Critical Language and Literary Studies

نوع مقاله : علمی - پژوهشی

نویسندگان

1 دانشیار زبان و ادبیات انگلیسی، دانشگاه گیلان

2 کارشناس ارشد زبان و ادبیات انگلیسی، دانشگاه گیلان

چکیده

این جستار بر آن است که نمودها و تاثیرهای مختلف مفهوم دیگری‌فرودست را براساس نظریه‌های گایاتری اسپیوَک و هومی بابا، که بیشتر از دیگر منتقدین مطالعات فرهنگی به این موضوع پرداخته‌اند، در شخصیت‌‌های اصلی رمان همنام اثر جومپا لاهیری بررسی نماید. یکی از موضوع‌های محوری و حائزاهمیت در نقد مطالعات فرهنگی و ادبیات پسااستعماری، که در دهه‌های اخیر بسیار مورد توجه قرار گرفته‌است، مفهوم دیگری‌فرودست است. پرسش‌های بنیادین این مقاله عبارت‌اند ‌‌از: آیا می‌توان عناصر و مولفه‌هایی که بر مفهوم دیگری‌فرودست دلالت می‌کنند را در رمان همنام مشاهده نمود؟ واکنش شخصیت‌های اصلی رمان همنام در قبال تلقی ‌‌شدن به‌عنوان دیگری و فرودست چیست؟ برای پاسخ‌ دادن به این پرسش‌ها، مصادیق دیگری‌فرودست در رفتار، هویت و تعاملات اجتماعی آشیما (شخصیت اصلی نسل اول) و گوگول (شخصیت اصلی نسل دوم) و همچنین راهکارهای خودآگاه و ناخودآگاه این دو شخصیت برای رهایی از فرودستی و دیگری ‌انگاشته ‌شدن و نیز خلق هویتی هم‌تراز تحلیل می‌شوند. این مقاله نشان می‌دهد که در رمان همنام، مهاجرت نه‌تنها بر هویت مهاجران نسل اول، بلکه بر هویت فرزندان آن‌ها نیز تاثیر می‌گذارد. لاهیری فرودست بودن آشیما را در ازدواجِ ازپیش‌‌‌تعیین‌‌‌شده، وابستگی به خانواده و همسر، بارداری و مهاجرت و فرودستی گوگول را در نام و دوستی‌اش با سفیدپوستان آمریکایی به ‌‌تصویر می‌کشد. آشیما که درابتدا تمایلی به پذیرش فرهنگ غربی ندارد، به‌‌تدریج به فرهنگ آمریکایی گرایش پیدا می‌کند. از سوی دیگر، گوگول که همواره از هویت اصلی خود گریزان است، با گذشت زمان به فرهنگ هندی علاقه‌مند می‌شود. همچنین، این مقاله نشان می‌دهد که هویت‌های پیوند‌خورده و دوسویه‌‌ باعث خلق صدایی برای افراد دیگری و فرودست می‌گردند و حس قدرت و تعلق به آنان می‌بخشند، به‌گونه‌ای که در بستر فرهنگی جدید، خودی و همسان می‌شوند.

عنوان مقاله [English]

A Study of the Concept of the Subaltern in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake

نویسندگان [English]

  • Alireza Farahbakhsh 1
  • Rezvaneh Ranjbar Sheykhani 2

1 Associate Professor in English Language and Literature, University of Guilan

2 M. A. Holder in English Language and Literature, University of Guilan

چکیده [English]

This article aims to investigate the different effects of the concept of the subaltern in the major characters of Lahiri’s The Namesake in terms of Gayatri Spivak and Homi Bhabha’s theories. One of the important and central issues in cultural studies and postcolonial literature, which has received much attention in the recent decades, is the notion of the subaltern. The central questions of the article are: Can the components associated with the concept of the subaltern be traced in The Namesake? How do the main characters react to their portrayal as ‘the other’ and ‘the inferior’? Do they manage to ‘speak’ and construct an identity that negates ‘otherness’ and ‘inferiority’? To answer the questions, manifestations of the concept of the subaltern are analyzed in the demeanor, identity and social interactions of Ashima (the main character of the first generation) and Gogol (the main character of the second generation). Ashima and Gogol’s conscious and unconscious strategies for liberation from subalternity and creation of a socially equal identity are also explored. The article shows that in The Namesake, immigration affects not only the identity of the first generation immigrants but also the identity of their children. Subalternity is discernible in Ashima’s arranged marriage, her sheer dependence on her family and husband, pregnancy, immigration and also in Gogol’s name and his relationships with white Americans. Ashima, who initially rejects the Western culture, gradually comes to appreciate it and adapt herself to it. Also, Gogol who always shunned his true identity and cultural roots, in time takes interest in Indian culture. The article also indicates that hybrid and ambivalent identities create a voice for subalterns and give them a sense of power and belonging, so much so that they become ‘the self’ (in contrast with ‘the other’) in the new cultural context.

کلیدواژه‌ها [English]

  • Cultural Studies
  • Postcolonial Reading
  • Subaltern
  • Identity
  • Immigration
  • Hybridity
  • Ambivalence
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