indians in Malaysia in the setting of K. S. Maniam’s stories. The novel does not provide a complete recovery of the original country; it is instead giving a deep insight into finding out a connection to the place one settles in. In a Far Country  is a typical example of the modern chaotic world through which Maniam sheds light on it. The research aims to analyse the redefinition of identity and determining race. It is also to explore the choices between a native and nonnative value in a foreign land. Under the analysis, Homi Bahbah’s theory of hybridity is chosen for the study of the novel. It is a significant and difficult step at the same time to reinvent one’s identity through a hybrid culture or rather to be called “reinvented” when the final solution fails and instead “reinvention” shapes a new identity.


Keywords


race, land, multicultural, identity, India, postcolonialism

Full Text:

PDF

References


Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin. (1998). Post-Colonial Studies: The Key Concepts. London: Routledge.

Bahbah, K. Homi, ed. (1999). Nations and Narration [C]. New York: Routledge.

________. (1994). The Location of Culture. New York: Routledge.

Becker, M. A. and Bhugra, D. (2005). Migration, cultural bereavement and cultural identity.

(4.1)

Maniam, K.S. (1981). The Return. London: Skoob Books Ltd.

Maniam, K.S. (1993). In a Far Country. London: Skoob Books Ltd.

Maniam, K.S. (April 1994). In Search of a Centre. Retrieved 17 Juli 2012. http://www.ucalgary.ca/uofc/eduweb/engl392/maniam-cent.html.

Naipaul, V. S. (1972). The Overcrowded Barracoon and Other Articles. London: Andre Deutsch.

Nelson, E.S., ed. (1992). Reworlding: The Literature of the Indian Diaspora. New York: Greenwood.

Said, W. Edward. (1993). Culture and Imperialism. London: Vintage. Print.

________. (1978). Orientalism. London: Penguin.

Sharrad, Paul. (1993). Introduction. In a Far Country. K. S. Maniam. London: Skoob Books Publishing Ltd.

Tyson, Lois. (2006). Critical Theory Today: A User Friendly Guide [M]. New York: Routledge.

Wicks, Peter (2002). Diaspora and Identity in the Fiction of K. S. Maniam. 3 (4), 115-127.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.30743/ll.v5i1.3711

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Fakultas Sastra 
Universitas Islam Sumatera Utara (UISU), Medan
Jl. Sisingamangaraja Teladan Medan 20217
Telp. (061) 7869911, e-mail: language_literacy@sastra.uisu.ac.id