Leili Kafi; Kian Soheil; Keihan Bahmani; Newsha Ahmadi
Abstract
Introduction: Pain as a positive phenomenon is rare in literary studies, especially in those related to Nabokov. This research, for the first time, discusses ideas of Damasio on emotions and consciousness and applies it to the character of Luzhin through close reading of the text to show how the individual’s ...
Read More
Introduction: Pain as a positive phenomenon is rare in literary studies, especially in those related to Nabokov. This research, for the first time, discusses ideas of Damasio on emotions and consciousness and applies it to the character of Luzhin through close reading of the text to show how the individual’s lived experiences are vital in his formation of consciousness and survival. Background: Brian Boyd in his extensive biography of Nabokov contends, “In creating Luzhin, Nabokov uses his eye for psychological quirks common to us all but rarely attended to” (323). He believes Nabokov creates vivid worlds out of details that can place readers “wherever his imagination sends the shots” (324). Masing compares Luzhin with Gogol’s Bashmakhin of “The Overcoat” to conclude both are fascinated with abstract patterns, having no defense against the chills of life. Farmasi considers patterns of consciousness to be easily observable in The Defense as it engages the reader with Luzhin’s consciousness through representations of his experiences and perceptions. She believes Luzhin’s story can be read as “an allegory of the relationship between narrative patterns and experience” (40). Kalay discusses the complicated character of Luzhin and considers his escape from reality as a force to death. Boyd, in his essay on role of senses, writes: we are always embedded in experiences and Nabokov depicts them artistically multidimensional. Methodology and Argument:Antonio Damasio, the prominent contemporary neuroscientist, in The feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness, focuses on emotions and consciousness. He believes consciousness and emotions are inseparable, as are embodied and embedded. Hence, emotions are not just the by-product of consciousness; but are also influential in its formation. He divides ‘self in three types of proto-self (reflection of body’s internal state), core-self (a sense of ownership to emotions) and autobiographical self (integration of memories, emotions and personal experiences into a coherent narrative). By “self” being updated, consciousness is formed in three levels of proto, core and extended. He concludes that self is not fixed and is in constant change based on experiences. Therefore, the extended consciousness which is formed in this way is able to help the individual to survive.Luzhin is presented in three interwoven phases: his childhood in which he “flinches from life's pinpricks and jagged edges (Boyd RY 326), the genius of his early youth and the final years when he is disappointed to have survived and commits suicide. Nabokov introduces a fatal pattern into his life by depicting him as a locked genius who has difficulty communicating and is driven to seclusion. For years he has just chess in mind; so, his definition of self is limited to proto-self. He lacks experiences which he needs for his core self or his autobiographical self to bestow on him identity and meaning. Based on Damasio, there grows a big gap between Luzhin and his emotions, so his “self” is not able to update itself, leading to a true formation of deep or extended consciousness. Conclusion: The character of Luzhin is studied based on the ideas of Damasio to find how emotions and consciousness work. The analysis shows when man limits the array of experiences, he is depriving himself of knowing his emotions. These emotions can update one’s self, which in turn can form one’s core consciousness. Luzhin locks himself in his loneliness and runs to the black and white world of chess. Unable to have sincere communications, he prefers to get hold of the chess board rather than managing his being. If experiences are escaped, there would remain no way out as these is no consciousness or memory at hand.
Maryam Moein Kharazi; Kaihan Bahmani
Abstract
IntroductionCulinary literary criticism is a new field that has gathered interest among many scholars around the world. The cultural significance of gastronomic representations in literary texts is usually interconnected with the issues of gender, race, and class. The current study examines the relationship ...
Read More
IntroductionCulinary literary criticism is a new field that has gathered interest among many scholars around the world. The cultural significance of gastronomic representations in literary texts is usually interconnected with the issues of gender, race, and class. The current study examines the relationship between food and socio-cultural identity in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus in terms of Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological key concepts mainly in his book, Distinction (1984). Food practices among social agents signify their habitus and the form and amount of capital available to them. In his study, Bourdieu argues that the fine basis of distinction in the tastes of individuals in different social spaces is the opposition between the tastes of luxury and the tastes of necessity. It is argued how Adichie presents the motif of food and cooking in her work to depict the social positions, the cultural identity, and the distinct tastes of the characters. Background of StudyThere are some books and articles about the representation of food and its cultural significance in the works of fiction written by some African writers but the number of studies carried out about English works by Nigerian writers, particularly on the selected work of the present study is considered deficient. Bishop Highfield in his book, Food and Foodways in African Narratives (2017), studies African culture and history by rendering examples of the motif of food in some works of fiction by certain African writers. In his analysis of Purple Hibiscus, Highfield studies domestic violence and resistance through the characters’ food choices. In “Dining Room and Kitchen: Food-Related Spaces and their Interfaces with the Female Body in Purple Hibiscus” (2017), Jessica Hume employs the feminine space theories derived from the British feminist, Sarah Mills’ “Gender and Colonial Space” and the Australian feminist, Grosz’s “Bodies/Cities”. Sindhu and Lydia in “Food and Social Difference in Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Adichie” attempt to trace the characters’ differences in their social positions through their food choices; however, there is no theoretical framework in this short article, and the writers merely present brief descriptions of the plot of the novel with some related food images. J Santhiya in “Food as a metaphor for colonial power in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus” examines the effects of colonization on the characters’ food choices but there is a lack of theoretical framework in this article too. Methodology In Distinction (1984), Bourdieu pinpoints the interrelation between his main thinking tools by arguing that practice results from the relation between one’s habitus (dispositions) and one’s capital in a specific field. Bourdieu believes that the consumption patterns of the poor and the working class are identified as “tastes of necessity,” whereas the consumption patterns of the middle and upper classes are identified as the “tastes of luxury” (Thompson and Kaplan 833). Bourdieu’s distinction between the taste of luxury and the taste of necessity is also the distinction between food as “form” and food as “function” (196). For individuals in lower economic positions in a social hierarchy, the nourishing function of food takes priority over its form (Bourdieu, Distinction 196). In contrast, individuals with more economic capital are more concerned with the food’s form, that is, food is not consumed only for the satiation of hunger but also for the fact that it gives pleasure. The present study applies Bourdieu’s notions of habitus, capital, and field to study their relations with the characters’ tastes and consumption patterns in Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus.ConclusionPierre Bourdieu’s views on habitus and the food tastes of different classes are traceable in the study of Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus. In this novel, the characters’ related fields, and the form and amount of capital available to them are manifested in their eating practices. The religious field has a highly significant influence on Papa’s and Papa Nnukwu’s culinary practices. The consumption pattern in Papa’s household represents the taste of luxury as Papa enjoys high degrees of economic, cultural, social, and symbolic capital. On the other hand, the consumption pattern in Aunty Ifeoma and Papa Nnukwu’s homes represents the taste of necessity. Employing Bourdieu’s words, in opposition to the functional food in Aunty Ifeoma’s home, the food in Papa’s home is served with all due form. Moreover, Aunty Ifeoma’s possession of cultural capital leads her to consume nutritious food prepared at the lowest economic costs.
Maryam Shokouhi
Abstract
Zadie Smith, as a writer intimately associated with London, attacks the false concept of purity and unity in multicultural societies. In The Autograph Man (2002), she depicts the obsessions of Alex Li-Tandem who is half-Jewish and half-Chinese living in the suburban heartland of Jewish London, Mountjoy. ...
Read More
Zadie Smith, as a writer intimately associated with London, attacks the false concept of purity and unity in multicultural societies. In The Autograph Man (2002), she depicts the obsessions of Alex Li-Tandem who is half-Jewish and half-Chinese living in the suburban heartland of Jewish London, Mountjoy. Alex is not a social person at the opening of the novel, and cannot relate to his Jewish background or people surrounding him. So, he starts collecting autographs to compensate for the lack he faces in life. A one- to-one relationship between the subject’s path from "marginalization" to "separation" and, "integration", reclaiming his identity and the role of the Other could be pursued in the novel. In other words, family, place of residence, friends, and religion are significant in the acculturation process that Alex goes through from childhood to adulthood. Con- trary to Smith’s previous works, the novel emphasizes less on the multicultural issues centered on the land and more on religious identity.