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Chapter 1
Ambivalence as Inter-Generational and Intra-Personal Phenomenon in Emigrants’
Identity Crisis with Special Reference to My Son the Fanatic and The Reluctant
Fundamentalist: A Study in Postcolonialism
This thesis endeavours to analyze Hanif Kureshi’s short story My Son the Fanatic
through the post-colonial concept of ambivalence and carry out its contrast with Mohsin Hamid’s
novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Ambivalence in both the selected texts has been analyzed
to see as to how it causes identity related issues in immigrants at inter- personal and intrapersonal levels. Ambivalence as an inter-personal or inter-generational phenomenon in the
father-son genetic continuum comes to the surface in My Son the Fanatic. As ambivalence is
closely associated with identity crisis, so its historical and socio-cultural causes needs to be
identified. Identity formation process and different relevant factors having bearing on identity
needs to be explored.
Ambivalence is defined in almost same shades of meanings by online dictionaries and
internationally well reputed dictionaries, all of them are considered to be competent authorities in
their own right for defining meanings of words and literary terms. Ambivalence is defined as
“The coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings, such as love and hate, toward a person,
object, or idea”. Ambivalence is characterized with “uncertainty or indecisiveness as to which
course to follow”. Ambivalence is enumerated as “simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or
feelings (as attraction and repulsion) toward an object, person or an action”. It dilates the term
ambivalence as “continual fluctuation (as between one thing and its opposite)”. Ambivalence is
the mental state of a human being characterized with “uncertainty as to which course to follow”.
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Ambivalence synonyms are “doubt, hesitation, indecisiveness, quandary, uncertainty,
fluctuation, haze, inconclusiveness, irresoluteness, confusion, dilemma, tentativeness”.
Ambivalence reflects simultaneousness of conflicting and confused feelings. The
conflicting feelings may be directed towards a person or thing. To give it another spin,
ambivalence is the outcome of those thoughts and emotions which induce both positive and
negative reaction towards a person or an object. Ambivalence also refers to social situations and
mental states where "mixed feelings" are experienced, or where a person experiences uncertainty
or indecisiveness concerning something. Certain every day expressions like "cold feet" and
"sitting on the fence" are often used to describe the feeling of ambivalence.
Ambivalence is a mental state of a person characterized with confusions and
contradictions. Forces of pull and push work simultaneously to create diverse responses at
different points of time. In the first generation emigrants, ambivalence can be treated as a usual
phenomenon but it becomes an unusual one when children who are born and brought up in
Western countries experience it. It is, therefore, of significance to dig out its causes and reasons
in the first generation and the second generation emigrants in the world of the selected texts, to
identify their similarities and differences in the same. Moreover, certain psychological
dimensions of ambivalence have been traced in both historical and literary perspectives.
Post-colonial discourse is premised on the notions of ambivalence and mimicry which
lead to the articulation of double vision (Bhabha, 1994, p.126). Post-colonial narrative
emphasizes the centrality of dual identity which is reflected in dual articulation ( Bhabha, 1994,
p.126). Dual articulation is a result of split personality which experiences conflict at intrapersonal and inter-personal levels. The conflict in a person exposed to post- colonial socio-
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cultural milieu is well grounded. The conflict can come to the surface in different forms and has
a number of manifestations. This thesis tries to explore inter- generational conflict in the broader
context of ambivalence as discussed in the short story My Son the Fanatic by Hanif Kureshi and
carry out its contrast with intra-personal conflict as highlighted in the novel The Reluctant
Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid.
The thesis tries to evaluate causes of inter-generational or inter-personal conflict and intrapersonal conflict in the macro framework of ambivalence in post- colonial perspective to
establish their linkage with identity crisis as a root cause of this problem. There are yearnings of
the protagonists in My Son the Fanatic and The Reluctant Fundamentalist to reconnect with the
social, cultural and ideological roots. Manifestations of these burning desires can be seen in the
right-wing political alignment with an ultra conservative worldview. This reactionary mode is in
consonance with glorification of the past and larger than life portrayal of its national and
communal history whereas the mainstream national narrative after gaining independence was
tailored to weld diverse socio-cultural and ethnic communities under the generic name of nation
as a grand political abstract. In this connection Bhabha (1990) says that community has to be
created and negotiated; it isn’t just there because of one’s skin colour or sexual preferences.
Political indoctrination of newly independent nations under official patronage produced
dichotomies in the worldviews of emigrants and non-emigrants. Those who migrated to Western
countries in search of greener pastures made deliberate attempts to adopt Western lifestyle and
values. Majority of them were economic migrants and upward social mobility was central in
their psychological makeup. Majority of the first generation migrants were disillusioned with the
prevailing socio- economic conditions and rejected the baggage of historical legacy under
compelling economic circumstances. They did not buy the narrative of grand and glorified
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national past and embraced Western values wholeheartedly. Their eagerness to exercise their
new found personal liberties and adopt secular mode of life are in sharp contrast to the reaction
of some of their children who desperately try to cling onto their past. They do so because they
are not embraced in the social fabric of their adopted countries as equal citizens, no matter how
hard they try for social integration.
Statement of the Problem
The study attempts to highlight that ambivalence is deeply rooted in human psychology in
general and in emigrants in particular. Ambivalence is a normal phenomenon in day to day
human life. Emigrants feel ambivalent in an accentuated manner and subsequently they suffer
from identity crisis. In the lives of emigrants ambivalence comes to the forefront because they
are not assimilated in their adopted countries as equal citizens. The protagonists of My Son the
Fanatic and The Reluctant Fundamentalist feel that they are uprooted. They feel alienated from
their own selves and their people/nations.
Ambivalence also becomes an intriguing issue when highly educated emigrants find
themselves hating a country after loving and adoring it over an extended period of time. In a
crisis situation some discriminatory practices make them review their lifelong love affair with
their new abodes. So it merits in-depth examination to dig out causes and reasons of ambivalence
in first generation and second generation emigrants in My Son the Fanatic and The Reluctant
Fundamentalist. Ambivalence in My Son the Fanatic surfaces as inter-generational or interpersonal phenomenon. Ambivalence in The Reluctant Fundamentalist comes to the fore as intrapersonal in nature. The leading characters in the above referred texts seek to resolve their
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ambivalent attitudes by aligning themselves with ultra-conservative, right wing and radical
political forces.
Objectives of the Study
The thesis aims to prove that ambivalence is a normal phenomenon in day to day human
life. Emigrants feel ambivalent in an accentuated manner and subsequently they suffer from
identity crisis. In the lives of emigrants ambivalence comes to the forefront because they are not
assimilated in their adopted countries as equal citizens. The protagonists of My Son the Fanatic
and The Reluctant Fundamentalist feel that they are uprooted. They feel alienated from their own
selves and their people/nations. Ambivalence comes to the centre stage in different forms and
has many manifestations. Ambivalence in My Son the Fanatic surfaces as inter-generational or
inter-personal phenomenon. Ambivalence in The Reluctant Fundamentalist comes to the fore as
intra-personal in nature. The leading characters in the above referred texts seek to resolve their
ambivalent attitudes by aligning themselves with ultra-conservative, right wing and radical
political forces.
Research Questions
The research is focused to seek answers of the following questions, which are considered to
be the core points with regard to the selected texts.
a) What are the factors which cause ambivalence in My Son the Fanatic and The
Reluctant Fundamentalist?
b) Is ambivalence deeply embedded in human nature or is it a phenomenon uniquely
experienced by emigrants in My Son the Fanatic and The Reluctant
Fundamentalist?
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c) How Hanif Kureishi and Mohsin Hamid tackle the issue of ambivalence in My
Son the Fanatic and The Reluctant Fundamentalist by highlighting historical,
political and socio-cultural factors?
Significance of the Study
This project holds significance considering my location as a postcolonial subject living in
a society which has ambivalent attitude towards West. The brain drain from developing countries
continues unabated because of lack of opportunities in home countries but some emigrants get
disillusioned because of discrimination on the basis of caste, colour and creed. Ambivalence in
first generation emigrants is a natural phenomenon but it becomes an interesting phenomenon
when it manifests itself as spread over generations. Some children who are born to parents of
Pakistani origin try to find out their identity and socio-cultural roots so they have to undergo
identity crisis. Their love hate relationship with the dominating majority merits in depth
examination. Why such children fail to integrate in mainstream Western society can be partially
answered in terms of racial and communal identity shaped up by historical, political and sociocultural factors. Some highly educated emigrants embrace their cultural roots and communal
identity because of some discriminatory practices adopted by their host countries in challenging
security environment.
The research can contribute to the existing body of knowledge by portraying ambivalence
as not confined to a person only but manifesting itself in different forms. Ambivalence as intergenerational or inter-personal phenomenon and ambivalence as intra-personal phenomenon are
some of the dimensions which are to be explored further. Ambivalent attitude in daily life is but
natural but immigrants feel ambivalent in an intense manner. They are not assimilated in their
host countries as equal citizens, which force them to suffer from identity crisis. They seek
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resolution of the identity crisis by reconnecting themselves with their socio-cultural and
ideological roots.
Research Methodology
Theoretical Framework
Postcolonial theory provides the theoretical framework of the present research. Research
methodology is qualitative in nature. Homi Bhabha’s concepts of ambivalence, mimicry and
hybridity have been used in the present research. Homi Bhabha being the main theorist provides
the framework for analysis of the short story and the novel. Primary data consists of My Son the
Fanatic and The Reluctant Fundamentalist. The protagonists in both the stories undergo identity
crisis because of their ambivalent attitude which manifests itself as inter-personal/intergenerational conflict and intra-personal conflict respectively. Secondary data consists of relevant
books and research articles. It is to be seen that how resolution of identity crisis is sought by
seeking to reconnect with one’s socio-cultural roots.
Rationale
Ambivalence is an important concept to understand the psyche of postcolonial
subject. The concept highlights the fact that colonized people are in a state of mental flux
while envisioning Western civilization. On the one hand they admire the West for achieving
commendable progress in all walks of human life and epitomizing worldly success. On the
other hand Westerners are detested because of their double standards and hypocrisy. Their
noble notion of equality and egalitarian ideas quickly dissipate into thin air during economic
hardships, social interactions and challenging security environment. Hanif Kureshi’s short
story My Son the Fanatic and Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist have tackled
the issue of ambivalence quite exquisitely by highlighting the dichotomies marking the lives
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of immigrants. Perpetually entangled love-hate relationship in the literature produced by
diaspora exhibit forces of pull and push, creating stress and strain in the lives of protagonists
of the above referred texts, which capture complexity, depth and psychological insight in the
leading characters.
The research under discussion seeks to enhance the understanding of issue of
ambivalence as an inter-generational phenomenon in order to help the former colonized to
rediscover their identity and make deliberate attempts to reconnect with their socio-cultural
and historical roots.
Chapter Division
Chapter one of the research has given the background of the study and its theoretical
framework has been developed along with the significance of the work.
In chapter two, relevant postcolonial theories and literature on ambivalence, mimicry and
hybridity has been presented. This chapter makes an attempt to crystallize that how ambivalence,
mimicry and hybridity are deeply embedded in the psychological makeup of the postcolonial
subjects. It tries to establish that these notions also worked in the inverse order to some extent
but mainly the colonized were affected. The colonizers used their language as an instrument of
policy to severe the ties of people from their cultural roots. The colonized were conditioned to
believe in their inherent inferiority in a systematic and organized scheme of things.
Chapter three, titled as Research Methodology, draws on research work carried out by
renowned psychologists to prove that ambivalence is deeply rooted in the psychological makeup
of human beings. The chapter explores the phenomenon of ambivalence as discussed by the well
reputed psychologists who serve as building blocks to substantiate the hypothesis of the thesis
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that ambivalence has many forms and manifestations. It is qualitative research in which the
phenomenon of ambivalence is seen from the psychological perspective.
Chapter four scrutinizes Hanif Kureishi’s My Son the Fanatic and Mohsin Hamid’s The
Reluctant Fundamentalist to bring forth ambivalence manifesting itself as inter-personal/intergenerational phenomenon and intra-personal phenomenon in nature.
Chapter five concludes that the second generation emigrants are not willing to tolerate
any discriminatory practices on the basis of caste, colour and creed. If their efforts to get
integrated in the mainstream society are not successful then some out of them may end up
aligning themselves politically with right wing, ultra conservative and nationalist forces. In times
of identity crisis they seek resolution by reconnecting with their socio-cultural roots.
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Chapter 2
Literature Review
Ambivalence, Mimicry, Hybridity: Post Colonial Critics’ Perspectives
Ambivalence implies indecisiveness as to which course to follow, out of two conflicting,
divergent and mutually exclusive ideas. As this study attempts to study Kureshi’s My Son the
Fanatic and Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist through the lense of Bhabha’s concepts like
‘ambivalence’ ‘mimicry’ and ‘hybridity’ as well as some other post- colonial theorists, the
present chapter shall provide an extensive literature review of the above-mentioned key
concepts. The thrust of literature produced by postcolonial diasporas reflects mixed feelings
through the dichotomies marking the lives of emigrants. Perpetually entangled love-hate
relationships, contradictions between ‘self’ and ‘other’, native-alien clash of cultures, hybridity
and sense of alienation and ultimate disillusionment prevail throughout the short story in one
way or the other. The thesis correlates Bhabha’s perception to understand the typical postcolonial
‘ambivalence’ which gets expert handling in the hands of Kureshi and Hamid. Commonly known
postcolonial terms make it convenient to dig deeply and analyze the predicament of the people
living their lives in transitional phase and constant state of flux. Ali, who represents the Asian
people, feels entrapped and bewildered in his native land for the condemned wretchedness
making him discard borrowed culture, language, fashion and style only to experience his father
embracing Western values, life style and world view as perfectly all right. This ever-prevailing
and ever-tormenting ambivalence in father- son genetic continuum of the family destabilizes
their lives totally.
Rocio G. Davis (2009) explores Kureishi’s novel in the context of relational
auto/biography. The thesis substantiates the idea that identity is essentially relational in nature
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and the formation of identity does not materialize in vacuum. It further states that identity is
defined and represented intersubjectively. It negates the Western traditional idea that one alone
defines him or herself. As Eakin (1999) argues, the first person in autobiography is, ‘truly plural
in its origins and subsequent formation,’ as it addresses ‘the extent to which the self is defined by
- and lives in terms of - its relations with others’ (43). ‘Relational life’ acknowledges the fact that
key influence on an autobiographer is exerted by his social environment. Role of family or
community and of other social institutions is of paramount importance in shaping up identity.
Within the family circle, central role is played by parents.
Susheila Nasta (2006) covered a conversation between Hanif Kureishi and Blake
Morrison in which Kureishi critically examines his act of writing about his father’s life. He
defines the nature of this act in his own words:
What is this act? It’s an act of love, it’s an act of betrayal, it’s an act of mummification it’s such a complicated thing, and you feel very guilty about it, yet as Blake says, it’s also
an act of restoration. (p.22)
Kureishi expresses his opinion very candidly when he precludes the possibility of
attaining reinvention in the case of his father as an immigrant. Identity catastrophe surfaces when
an immigrant realizes that his children are English while he is an Indian. Kureishi did not have
access to the past life of his parents and he tried to search out to find the thread to reconnect him
with their history and explore the lives of his parents in his works.
Ranjana Sidhanta Ash (1995) in her scholarly dissertation opines that Kureishi is
conscious of his Pakistani roots. He tackles the issue of racism and discriminatory attitude in his
writings. Writers of Asian origin portray double vision in their fictions. There is a strand of
realism as far as the phenomenon of displacement is concerned. Their realism is combined with
an imagined or self-made world which is nothing but the figment of their fertile imagination.
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Vijay Mishra (1996) in his thesis defines the features which draw a wedge between
literature of old diaspora and new diaspora. Both old and new diaspora, are germinated in the
seeds of capitalism. Old diaspora conforms to classical capitalism. New diasporas is located in
the timeframe from mid to late twentieth century and is interlinked with advanced stages of
capitalism. In spatial terms, it can be located in the metropolitan centres of the Empire. Hanif
Kureishi belongs to the age of new diaspora with his focus on mobility factor. Upward or vertical
social mobility is central to the psychological make-up of the characters belonging to new
diaspora. Diaspora of exclusivism (old diaspora) implanted spiritual values in their new abodes.
Diaspora of the border (new diaspora) stays in close contact with his family in his native country
and he is facilitated by the state institutions. These hyphenated bodies have an extreme form of
double consciousness intensified in a racial environment. They form an ethnic enclave through
their eye in their mind of belonging to a nation state. They form a political group of self-interest
and live in displacement. They form an image of nation state in their mind and relate to it. They
do not challenge the construction of ‘Nation Thing’. The writer puts forth the idea that nation is a
fiction because it is built around a narrative which is imaginatively constructed by its subjects.
The speedy flow of capital and ideas in modern world provide means to the modern immigrants
to monitor the political developments in his home country. Information highway have rendered
distances immaterial. Diasporic discourses of disarticulation (abandonment, displacement and
dispersion etc.) are matched by discourse of rearticulation of an intercultural formation. In the
face of rising tide of global migration, positioning of identities is necessitated. The researcher
finds that the homogenization of Indian diaspora in Britian and Canada in terms of politics of
disarticulation / rearticulaion has led them to the fetishisization of the new diaspora.
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Desire on the part of diaspora to reconnect to their socio-cultural roots is articulated by
Kureishi (1992) in the following words:
And indeed I know Pakistanis and Indians born and brought up here who consider their
position to be the result of a diaspora. They are in exile, awaiting return to a better place,
where they belong, where they are welcome. And there this ' belonging' will be total. This
will be home, and peace. (35)
Questions of class, gender and sexuality occupy central place in Kureishi’s work. He has
given central role to marginal classes in his work. In a conversation with Susie Thomas (2007),
replying to a question if he was conscious as a writer about ‘the burden of representation’ on his
shoulders, he responded in the affirmative. He conceded that at the early stage of his writing, he
tackled the issue of racism which he lived through at the Royal Court (Theatre).(p.4)
Ruvani Ranasinha (2009) mentions in the scholarly article that postcolonial writers try to
counter the narrative of their colonial masters by redefining and reconfiguring the concept of
racialized masculinity. The supremacy of colonial culture hinged on the definition of colonial
masculinity. Sinha (1995) observed that during the late 19th century, colonial narrative of the
“manly” Englishman was contrasted against the “unmanly” Bengali who is naturalized and
succumb to colonial dominance and it had everlasting implications (p.1–2). Nandy (1983)
mentioned that how British imperialism was resisted by Gandhi who subverted the colonial cult
of masculinity, and incorporated an alternative, “feminised” narrative of maleness (p.52–55).On
the other hand, Fanon (1986) proposes an aggressive hyper-masculinity which counters the
feminization of the colonial subject. Racialized masculinities are equated with contemporary
power structures by establishing linkages with gender, class, race and religion. This masculinist
perspective is challenged by postcolonial feminist, although they accept his concepts of race,
gender and colonialism. Lewis and Sara Mills (2003) point out that “the radicalisation of
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sexuality has also led to the rethinking of masculinity in the colonial and postcolonial
context”(p.11).
The main focus of Kureishi is on articulation of masculine identity. He draws a wedge
between masculinity which is defined in gender terms and separates it from the biological
definition of maleness. In his novels, there are points of intersection between race, culture,
religion and class. Kureishi rejects the racial classification done by the imperial masters. In his
texts, he portrays racialized masculinities that are constantly articulated and refined in
interactions among people. Kureishi Kureishi counters the masculine stereotypes in his early
plays where protagonists are portrayed as inclined towards militancy and they are defiant
second-generation British Asian youth in the 1980s.He gives a diametrically opposite picture
where British Asian males are engaged in pursuing their sexual drives in both first and second
generation characters. Characters of Haroon in The Buddha of Suburbia (1990); Parvez in My
Son the Fanatic (1997) are some relevant examples in this context. Male sexual identity is
explored in the pleasure seeking role.
Ruvani Ranasinha (2009) says that postcolonial masculine identity-formation is an intergenerational construct (298). In My Son the Fanatic (1997), Ali is at the crossroads as he has to
make a decisive choice in his life. He opts for radical version of Islam and rejects his white
girlfriend as separation of sexes is mandatory in Islam. Kureishi had been taking keen interest in
diasporic forms of radical Islam particular amongst the younger generation. He describes the
phenomenon in psychoanalytic terms by staging an Oedipal drama when an adolescent male
openly defies his fathers’ authority. In the story son of a second-generation Muslim establishes
the religious traditions and prohibitions that have been quit by his secular and liberal father.
Ideological battle becomes the central conflict in My Son the Fanatic. The son rejects the
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authority of his father Parvez because of his behavior does not conform to the laid down Islamic
rules and the son denounces the materialistic attitude of his father who has worked extremely
hard to provide for the needs of his son.
Commenting on the tendency of radicalization among British-born Muslims, Kureishi has
made the father/son relationship as a focal point in his story. He tackles that theme within the
overarching interlinking bond between race, Islam, masculinity and the West. Kureishi(2005)
comments on the issue in the following words:
Being more fervent Muslims than their parents – and even condemning their parents –
kept them within the Muslim fold, but enabled them to be transgressive at the same time.
It’s a difficult trick, to be simultaneously disobedient and conformist, but joining a cult or
political organisation can fit both needs. The puritanical young can defy their fathers, but
keep to the law of the ultimate Father. They are good, virtuous children, while rebelling.
(Word 8)
Kureishi finds a nexus between immigration, race, Islam, gender, sexuality, and the
perceptions of a “wealthy”, “sexualized” West “in a conspicuous age of plenty […], and in a
time of media expansion […] (All ‘sex and secularity over there, yaar’, as I heard it put.)”,
Kureishi sums it up in the words, “if you were in any sense a Third Worlder, you could either
envy Western ideals and aspire to them, or you could envy and reject them. Either way, you
could only make a life in relation to them” (“Sex” 84).
In My Son the Fanatic, there is a nexus between resurgent Islam and demonizing of the
West. It comes to the fore as misogynist violence against “Other” women perceived as depraved.
This is one of the ways for British Muslims to establish their masculinity. Kureishi’s portrays
fundamentalism and liberalism as sexualized discourses functioning in a dyad:
This fantasy of the Other is always sexual, too. The West is recreated as a godless
orgiastic stew of immoral copulation. If the black person has been demonised by the
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white, in turn the white is now being demonised by the militant Muslim. These fighting
couples can’t leave one another alone. (“Sex” 87)
Rehana Ahmed (2009) argues that My Son the Fanatic is a story of binary poles where
the illiberal pole is represented by the son, who becomes a full -fledged Islamic fundamentalist.
He gives the counter perspective of the liberal tolerance of his father. The dichotomy in the life
of father and son overwhelms the story by precluding the possibility of giving social context in
which choices are made. In the short story, when Ali tells his father ‘All over the world our
people are oppressed’, his point is diverted by Parvez’s confusion as to ‘who ‘‘our people’’ were.
In their heated arguments, the binary of homogeneous collective and heterogeneous individuality
reasserts itself and the issue of class goes in the background.
There is oft-quoted speech of ex Prime Minister of Britain, Margaret Thatcher, of May
1978. She mentioned in her speech of immigrants swamping Britain. The speech played a
decisive role in defining British identity with white colour and portrayed minorities as threat to
the unity and well being of the English nation. Britain tightened her rules to control the influx of
immigrants, particularly through the British Nationality Act of 1981.The act curbed the right of
non- white Commonwealth citizens to enter Britain; and an increasingly coercive authoritarian
state targeted minorities through highly repressive police tactics (Solomos 59/60; McLeod 130).
Felicity Hand (1995) refers to a speech of ex prime minister of Britain, Margaret
Thatcher. In that speech, she made an appeal to British people to adopt work ethos of the people
of Victorian era England to overcome economic hardships and achieve progress and prosperity
(Marwick, 1990: p.383). The author infers in his essay that Indians in modern day Britain are
more British in essence than the British people because they espouse moral values and
worldview of Britain of Victorian era. Immigrants of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are closer
17
to religions and they have closely knit family units. Their stable family lives enable them to be
the engine of growth of British economy and strength the social fabric by adopting puritanical
morality. It is in sharp contrast to the general moral decay amongst British younger generation
who resort to racial abuses in their interaction with immigrant races.
From cultural point of view, the presence of more than a million of Asians in Britain can
be termed as colonization in reverse. The presence of over a million Asians in Britain can be
viewed as cultural footprints of the Asians in British society. The Indians cannot remove the
cultural footprints of British from their language and history.(Ashcroft, et al. ,1989:pp.117123).Britain and British dominated the political and cultural landscape of India so their influence
in the cultural realm cannot be underestimated but cultural tradeoffs are not one way traffic.
British people should not be obsessed with the myth of their cultural purity. It demands more
inclusive approach on the part of British people with regard to their definition of Britishness.
Kureishi (1986) has mentioned this point in his writing in the following words:
It is the British, the white British, who have to learn that being British isn’t what it was.
Now it is a more complex thing, involving new elements. So there must be a fresh way of
seeing Britain and the choices it faces: and a new way of being British after all this time.
(p.38)
Ranjana Sidhanta Ash (1995) defines the term diaspora by classifying migration as a
transformative experience, in every sense of the term. She says that migration involves
displacement when a person leaves the familiar for the new environment. In the case of diaspora
the former colonized come back to the seat of power of the colonizers. In her opinion, it is
virtually impossible for diaspora writers to get rid of their colonial legacy “as it is manifest in
metropolitan racism, cultural and linguistic superiority and constant sense of being marginalized”
18
(p.47).In Rushdie’s (1983) words, a writer cannot escape the ‘elephant trap of a ghetto mentality’
(p.82).
Diaspora writing has been divided into three stages by Mukherjee (1985): first stage is of
the expatriate, second stage is of the immigrants and third stage is of the semi assimilated (p.14).While there are evolutionary cycles corresponding to the period of migration of South Asian
diaspora in Britain. There may be certain deviations from the above-mentioned broader scheme
of things.
Expatriates may remain aloof or detached from their new environment despite spending a
lifetime in their adopted countries. At the semi- assimilated stage, a writer starts living a
hyphenated existence as a 'British-Asian 'or 'Indo-British '. In the opinion of Bhabha (1994), this
experience creates 'the moment of panic which reveals the borderline experience'(p.207).
Rushdie has given many pertinent instances to elaborate the same point. It is a traumatic mental
state when the writer seems Janus-headed, where the past is gone and future is suspended in the
air. But for Randhawa (1987) or Srivasta (1992), there seems to be less panic but more irritation
as a writer has to confront imposed dualities and alleged conflicts. Memories cannot be erased so
easily.
Kureishi is placed by Ranjana Sidhanta Ash (1995) in the third type of diaspora writers,
who are semi-assimilated in their new abodes. The Bhuddha of Suburbia (1990) might have been
written by a totally assimilated or mainstream English writer because the play reflects in depth
knowledge and awareness of suburban British life and the popular culture of young Britain. The
writer also shows his acute understanding of Asian culture. Kureishi (1986) makes racism and
discriminatory attitudes as the main themes in his writings (p.35).
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Diaspora writers try to recover lost ground in their writings. They try to understand their
past by recognizing and appreciating it with the help of their words. For them, there is no turning
back from their binary vision as their faces are looking in opposite directions. Rushdie (1994)
sums up this traumatic experience of forces of pull in opposite directions in the the words, “...I ,
too, have ropes around my neck. I have them to this day, pulling me this way and that, East and
West, the nooses tightening, commanding, choose, choose” (p.211).
Jane Mattisson (2009) contends that Michael Ross takes a very serious view of humour.
If anyone cuts a joke, it implies underlying national attitudes. Humour is a social phenomenon
which has links with the power structures in a society. Ross (2006) proves that the form of racial
mockery which was a vital component of old literature has not vanished. Kureishi is an exponent
of newer form of comedy which connects to the sensibilities of the modern man in a compelling
manner.
Ross (2006) aims ‘‘to examine heuristically the ideological climate of comedy in a
variety of British fictional texts, without placing hermetic conceptual boundaries on [the]
analysis of any of them’’ (p. 22).Literature is always produced in a social milieu charged with
currents and cross currents of the era. Any insight in literary text warrants close examination of
its historical background and social landscape with all its peculiarities and eccentricities. Social
stereotypes are the results of biased approach in any given time and space.
Ross (2006) puts forth his point of view that the literature produced between two World
Wars has disdain for the non-Europeans. The racialized laughter of that period is not acceptable
to the modern readers; therefore, the necessity arises to have new form of comedy. Ross
scholarly work is meant to explore the complexity of racial humour and what is the role of
20
laughter in reinforcing or subverting racial stereotypes. He throws light to establish nexus
between humour and power. He sums it up by conveying the message that humour has to be
taken very seriously.
Fawzia Afzal‐Khan (1995) in her article takes stock of literary landscape of subcontinent,
which seems to be fragmented, polarized and divided all along the historical continuum. The
seeds of progressive writing in Indian subcontinent were germinated at the seminal stage and it
spread it tentacles in Urdu language, the language of the toiling masses. The progressive writers
became united and organized themselves to become a force to be reckoned with. Both schools of
thought tried to capture popular Muslim imagination with varying degree of success. Progressive
writers had to compete with nationalists and Islamists who made class struggle and equitable
redistribution of resources as centerpiece of their narrative. Nationalists and Islamists demanded
public space for their ideology by challenging the monopoly of liberals, secular, progressive and
socialist writers by articulating their views in the following words:
We ask, should literature be the mouthpiece of Communist social ideas only? Is there no
scope for the expression of Islamic views of life in literature? Why should Islamic
philosophy of morality not be allowed to illumine literature? (Abbasi, 1992, p.210).
Fawzia Afzal‐Khan (1995) questions the status of diaspora writers to be the true
representative of Pakistani literature, on the basis of their contents or intentions (p.59).She raises
this question with regard to Kureishi, who was born of a union between Pakistani father and
English mother. Kureishi grew up in England and spent formative years and most impressionable
period of his life in England.
Fawzia Afzal‐Khan (1995) observes that diaspora writers choose the themes of
alienation, racism and intensive soul searching. They shred to pieces the rampant corruption and
21
hypocrisy characterizing the national life of Pakistan and diaspora community. Diaspora writers
also critically look at the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Pakistan and they are given due
attention by their wary Western audience.
Muneeza Shamsie (2011) depicts the political landscape of Pakistan in the contemporary
era. She opines that polity in Pakistan is a hostage to the blowing winds of fundamentalism and
extremism. Pakistan is in the grip of militancy and violence. Geostrategic location of Pakistan
turned her into a conflict zone. Simultaneously, there are developments on the creativity front as
new avenues in arts; music and literature are being explored by Pakistani artists. English writers
of Pakistani origin have taken Pakistan to the global stage and made their presence felt in the
international arena.
Pakistani writers share with their sub continental cousins certain commonalities and
regional dynamics owing to their colonial history. At the same time Pakistani imagination is also
influenced by wider Islamic history. The multiple dimensions of history are embodied by the
geography of Pakistan. Pakistan is the seat of Indus Valley civilization where territories of both
sides of river Indus played a crucial role in chartering her cultural life. On the West of Pakistan is
Afghanistan and Iran and in the East of Pakistan is India. Writing about Pakistan, Chambers
(2011) says that “Pakistani and other writers of Muslim background draw upon, return to, and
build on a canon of largely Muslim writing and art from the subcontinent and Middle East”. She
takes a broader view and explores and compares the treatment of ancient Islamic myths and
modern day conflicts of 9/11, wars of Iraq and Afghanistan in the works of Muslim writers. She
portrays the pluralistic life and diversity.
22
Morey, P., & Yaqin, A. (2011) essay on The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007), evaluates
the rhetoric of Western commentators and extremists of politico-religious hue who justify their
acts of violence on the basis of “cultural differences”. Against this background, Morey terms
Hamid’s novel as “a sly intervention” which employs “the hoax confessional and dramatic
monologue forms” .The novel “effectively parodies cultural certainties” and demands a
“deterritorialized” reading.
Chambers (2011) in his scholarly dissertation throws light on the writers of fictions of
Pakistani origin and makes a comparative study in which he pitches them against Muslim writers
of Middle East, North Africa and diaspora community of Muslim writers. Shared Islamic culture
and history is a common thread among these writers, championing the cause of pan-Islamism.
Cultural legacy of Pakistan is quite rich as she has inherited her share of the cultural pie from the
era of pre-Islamic civilization and owing to her shared borders with many seats of culture due to
her geographical proximity with India, China, Afghanistan and Iran. This cultural capital “has
given Pakistani writers a particularly rich cultural heritage to draw on” (Shamsie, 1997, p.22).
Pakistan has a dynamic and vibrant culture as Pakistani society is a multi-lingual society.
After gaining independence from their British masters, some writers rejected the use of English
language to make a clean break from their colonial legacy and termed the use of English as the
language of elite class. Their protestations notwithstanding, most of Pakistani writers of
international repute, received their early education in elite class English medium schools. Their
mastery over the English language makes it easy for them to write in English than their own
national or regional languages. Most of them have cosmopolitan outlook because they are
engaging international audience.
23
Pakistani writers have taken Pakistani narrative to the global market and from 1990s
onwards, they have been in the media spotlight and acclaimed accolade from the international
community. Literary scene in Pakistan has changed from 1980s and 1990s and gives the post9/11 “renditions” of Pakistan as in the eye of the storm in the war on terror (Bennett-Jones,
2005).Many of these writers come from different socio-economic backgrounds and has the
ability to “live between East and West, literally or intellectually”(Shamsie,1997, p.24),and their
exuberance is reflected through their writing.
Western media have tried to dub Muslim writers as a monolithic group or homogeneous
entity but Chambers (2011) tries to explore heterogeneity among Muslim writers despite their
inheritance of Islamic heritage. This diversity is reflected in their creative works and conflicting
opinions. In spite of their differences of opinions, Pakistani writers and other Muslim writers
generally draw upon, return to and build on a canon of Muslim writing of Pakistan and Middle
East.
It was stated explicitly by the founder of the Pakistani nation, Quaid-i- Azam Muhammad
Ali Jinnah, to safeguard the rights and interests of Muslims as the largest minority group of
India. Although he was secular minded but “Jinnah inadvertently opened the door to religion
being privileged over all other components of identity (Shamsie, 2009, pp.29–35). After the
creation of Pakistan “Islamic” was the buzz word rather than “Muslim”. The state made
deliberate attempt to define the ideological contours of Pakistan in heated debates in public
discourse. A hegemonic version of Islam was an official priority of the Pakistani state and the
1956 constitution of Pakistan and subsequent constitutional amendments catered to this need.
The fall of Dhaka of 1971 and fissures among units of federation negate the potential of Islamic
ideology to serve as a binding factor or unifying force.
24
Some landmark episodes and events on international calendar such as of Salman
Rushdie, the two Gulf wars, 9/11 twin towers collapse in United States of America and the
resultant war on terror,7/7 London bombing, Madrid train blasts, Iraq and Afghanistan war, all
influenced in shaping up identity of Pakistanis as essentially Muslim identity. All these events
happened between 1989 to 2005.Hall (1994) says in this regard that identity is a protean thing
which is constantly being defined and redefined (pp.392-403). Islam constitutes a cardinal
principle and vital component of Muslims’ identity. Muslim writers from different Islamic
countries have different ideological leanings but they all share a common denominator in the
form of Islamic history and heritage. Islam shaped the identity of Muslims and non-Muslims
alike in Islamic countries.
Diaspora refers to unwilling displacement, oppression and exile. But in a world
characterized by unprecedented rate of change, diaspora draw the attention of group of people
diverse in nature. These people may be displaced persons and communities spread all across the
globe. Brah’s (1996) suggests that religion “underpin[s] a complex intersection” between more
generally discussed dimensions of diasporic identity which includs gender, class, caste and
ethnicity.
Muslim rituals of prayers, fasting in Ramadan and Hajj at the central place of Makkah, all
contribute in feeling a strong imagined community. Writings of Muslims contribute in living this
notion of imagined community of Muslim ummah through the mental eye. Particularly the rituals
of Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah), reinforce the idea of an underlying system and projects the
image of global Muslim community. So writings of Muslims are not confined to colonialism or
neo-colonialism or West but transcend these boundaries and enable Muslim readers to envision
themselves as single entity which is tied together by Islamic ethos. Mandaville (2001) observes
25
that “[t]he ‘debate’ between Islam and the West is certainly important, but we have allowed it to
so over-determine our perceptions of Islam that crucial contestations and negotiations within
Islam go unnoticed” (p.2-3).
It is an erroneous perception that Pakistani authors are only concerned with challenging
the idea of Western orientalism, a view which is encouraged by partial reading of postcolonial
theory. Malak (2005) suggests that “Muslim narrative writers [ … ] project the culture and
civilization of Islam from within” (p.2), and the texts they produce try to dramatize this idea of
an insider’s view of Islam. These novelists remove the Muslim from the position of the Other
and create many possibilities for depiction of the Muslims. Ever since the dawn of 21st century,
West has been in the grip of Islamophobia and waged wars of questionable legality. With the
incorporation of stricter counter-terrorism legislations, more writers are attempting to represent
Muslim identity than ever before.
Chambers (2011) says that Muslim writers counter the monolithic image of Muslims in
public discourse in West. Incidents of terrorism in Western metropolitan cities triggered race
riots in many localities. All sane voices condemned tragic and horrific incidents of terrorism in
Western capitals.
Disproportionate reaction to the incident of 9/11 was uncalled for.
Indiscriminate use of force against innocent denizens of Muslim countries further vitiated the
environment. Stringent security measures introduced by Western establishment were highly
discriminatory which disillusioned and alienated many emigrants. Foreign policy choices made
by big wigs produced cataclysmic reverberation in Muslim countries. For the crime of a few
idiots, all were labeled, branded and punished.
26
In the wake of 9/11, Hamid’s protagonist Changez feels compelled to go back to Pakistan
after the change of attitude towards him. Changez is aware of other Pakistanis being beaten and
arrested. He experienced verbal abuse from strangers and “become[s] overnight a subject of
whispers and stares” (p.130) Kureishi (2008) keeps a track of changing attitudes towards British
Muslims by highlighting the changing names used for them, from “blacks” to “Asians” and now
“Muslims” (pp.36–37). Modood (2005) also highlights the same phenomenon (.p. 3–7). Kureishi
(2008) explores increasing Islamophobia in a Britain where Muslims’ “fortunes and fears rose
and fell according to the daily news” (p.14), and “Mussie”, “hamhead” and “allahAllah-bomb”
(p.320) were new insults.
Bauman (1991) establishes a nexus among modernity, bureaucracy, rationality and social
exclusion. Bauman conceptualizes that members of European society in modern times, have paid
a prize by sacrificing civil liberties and their degree of freedom. In the trade off for
compromising to the extent of their personal freedom, modern man in European society gets the
benefits of increased individual security. Modernity is equated with certainty in a solid form
where there is no space for unknowns and uncertainties. Hallmarks of modernity include the
desire to harness the forces of nature, presence of hierarchical bureaucratic organizations, rules
and regulations, control and categorization. All these systems are instituted to safeguard personal
securities. Social life is regulated to replace chaos from life and make it appear as well-organized
and familiar. Bauman (1989) identifies “gardening, breeding, surgical” ambitions of the nation
state.
Bauman (1991) asserts that endeavors of human beings to impose order on otherwise
chaotic human experiences, cannot meet the end objective. When life is categorized into familiar
and manageable parts, there are certain social groups who cannot be regulated, segregated and
27
controlled. In order to brand this person who cannot be compartmentalized in the mind map,
Bauman uses the allegorical figure of ‘the stranger’. Bauman’s concept is influenced by a
sociologist, Georg Simmel and from the philosophy of Jacques Derrida. Bauman theorizes that
stranger is person who is present yet unfamiliar so his final position or status in the society has
not been determined. The nation state, Bauman (1989) argues “is designed primarily to deal with
the problem of strangers not enemies” (p. 63). Bauman argues that “with the adoption of
functional differentiation individual persons can no longer be firmly located in one single
subsystem of society, but rather must be regarded a priori as socially displaced”( p.201).Bauman
infers that “strangehood” is the universal condition of modern individuality and personal life.
Bauman (1989) dilates his point further by saying that modern society adopts different
approaches towards the stranger. On a positive note , in a consumer based society the strange and
the unfamiliar evinces keen interest; in different varieties of food, diversity in fashions and
tourism there is a possibility to experience the captivating and thrilling drama of what is
unfamiliar. Yet being strange has loaded negative side. The stranger, who is outside the purview
of control and order, is feared. At public places, he is looked at with suspicious eyes. The
stranger is a constant potential source of threat to society because his place is outside of society’s
border.
Werbner (2000) says that for division of any society, sociologists use the concepts of
class, gender and race. Diasporas are differently positioned by them. Anthropologist and other
dispora theorists highlight the phenomenon of associational and political divisions. They also
focus on the aspects of cultural conservatism, degree of assimilation, or points of rupture or
deviations among diaspora from their new countries. Whatever parameters for divisions are
identified, it is widely shared among diaspora theorists that heterogeneity is the hallmark of
28
diaspora community and they cannot be categorized as a monolithic or homogenous group.
Though, this fact is highlighted by many theorists as new discovery. (Anthias, 1998; Brah, 1996;
Clifford, 1994; Tölölyan,1996).
Anthias (1998) says that diaspora maintain multiple types of alliances and organizational
activity and it is a well documented fact in literature. In My Son the Fanatic, Kureishi portrays
father as the figure of tolerance amongst others conservative family elders. The writer maintains
the same strand in many of his other plays as well. In his plays struggle or conflict between
generations is straightforward.
Racism in a politically charged environment was on its peak in United Kingdom and
stereotyping was the order of the day. “Being South Asian is a racialised identity in Britain and
South Asians are subject to racist stereotyping, vilification and even physical attack”. (Werbner,
2004, p.902)
Werbner (2004) says it was difficult to imagine unity in British South Asian Muslims
because they were divided on the basis of sectarianism and national identities. But they closed
their ranks abruptly and forged unity in them in the wake of Rushdie affairs. In moments of crisis
they became one entity and asserted their political power through street agitation. Islam provided
them the basis for solidarity during trials and tribulations. He says:
Since the Rushdie affair, a series of other crises has disrupted any processes of
integration into Britain and induced a sense of widening alienation. The Gulf War,
Bosnia, Palestine, Kashmir, Chechnya, September 11, the nuclear confrontation between
India and Pakistan, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, have all mobilized Pakistanis and
other Muslims on the streets of Britain, with Muslim representatives regularly invited to
Downing Street and Muslim MPs openly protesting against the wars in Afghanistan and
Iraq.( Werbner,2004, p.905)
29
Religious fervor on the part of the Muslims is questioned by mainstream British press as
they start doubting the loyalty of British Muslims with United Kingdom in the following words:
Stripped of its experimental dimensions, beyond personal belief, Islam is now an
oppositional badge. We may speak of an identity-led religiosity. This has led to serious
questioning in British press and media of the loyalty of young, second generation British
Muslims and the extent of their identification with British society.( Werbner,2004, p.906)
The conflicting images in the global politics were further compounded by racial riots in
some localities in United Kingdom. It further alienated the Muslims from mainstream society. In
a charged racial environment, some young Muslims joined radical and extremist organizations
such as Taliban.
Pakistanis in Britain identify deeply with the plight of Palestinians, Bosnians, Kashmiris,
Afghans or Iraqis. They see the West, and especially the United States, as an oppressor.
The result has been rather than peaceful integration, Muslims diaspora community in
Britain has had to lurch from one crisis to another, from the Rushdie affair to Gulf War to
September 11. (p.907)
Anker (2011) reproduces a quote to highlight the fact that allegories are in the realm of
thought but history is a form of recorded events in sequential and matter of fact manner.
Allegories are important and central to the psychological make-up of human beings as they are
impressionistic and symbolic in their conception. History entails a decaying process but
allegories give events a lease of life by imprinting them in memory and thought process of
human beings. The quote goes as:
In the ruin history has physically merged into the setting. And in this guise history does
not assume the form of the process of an eternal life so much as that of irresistible decay.
Allegory thereby declares itself to be beyond beauty. Allegories are in the realm of
thoughts, what ruins are in the realm of things”. (Walter Benjamin, 1977)
Anker (2011) says that the concept of allegory put forth by Walter Benjamin is a suitable
form for imprinting in our mind’s eye, a chaotic world which is fragmented and in ruins.9/11
30
novels have extensively used allegories to portray the literal and the figural debris of the event.
The genre of 9/11 novel can be termed as political allegories which try to grapple moments of
historical fissures and the process of decay induced by the event of 9/11.The genre challenges the
postmodern narrative espoused by the Western world
quintessentially
in the wake of an event which is
postmodern. The edifice of postmodernism is premised on the separation
between private and public life. The stringent security measures adopted by United States of
America compromised on the private life of individuals and public sphere encroached upon
private sphere. Boundaries between public life and private life are smashed forever.
Anker (2011) says that the event of 9/11 is fraught with socio-political meanings. The
protagonists in 9/11 genre of novels suffer from adolescent crises epitomizing impotence of the
sole superpower of the world. The process of decadence produces ripple effects in monetary,
military and geo-political dominance of America in the world. It sets in motion the American
establishment and military juggernaut to restore the power equilibrium. American state becomes
more paternal in its complexion by instituting multiple security checks and safeguards. 9/11 is a
traumatic day in the national memory of United States of America and it can be interpreted and
analyzed from different perspectives. A dominant theme in 9/11 genre of novels is the restoration
of father- son filial bond which is disrupted and jeopardized by the fateful event.
Gray (2011) says “The cataclysmic events of 9/11 are part of the soil, the deep structure
lying beneath and shaping the literature of the American nation…a recalibration of feeling so
violent and radical that it resists and compels memory” (p.129) Something has changed both
symbolically and literally with the fall of twin towers, as the ultimate symbol of American
dominance in economy and trade. Simultaneously brazen attack on Pentagon symbolized a
challenge to American military dominance. The myth of American invincibility was shattered to
31
pieces in broad day light and relayed worldwide on television screens globally repeatedly. Gray
(2011) states that 9/11 novels give the sense “of those events as a kind of historical and
experiential abyss, a yawning and possibly unbridgeable gap between before and after” (p.130).
Responding very quickly to the 9/11 attacks, a grand national narrative of revenge was
built. It prepared the citizens of United States of America for adoption of a military strategy
which is termed as the war on terror ( Duvall et al., 2011. p.381).There were some dissenting
voices within America to view the world either as ‘Friend or Enemy’ or either a country was
with us (America) or with them (terrorists). In common language it is known as ‘Us against
Them’ – narrative. The American Government and its allied political parties gave an impetus to
revenge narrative. A story of Good’s righteous fight against all Evil was constructed. (Lewis et
al.2002, p.125, 126). This dualistic narrative helped to intensify the public sentiments of the US
society and provided a larger framework in which to position the individual. Tragic incident of
9/11 was described in superlative terms such as ‘unforeseen’, ‘unimaginable’, and ‘unique’. The
use of terms or jargons helped to foster the perception of the attacks as a “holocaustal event”
(White, 1996. p.22). Analogies were drawn with the attacks of Pearl Harbour by anchors, media
persons and politicians to reinforce the victim narrative. It portrayed the self-image of an
innocent victim who had been provoked to take revenge. The theme of nation’s victimization
was used as a justification for outward aggression. Smelser (2004) argues that this psyche of selfvictimization developed through almost mythical narratives derived from recent US history has
frequently been used to forge unity among the nation under one grand political agenda. (p.272)
In the wake of 9/11, public discourse immediately declared the start of a new era, the socalled ‘post-9/11 era’ (Rich, 2004.pp.109-115). The event was described as traumatic. The
postmodern notion of trauma is deeply rooted in psychoanalysis and is heavily influenced by the
32
research of Freud. According to Turim (2001), a Freudian perspective of trauma includes “all
configurations of loss that remind us profoundly of all deep wounds to the psyche (the self or
ego)” (p.206). The term trauma is used to diagnose individuals who have been the victims of
violent assaults either on their body or psyche, including
...physical attack, robbery, mugging, sexual assault, being kidnapped, being taken
hostage, terrorist attack, torture, incarceration as prisoner of war or in a concentration
camp, natural or manmade disasters, severe automobile accidents, or being diagnosed
with a life-threatening illness. (APA, 1994, p.424)
Since trauma is interlinked to the notions of remembering and mourning, it also becomes
integral part of the ‘collective turn’. The postmodern discussion of trauma is premised around the
field of memory and remembering (Meek, 2010, p.178-179) and resultant debates about
formation of collective identity through unifying narratives that bank on history. It is in this
context that trauma narratives are applied. It implies victimization and social groups who identify
with traumatic events, strengthen their group identities in multiple ways, e.g. the
‘Americanization’ of the Holocaust debate in the 1990s, which, exploited the historical massacre
into an “affirmative national parable” (Bond, 2011, p.733) Sielke (2010) argues that the event of
9/11 helped in the formation of identical unifying parable with the implied victimization of US
society as the event is characterized as traumatic in nature (p.388).
Bengtson (2002) critically examines the institution of family and relationships among its
members from different angles in his scholarly dissertation. In the field of sociology, family as a
unit is examined from two perspectives. Solidarity theory propounds that relationships among
family members at intergenerational level are firm and makes a family cohesive and well knit
social unit. On the other hand, family is also portrayed in such a manner where family members
33
experience ambivalent feelings at different points of time; vacillating between love and hate at
two ends of the spectrum (p.568).
Bengtson (2002) asserts that ambivalence is an appropriate term to describe the
contradictions which is experienced by human beings in their close social relationships (p.568).
Ambivalence can be felt in the form of inconsistency between closeness and distance, the push
and pull between closeness and setting limitations. Ambivalence is a phenomenological reality, a
general human experience, a sign of the dilemma we face in close relationships.
The concept of intergenerational ambivalence was first proposed by Luscher and Pillemer
(1998) and later expanded by other researchers, which helped to conceptualize and theorize
family relationships. The question arises how to fine tune and operationalize this concept in
order to provide better understanding of family relationships. How does it relate to other, more
established concept, such as what has become known as the intergenerational solidarity
paradigm.
Luscher & Pillemer (1998) theorizes that intergenerational relationships have been
evaluated in narrow conceptual framework. Intergenerational relationships are examined from
the perspectives of solidarity or conflict paradigm. He opines that ambivalence is a better
organizing principle for evaluating intergenerational relationships. He says that relationships
among family members are structured in such a manner that they generate various types of
ambivalence. The researcher proceeds to analyze three aspects of intergenerational relationships
that are likely to be ambivalent in their nature.
The proponents of intergenerational solidarity neutralize Parsons's (1942, 1944) concern
that the modern nuclear family runs the risk of isolation as they put forth the idea that solidarity
34
in family is quite extensive and deep rooted (Litwak, 1965; Shanas et al., 1968; Sussman,
1959).Since 1970s, Bengtson and his co-researchers have continued and fortified this notion
through a series of articles and books (cf. Bengtson & Harootyan, 1994; Roberts, Richards, &
Bengtson, 1991; Silverstein & Bengtson, 1997; Treas & Bengtson, 1988). The solidarity
perspective has been further cemented by other researchers in the United States (Rein, 1994;
Rossi & Rossi, 1990) and is also a point of reference for European authors, although they do
not overlook the pitfalls associated with the proposition(Attias-Donfut, 1995b; Bawin-Legros,
Gauthier, & Strassen, 1995; Coenen-Huther, Kellerhals, & von Allmen, 1994; Donati,
1995; Finch & Mason, 1993).
Some researchers have objected to positive overtones of solidarity framework and in their
opinion it smacks of consensual bias. It is assumed by the exponents of solidarity framework that
feelings of affection, attraction and warmth on the part of an individual, serve to maintain
harmony in the family system (Sprey, 1991). Marshall, Matthews, and Rosenthal (1993) are of
the view that the very term "solidarity" places a great deal of emphasis on consensus. Roberts et
al. (1991) observes that solidarity "has been treated as the engine driving the pursuit of the
common good within families" (p. 12). Absence of solidarity in a family life is treated as a
negative aspect in the solidarity framework. Research in this vein has centralized shared values
across generations, standard benchmark to provide help to a family member in distress, and
everlasting ties between parents and children. Shared values across generations are of paramount
importance for cohesion among family members, the absence of which can weaken the family
ties considerably.
On the other hand, the proponents of conflict theory make isolation, caregiver stress,
family problems, conflict of interest or in values, and abuse as the focal points of their theory
35
(Marshall et al.,1993).The contemporary fiction also highlights the view that family ties have
weakened over the period of time. Abandonment of aged parents by many working class
professionals lends credence to this popular opinion. So many scholars and general public are not
willing to believe that the institution of family has not been weakened and that there is mutual
help and shared values among family members. As Marshall and co-researchers have summed it
up in the words that, "the substantive preoccupations in gerontology over the past 30 years point
to a love-hate relationship with the family" (p. 47).
Luscher et al. (1998) say that there are two dimensions of ambivalence which have
bearing on the intergenerational relationships. One aspect is identified as sociological
ambivalence which manifests itself in socio-structural positions. The other aspect is identified as
psychological ambivalence which is experienced on the individual level. In his assessment; both
dimensions have bearing in the adulthood period of parent-child relationships.
The term sociological ambivalence was coined by Merton and Barber (1963) in an article
and later on Coser (1966) expanded their argument. Merton and Barber theorize sociological
ambivalence as "incompatible normative expectations of attitudes, beliefs, and behavior" (pp. 9495). These incompatible expectations may be ascribed to or built into a particular status or
different statuses within a society or even within a one-dimensional role of a single status. In this
way, "the core-case of sociological ambivalence puts contradictory demands upon the occupants
of a status in a particular relation" (p.96). Sociological ambivalence in their analysis refers to
"opposing normative tendencies in the social definition of a role" (p. 99). Thus, as Coser (1996)
observes, sociological ambivalence is "built into the structure of statuses and roles"(p. 175).
36
Merton and Barber analyze those norms and counter-norms in a dynamic organization
that combine to produce ambivalence. Ambivalence is the result of these norms competing to
make contradictory demands in the form of actions and attitudes. Merton and Barber give the
example of a physician to prove their point. The physician is supposed to be professionally
detached as well as having the qualities of compassion and concern for his patients. In the field
of sociology, the research work has continuously highlighted conflicting demands within an
individual's role systems and examined contradictions in the objective demands of roles (O'Neil
& Greenberger, 1994; see also the interchange with Marks, 1994).
Two other influential theories also supplement the stance taken by sociological
ambivalence; namely post-modern theory and feminism. The dominant theme of post-modernist
theory is that in modern society fixed relationships have weakened and guidance by society to
rectify the broken relationships has virtually disappeared. The social landscape in post-modern
era is characterized by rapid pace of change on huge scale. These developments have impacted
the human relationships very heavily, resulting into sense of fragmentation and discontinuity.
There is confusion and uncertainty about the mode of conduct of social relations. (Denzin, 1991;
Gergen, 1991).
Postmodernist conceptualize family life in pluralistic term (Baber & Allen, 1992;
Gubrium
&
Holstein, 1994) which manifests itself in many forms,
such
as
divorce,
remarriage, "blended" families, and same-sex partnerships. Stacey (1990) observes that in
postmodern perspective, "contemporary family relationships are diverse, fluid, and unresolved"
(p.17). Work in the field of sociology is required that can interpret "today's deeply polarized
discourse on American family life" (p.
19). Thus, the postmodern brings to limelight
37
heterogeneity and paradox. Post modernity rejects reductionistic theories and suggests that
ambivalence can be a useful gadget or toolkit to analyze intergenerational relations.
There is consensus amongst post modernist that contemporary social life is characterized
with contradictory pull and push when an individual is subjected to countervailing ideas and
pressures on a huge scale than ever before. Vander Loo and van Reijen (1992) have dexterously
handled this issue. They observe that there are fundamental contradictions between the demands
of personal liberty and the larger demands of community. On the one hand, there is a demand for
individual freedom of action and simultaneous desire for institutional support. Families are not
exempted from such "multiple reality claims" (Holstein & Gubrium, 1995; see Stacey, 1990,
for numerous empirical examples).
Second important perspective which highlights social ambivalence is of feminism.
Feminist theory questions the hypothesis that there is convergence of interests among family
members. In this way, feminist discourse highlights a variety of issues, from birth control to the
household division of labor and parenthood. In this way, feminists have brought the issue of
conflict of interest within contemporary families to the mainstream public discourse (Thorne,
1992). Ferree (1990) observes that the feminist approach to the family challenges the concept
of solidarity, by which is meant "the conventional conceptualization of 'the family' as a
unitary whole" (p. 867).
Feminist discourse brings the issue of sociological ambivalence to the centre stage by
asserting its penetration in family relations, particularly from the standpoint of women. Role of
women as caregivers involve contradictory demands. In this contextual framework, Abel and
Nelson (1990) have highlighted the interlinking themes of autonomy and nurturance. They
38
observe that caring for children or handicapped relatives can be interpreted as a step towards
maturity and self-development which develops a sense of self-integrity and affinity with other
family members. The role of caregiver is humanizing, adds meanings to life, and self-fulfilling.
At the same time, it can be seen as potentially oppressive step if it becomes part and parcel of the
structure of women's roles. Women can be overburdened by care giving duties and can be
separated from the larger society, including the place of work. The care giving role is
monotonous and repetitive in nature.
Ambivalence can be analyzed from psychological perspective, particularly in the
backdrop of clinical and psychological literature available with regard to human development. In
psychology Bleuler (1911), is considered to be the person who conceived the term, and later
Freud (1913) and other psychoanalysts (Eidelberg, 1968; Rycroft, 1973) used the term.
Ambivalence in psychology is defined as coexistence of the feelings of love and hatred towards
the same individual (typically a parent). Erikson's (1994) put forth the epigenetic theory of
psychosocial development which places ambivalence at the centre stage. Young children
vacillate between autonomy versus shame as they pass through a stage marked with conflicts
between two tendencies. This stage leads to the next stage of development which determines the
quality of relations between parents and children.
In sociology, the phenomenon of ambivalence has been dealt with by the literature
targeting sociology of emotions. Weigert (1991) defines the term to "the experience of
contradictory emotions toward the same object" (p.21). Weigert is of the opinion that
ambivalence can be observed in individual motivations: that is, "simultaneous attraction to
and repulsion from pursuing a particular line of action" (p.19). Generally speaking, the term
conveys the meaning of holding countervailing emotions, motivational impulses, or values
39
simultaneously. A relevant research in this context is Dressel and Clark's (1990) work on
"emotive dissonance". Their research primarily focused on caring activities for children and life
partners. Respondents in their research findings reported contradictory emotions about the
provision of care giving experience. They reported the blending of feelings of warmth and
delight which existed side by side with feelings of frustration and disappointment.
Luscher et al. (1998) uses the term "intergenerational ambivalence" in his dissertation
(p.416).He specifically uses the term to designate contradictions in relationships between parents
and grown up adults that leave no space for reconciliation. The concept is purported to have two
dimensions. On the one hand, there are contradictions which manifest at social structural level.
There is evidence in the form of institutional capital and requirements, such as social statuses,
roles to be played, and norms to be adhered to. On the other hand, there are contradictions at the
subjective level. These types of contradictions are experienced in terms of cognition, emotions,
and motivational impulses.
The connotations of the term “ambivalence” are uncertainty and lack of clarity in the
institution of family where the roles of family members are insecure or roles have not been
defined well. In this scenario, members of family are not in the position to get the facts which
they need to take befitting action (Boss, 1988). There is a possibility that ambiguity adds to
ambivalence, but it cannot be inferred at this stage that ambiguity implies existence of
contradictory perceptions or emotions. It has been observed in close relationships, that when the
relationships are well defined, the simultaneous existence of positive and negative feelings start
playing a huge role (Thompson & Holmes, 1996).
40
Luscher et al. (1998) identify three potential sources of ambivalence. First source of
ambivalence is between dependence and autonomy. Second source of ambivalence is conflicting
norms with regard to intergenerational relations. Third type of ambivalence is a result of
solidarity.
In adult age, ambivalence can be observed between the desire of parents and children for
mutual help and support. Both parties seek nurturance along with the countervailing pressures
for freedom from the parent-child relationship (cf. Cohler, 1983; Cohler & Altergott, 1995;
Moss & Moss, 1992). Cohler and Grunebaum (1981) describe this ambivalence very aptly:
There is a paradox in contemporary society where, on the one hand, it is believed
that adults will strive to become both psychologically and economically autonomous
and self-reliant, while, on the other, findings from systematic investigations of family
life show that dependence across the generations is the typical mode of
intergenerational relations, including the interdependence of very old parents on their
middle- aged offspring. (p. 10)
Nydegger and Mitteness (1991) found a great deal of ambivalence in close father-son
relationships at the later stages of their lives. Fathers and sons show solidarity but also "inherent,
sustained tensions" (p. 257).They observe that fathers want sons to become independent, but at
the same time they are not willing to relinquishing authority.
Second source of ambivalence is conflicting norms with regard to intergenerational
relations. Norms are generally accepted rules that specify required behavior under particular
circumstances. These rules stipulate the obligations of individuals who have certain social
positions. The obligations determine how an individual is supposed to think or act. Moreover,
norms indicate a great degree of social consensus about what are contents of norms and the
desired degree of compliance with it (Rossi & Rossi, 1990). The area of investigation of
intergenerational ambivalence is conflict between norms, methods used to manage such
41
conflicts, and the way the resulting ambivalence affects the lives of individuals. Already, it has
been mentioned that the role of family caregiving contains the existence of conflicting norms,
and the way it causes ambivalence both for the parents and the children.
The
studies undertaken
by Cohler and Grunebaum (1981) and George
(1986)
established that families which have solidarity at all levels in the form of close proximity and
deep rooted culture of mutual dependence for assistance, are more vulnerable to experience
solidarity's opposites: extreme dissatisfaction about the relationship, desire for independence,
and serious conflict.
These findings are supplemented
by the literature
on romantic
relationships, which indicate that interdependence tends to increase the chances of conflict
(Braiker & Kelley, 1979).
In the discipline of sociology, ambivalence was thoroughly investigated both as an
independent and a dependent variable. Cohler and Grunebaum's (1981) have made ambivalence
as a dependent variable. They evaluated factors like family history and shared living measures as
main contributing factors of ambivalence. George (1986) in his study, considered normative
ambivalence as an independent variable and examined the role of ambivalence as a
potential source of negative effect among caregivers. Likewise, Pillemer (1986, 1993) pointed
out ambivalence with regard to dependency as a forecaster of elder abuse.
The effects of intergenerational ambivalence merit to be fully investigated. It is generally
assumed that ambivalence is always a bitter experience which leads to psychological distress.
But, Thompson and Holmes (1996), did their research work in the area of romantic relationships.
They found out that possessing both positive and negative feelings towards another person may
not necessarily reflect personal disturbance. Instead, they suggest, "a moderate level of
42
ambivalence may be indicative of a balanced, realistic assessment of a partner" (p.
502).Their view is consistent with Farber's (1989) study. To some extent, a degree of
ambivalence can act as a protective function. The effects of ambivalence both psychologically
and behavior wise is a rich area for study.
Due attention needs to be paid to mechanisms for managing intergenerational
ambivalence. One possibility in this regard is separation of the generations. If the spheres of life
are divided, it may sufficient breathing space between old and young, supplemented by
segregation in residences (Graff, 1995; Stearns, 1986.)When segregation by time and space is
impossible, Coser (1966) and others (Boehm, 1989; Foner, 1984; Marshall et al., 1993)
suggest the significance of ritual and etiquette as mechanisms for tension-reduction. In modern
society, the missing links are segregation and insulation mechanisms. The way old rites are
preserved and handed over to next generation in some traditional societies, may be the cause to
increase ambivalence.
Luscher et. al (1998) suggests for the adoption of a dynamic life course approach for
tackling the issue of intergenerational ambivalence. Coser (1966) mentions that during status
transitions phase, ambivalence will be at its peak because in "changing from one status position
to another, conformity with the requirements of one of these positions implies nonconformity
with the requirements of another" (p. 144).The available body of knowledge on intimate
relationships supplements this view. For instance, research indicates that at the early stages of a
romantic relationship there is greater degree of ambivalence but it decreases later on (Braiker &
Kelley, 1979). Boss (1988) observes that major transitional periods in family are characterized
by ambivalence; as they generally involve profit and loss. There is a pertinent example in this
43
context, when a child leaves his parental home, "the family loses a dependent child, but gains an
independent young adult" (p. 79).
It is a very significant point that about three quarters of the people who are living in the
world today got heavily influenced by the experience of colonialism (Ashcroft, Griffiths, &
Tiffin, 1989, p.1). Thus the term post-colonial connotes all the heavy footprints that colonization
has had on culture until the present (Ashcroft et al.1989, p. 2).Since colonialism is an external act
to achieve politico-economic hegemony but it leaves its scars on the soul of the people which
resurface as ambivalence or if cultures are integrated then as hybridity. Hybridity and
ambivalence are different from each other. They are different in their meanings and in their
implications. The one is the effect of the other one. Huddart (2006) says that ambivalence is
integral to the features of hybridity. The postcolonial presses the notion that identities are binary,
recognizing instead that they are “sites of ambiguities internal and external to the self.” The
integral part is hybridity rather than assimilation on the one hand or diversity on the other.
Although hybridity refers to culture and discourse, at the primary and basic level it is an
experience of identity transformation that is an inherent part of any colonial encounter.
Bhabha (1984) equates mimicry with double articulation and double vision is because of
partial representation:
Mimicry is, thus, the sign of a double articulation; a complex strategy of reform,
regulation, and discipline, which "appropriates" the Other as it visualizes power.
Mimicry is also the sign of the inappropriate, however, a difference or recalcitrance
which coheres the dominant strategic function of colonial power, intensifies
surveillance, and poses an immanent threat to both "normalized" knowledges and
disciplinary powers. (p.126)
44
Bhabha (1984) further explains that mimicry can never be exact but it will be either in
excess or deficient in some way or manner. He elucidates his point of view in the following
words:
It is from this area between mimicry and mockery, where the reforming, civilizing
mission is threatened by the displacing gaze of its disciplinary double, that my
instances of colonial imitation come. What they all share is a discursive process by
which the excess or slippage produced by the ambivalence of mimicry (almost the
same, but not quite) does not merely "rupture" the discourse, but becomes transformed
into an uncertainty which fixes the colonial subject as a "partial" presence. (p.127)
Bhabha (1984) quotes Sigmund Freud when he examines the notion of “origins” in the
following words:
Their mixed and split origin is what decides their fate. We may compare them with
individuals of mixed race who taken all round resemble white men but who betray
their coloured descent by some striking feature or other and on that account are
excluded from society and enjoy none of the privileges.(p.130)
Bhabha’s range of ideas is based on fundamental concepts of ambivalence, hybridity,
liminality and mimicry. In his assessment, these ideas are the engine of growth of any culture.
These notions are at the center stage for making any culture vibrant, dynamic and an ever
evolving phenomenon. Ambivalence and hybridity act as tools and instruments at the disposal of
the colonized to fight the dominant narrative of the colonizers. These notions also work in
reflexive manner to shake off the colonizers. Ambivalence, hybridity, liminality and mimicry
….describe ways in which colonized peoples have resisted the power of the colonizer, a
power that is never as secure as it seems to be….Instead of seeing colonialism seeing
something locked in the past, Bhabha shows how it histories and cultures constantly
intrude on the present, demanding that we transform our understanding of cross cultural
relations. The authority of dominant nations and ideas is never as complete as it seems,
because it is always marked by anxiety, something that enables the dominated to fight
back. To demonstrate this anxiety, Bhabha looks back to the histories of colonialism.
(Hudart, 2006, p.1)
Bhabha (1990) asserts that there is no running away for the White Man from his
imperialistic legacy. As the history of colonization comes to haunt and torment the Occidental,
45
the sadistic pleasure that they enjoyed without realizing that they have become part of the
Oriental through the very process of colonization. Another ramification of this historical
interaction between the White and the Black resulted in cultural and social transaction albeit
imperceptibly and slowly. Giving the essence of Frantz Fanon’s psychological analysis of the
White man, Bhabha (1990) draws the conclusion that the white man is a permanent feature in the
life of black man because of his cultural legacy and heavy footprints through institutionalized
ways and means adopted by him while administering the affairs of the black man.
The socio-cultural interaction and transaction between the colonizer and the colonized
produced ambivalence and hybridity at two parallels of the same historical continuum. Hybridity
was opted by power hungry aristocratic class, who wanted to enter the power corridors at any
cost. The colonizer had firm grip on political power and promoted their language to cement their
political and cultural base. Ambivalence was a natural corollary of this more than eager attempt
on the part of the colonized to opt for hybridity. The idea of upward / vertical social mobility was
the root cause and driving force behind the hybridity mantra which established firm roots among
upper strata of society of the colonized in the Indian Sub Continent and then eventually
penetrated among middle and lower classes as well. Economic marginalization compounded with
scarcity of opportunity, compelled the Indians to learn English language: the language of the
masters, to get their share of the economic pie.
For introduction of English language in Sub Continent along with necessary educational
reforms, key role was played by Macaulay. He is considered to be the pioneer who introduced
English-medium education in India. He materialized his ideas through his famous Minute on
Indian Education of February 1835.The stated aim of the educational system was to create a
class of anglicized Indians. The Indians, who would be beneficiaries of English medium
46
education, would play the role of cultural intermediaries between the colonizers and the
colonized. Macaulay envisioned the bright future
for the colonized through “a class of
interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern—a class of persons Indian in
blood and colour but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect,”
(Bhabha,1994.p. 124-25)
To put it in simple words, Macaulay envisioned creating a class of mimic men. Bhabha
(1994) recognizes that colonial power carefully establishes highly-sophisticated strategies of
control and dominance; that, while it is aware of its temporary rule, it is also anxious to create
the means that guarantee its economic, political and cultural endurance. This political objective
was achieved through the reformation of that category of people referred to by Fanon (1986) in
the phrase, “black skin/white masks,” or as “mimic men” by Naipaul (1967). The process of
colonial mimicry is both a product of and produces ambivalence and hybridity. Bhabha (1984)
says in this regard:
Colonial mimicry is the desire for a reformed, recognizable Other, as a subject of a
difference that is almost the same, but not quite. Which is to say, that the discourse
of mimicry is constructed around an ambivalence; in order to be effective, mimicry
must continually produce its slippage, its excess, its difference. (p. 126)
The etymology of the term Macaulay's Children can be traced to Lord Macaulay. The
epithet refers to people of Indian origin but who adopt Western values, culture and lifestyle.
Their attitudes bear testimony to the fact that they have been under the influence of the
colonizers. The expression is used to denigrate someone who shows disloyalty to one's country
and one's cultural heritage by becoming a mimic man. The natives started imitating the
foreigners because foreigners were in power and the notions of power and success became
synonymous with the foreigners' ways. This ultimately led to the foreigners' ways being
47
considered as the better way and being held in a higher esteem than previous indigenous and folk
ways.
Applying the same logic, and with the same reasoning of better-ness, the colonised
soon branded the foreigners' race as inherently superior race. The native tried to give a
better chance to their children by borrowing the language, ideas, culture, norms and
traditions of the foreigners. The natives could not become like foreigners without imitating
their masters and adopting mimicry in the process. It is this mimicry which caused
ambivalence among them. Mimicry is defined in the following words; “Mimicry is the art
of mimicking somebody/something”. And mimic is to copy somebody’s voice, gesture, etc.
in order to amuse people. Cohen (2002) interprets that Bhabha’s notion of mimicry is a
device through which the colonial subject subverts its master's voice and gestures of
authority in the very act of imitating them.
Colonial and postcolonial narratives of mimicry are premised on the fact that the vast
majority of common people of a colonized society imitate/mimic and learn the language and
dress codes of their masters. Copying also encompasses political ideas and socio- cultural
practices of the colonizers. As far as colonial paradigm and the phenomenon of immigration is
concerned, mimicry is considered as a opportunistic behavior-pattern : the immigrants copy the
person having his grip on the levers of power, because they want to win some access to power
themselves and get their share of power. During the process of copying the master, there is
conscious attempt on the part of the colonized to consciously suppress his own cultural identity.
There may be scenarios in some cases when immigrants and colonized are in a state of
bewilderment because of their cultural interaction and encounter with a dominant foreign culture
because preexisting identity needs not to be suppressed.
48
Fanon (1986) has ridiculed the artificial and pretentious attitude of Martinician in his
novel. Dangarembga’s (1989) portrays Nyasha and her family in his novel, caught in the mental
state of cultural confusion. It is a dominant issue in that novel. The characters do not have
unanimity of views with regard to travelling in the West and find it totally unacceptable and
shocking that those who have returned from West want to impose their Westernized worldviews
along with its values system, language, and religion on general public
Bhabha (1984) considered mimicry as unintentionally and unconsciously subversive. In
Bhabha’s conception, which is heavily influenced by Jacques Derrida’s deconstructive reading of
J.L. Austin’s notion of the “performative,” mimicry is a kind of performance and act that exposes
the hollowness of all symbolic expressions of power.
Mimicry is a double edged weapon so it can be subversive or empowering. It leaves its
positive footprints when the Western socio-political ideas of justice, freedom, equality of
opportunity and the rule of law instead of rule of man are copied by the colonized .Western
political conception of democracy which legitimizes the rule of majority also impacted the
political landscape of the colonized in a positive manner. Forster’s (1924) novel can be cited as a
relevant example in this context. There is a minor character named Mr. Amritrao. He is a lawyer
based in Calcutta, and he inspires fear in the hearts of British Anglo-Indians. They are afraid of
him not because he is not fair in his dealings but precisely because of the fact that he has
acquired mastery of the principles and spirit of British law. He knows full well that those rules
and regulations are universally applicable on all Indians and the people of British origin without
any discrimination and bias. As he received his education abroad so he is well versed in English
and a competent Indian lawyer who carries out his law practice in colonial India. He might be
considered and ridiculed as a “mimic man” or a “babu,” but this mockery might be a cover and
49
shield among the British because they realize that their application of legal system is not very
fair and discriminatory practices are in vogue in favour of the British to avoid the legal hawk
with its proverbial sharp legal eye.
It is pertinent to mention about reverse mimicry. In the jargon of the colonial masters it
was frequently referred to by the phrase "going native." Postcolonial writers and critics use
mimicry with regard to colonial masters and immigrant who being minorities imitate white
people by learning their cultural and linguistic norms. In the context of British colonialism the
concept of reverse mimicry is applicable to some extent. There were instances of British citizens
who either pretended to be Indians or Africans, or had the guts and fantasy of doing so. The most
well known example of this type of reverse mimicry or (“passing down”) can be Sir Richard
Francis Burton, who camouflaged and concealed himself as an Indian national to observe people
closely when he was serving as a colonial administrator. He wrote comprehensively on different
races inhabiting the Indus Valley in mid 19th century. Burton (1851) covered different facets of
life of the Indus Valley in his book.
In literature, the most quoted instance of “passing down” in both affirmative and negative
sense can be of Kipling (1901). Kipling’s protagonist in his novel is a white child. He is the son
of an Irish soldier in India during the British rule. He grows up and become a wild fellow. All the
streaks of wilderness are acquired on the streets of Lahore. In the novel it is shown that it is
beyond the purview of the reach of so called regulated and disciplined British society. Kipling’s
main concern in “passing down” does not mean that he wouldn’t make many malicious and
racialist remarks about Indians throughout the length and breadth of his career. The idea is to
break out of his national identity as an Anglo-Indian and live “like a native”. The idea does not
50
betray any real love and affection for the Indians and there is no sense of excitement and wonder
about Indian culture.
In the case of Conard (1899), the idea of "going native" was considered as a menacing
threat. It was taken as a potential danger to be confronted and neutralized; the possibility that
Kurtz has "gone native" is definitely one of the tormenting anxieties in Conrad's novel.
When colonial discourse encourages the colonial subject to ‘mimic’ the colonizer, by
adopting the colonizer’s cultural habits, assumptions, institutions and values, the result is
never a simple reproduction of those traits. Rather, the result is a ‘blurred copy’ of the
colonizer that can be quite threatening. (Bill Ashcroft et al, 1990, p.139)
Mimicry in this sense does not have any advantage for colonizers as it ends up in
distorting their image and make caricature of the masters. That “blurred” copy poses a potent
threat to colonizers, their civilizations and images.
Bhabha’s concept of mimicry is a part of the colonial power/empire which sets the target
for the inhabitants to seek approval of their masters. The materialization of the objective was
made sure by adoption of policy of inclusion and exclusion. Inclusion puts a stamp of approval
for the acceptance of “good natives” according to a pre-planned programme and exclusion means
the disavowal and branding the majority as “bad natives”. Bhabha explains mimicry with regard
to the term of ambivalence as similar and dissimilar. Similarity means resemblance to the
masters, colonized subjects to become like masters and dissimilarity: “a difference that is almost
the same, but not quite”. (Bhabha, 1994, p.86)
Bhabha’s idea of mimicry is in consonance with Sartre’s Existentialist theory of
“inauthenticity and role-playing” but Bhabha gives mimicry different spin and twist as it is
contrasted to, the mimicry that comes from “colonized subject’s peculiar awareness of cultural,
political, and social inauthenticity, of being ideological constructed and fixed in
51
representation”.(Childs, P., & Williams, P.,1997,p.130). Further Bhabha draws a fine and thin
line of mimicry and inauthenticity terming it as menace to the mimicry; “A sudden awareness of
inauthenticity, of authority’s constructed and assumed guise, is the menace of mimicry”.(Childs
et al. p.130)
Bhabha takes his cue and borrows the term from Fanon’s (1986) psychoanalysis
model. Bhabha analysis the term ‘mask’, and proves its menacing effect. Moreover, Bhabha
quotes example from Fanon’s (1965) essay, which uses the term and image of camouflage:
In this Bhabha sees a representative fear of veils, covers, and masks in the actions of the
French: “-the veil conceals bombs. The veil that once secured the boundary of the homethe limits of woman-now masks the woman in her revolutionary activity. (Childs et al..
p.130).
In the above metioned context the veil becomes the symbol of cultural and religious
difference, a possibility of disguised terrorism. While the term camouflage Bhabha takes from
Lacan and quotes him to solidify his arguments:
Mimicry reveals something in so far as it is distinct from what might be called an itself
that is behind. The effect is camouflage….It is not a question of harmonizing with the
background, of becoming mottled-exactly like the technique of camouflage practiced in
human warfare.(Bhabha, 1994, p. 85)
So mimicry for Bhabha is a veiled form of resistance as well as resemblance to attain the
status given to colonizer master.
Bhabha’s perceives mimicry as an integral part of the colonial strategy to create a class of
people which is Anglicized in soul but Indian in blood. It is abundantly clear that Bhabha’s
notion of mimicry is repetition not representation, yet this resemblance poses threat to the
political basis of power and discrimination while maintaining difference and strengthening status
quo. For example ideas like liberty, status, and rights are projected as exclusively owned by the
52
colonizers as if, “there is a distinctive quality of English civilization……” (Childs et al.,1997,
p.132) and it was threatened by the corrupting and degenerating influence of the colonized.
Bhabha draws this conclusion that mimicry is a double edged weapon which threatens
and strengthens the colonial powers, thus he calls it the metonymy as:
In mimicry, the representation of identity and meaning is rearticulated along the axis of
metonymy. As Lacan reminds us, mimicry is like camouflage, not a harmonization of
repression of difference, but a form of resemblance, that differs from or defends presence
by displaying it in part, metonymically. Its threat, I would add, comes from the
prodigious and strategic production of conflictual, fantastic, discriminatory ‘identity
effects’ in the play of a power that is elusive because it hides no essence, no
‘itself’.(Bhabha, 1994, p. 90)
Bhabha (1984) asserts in his essay that ‘mimicry’ has served as a strategy which is the
most elusive and effective. Mimicry disconnects the ties of the people from their cultural capital
and shared history. The premise of colonial discourse is build around civilizing mission based on
the notion of ‘human and not wholly human’. The missionary attempt to civilize the brute races
is deeply embedded in the psyche of the colonizers. In the garb of this civilizing mission Grant
(1797) propagates “evangelical system of mission education conducted uncompromisingly in
English language” (Bhabha,1994, p.124).
In general sense of the term, ‘mimicry’ refers to the imitation or copying of one
species by another. Agnes (1997) defines mimicry as “close resemblance, in colour, form,
or behaviour of one organism to another or to some object in its environment … it serves to
disguise or conceal the organism from predators.” The camouflaging of the organism in the
process of mimicry brings the term closer to the warfare device of concealment and
merging with the background which implies “the disguising of troops, ships, guns, etc. to
conceal them from the enemy, as by the use of paint, nets, or leaves in patterns merging with the
background.”
53
Bhabha’s (1984) analysis is heavily influenced by the Lacanian vision of mimicry as
camouflage resulting in colonial ambivalence. He sees the colonizer as a snake in the grass who,
speaks in "a tongue that is forked," and produces a mimetic representation that "... emerges as
one of the most elusive and effective strategies of colonial power and knowledge"(Bhabha, 1994,
p. 122). In postcolonial studies ‘mimicry’ is seen as unsettling and unnerving imitations that are
the trademarks of postcolonial cultures. It is a desire to dissociate the ties with ‘self’ in order to
move towards ‘other’.
For Bhabha, “colonial mimicry is the desire for a reformed, recognizable ‘Other’,
as a subject of difference that is almost the same, but not quite” (Bhabha,1994, p. 122). He is
the leading post colonial contemporary critic who has tried to highlight the contradictions
which are built-in in the colonial discourse in order to expose the colonizer's ambivalence
with respect to his attitude towards the colonized Other and vice versa. Bhabha continues:
The menace of mimicry is its double vision which in disclosing the ambivalence
of colonial discourse also disrupts its authority. And it is a double vision that is a
result of what I've described as the partial representation/ recognition of the colonial
object.(Bhabha,1994, p.126)
There is consensus among majority of the postcolonial critics that mimicry disrupts the
colonial discourse by double vision, double articulation or the forked tongue. Bhabha locates
mimicry as a mental state marked by indeterminacy/ irresolution and a sign of double
articulation. The disconnect between ‘self’ and ‘Other’ being the hallmark of
colonial
discourse, he justifies mimicry of the ‘Other’ because, for a colonial, ‘Other’ visualizes
power. Salim acknowledges the significance of powerful ‘Other’ for the citizens of
decolonised African colony when he asserts:
54
When I was a child Europe ruled my world... Europe no longer ruled. But it still fed us in
a hundred ways with its language and sent us its increasingly wonderful goods, things
which, in the bush of Africa, added year by year to our idea of who we were, gave us that
idea of our modernity and development, and made us aware of another Europe—the
Europe of great cities, great stores, great buildings, great universities. To the Europe only
the privileged or the gifted among us journeyed. (Naipaul, 1980. p.246-47)
In this contextual framework Bhabha observes the presence of the colonized ‘Other’
within the colonial discourse as healthy evidence of the ambivalence of the colonial text. It is
because of this ambivalence that weakens its claim for sole authority through the repetitious
slippage, excess or difference. The weakening effects of postcolonial mimicry are explained in
the following words:
The mimicry of the post-colonial subject is therefore always potentially destabilizing to
colonial discourse, and locates an area of considerable political and cultural
uncertainty in the structure of imperial dominance. (Ashcroft, 2005, p. 142)
The colonized are referred to as “mimic men” by Bhabha and Naipaul. Mimicry proves
to be elusive, misleading and fatal notwithstanding the reformatory zeal on the part of the
colonized. These postcolonial mimic men in the analysis of Bhabha are authorized and patent
versions of otherness. They will always be termed as inappropriate colonial subjects. They face
the trauma of the colonial ambivalence resulting from ‘mimicry’ marked by “a difference that is
almost nothing but not quite— to menace—a difference that is almost total but not quite”
(Bhabha, 1994, p.131). The ‘self’ vs. ‘Other’ gap results into continuous uncertainty, fluidity and
permanent disillusionment among the colonials. Their predicament knows no bounds. They
remain nervous, shaky, diffident and wavering like that of a pendulum. Salim is conscious of his
ambivalence and love-hate relationship with the ‘Other’. He thinks his life has become
meaningless. He observes:
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I was in Africa one day; I was in Europe the next morning. It was like being in two places
at once. Both places were real: both places were unreal. You could play off one against
the other; and you had no feeling of having made a final decision, a great last journey.
(Naipaul, 1980, p. 246)
Bhabha has mentioned the works of Kipling, Forster, Orwell and Naipaul. The works of
these literary giants try to find the origin and emergence of postcolonial mimic men who are
ambivalent due to the effect of “a flawed colonial mimesis in which to be Anglicised is
emphatically not to be English” (Bhabha,1994, p.125). The problem with mimicry is the fact
that it tends to repeat rather than re-present which further leads the mimic man to realize his
nothingness and insignificance. Ralph Kripal Singh, the ambivalent hero of The Mimic Men
remarks:
We pretend to be real, to be learning, to be preparing ourselves for life, we mimic men of
the New World, one unknown corner of it, with all its reminders of the corruption that
came so quickly to the new. (Naipaul, 1967, p.416)
The colonized repeat hence lacks originality, and further decentralizes the centrality.
Ganesh, Ralph Kripal Singh, Jimmy Ahmed and Willey Chandran in Naipaul’s novels are
representative colonial figures. They are lost in the world and become rootless because they
severe their cultural and social ties with their roots in the process of mimicking the ‘Other’. They
are so enamoured with the idea of mimicking the Other that Indar, a native of Indian descent
realizes: “for someone like me there was only one civilization and one place—London, or a
place like it” (Naipaul, 1980, p.163). They are disillusioned with their socio-economic
conditions; they do not reveal their identity under the disguise of borrowed culture and hence
start “assuming the lies of white men” (Naipaul, 1980, p.23).
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Bhabha reveals that love-hate attitude (ambivalence) of the mimic man is more in the
form of a "menace” than "resemblance"; more in the form of a friction than resemblance or
integration. He states that:
Mimicry is, thus the sign of a double articulation…The effect of mimicry on the authority
of colonial discourse is profound and disturbing … It is as if the very emergence of the
'colonial' is dependent for its representation upon some strategic limitation or prohibition
within the authoritative discourse itself .… so that mimicry is at once resemblance and
menace. (Bhabha, 1994, p. 122-123)
The mimicking tendency acts like a double edged sword as the colonizers are also
threatened by it. In Naipaul’s (1975) novel, the characters like Jane and Roche deliberately come
on the Caribbean island .They make it a point to reform the natives but they get disillusionment
and experience moral decay. They are not aware of the fact that “it is the wrong time everywhere
else too,” (Naipaul, 1980, p.256) Their coming to the land in the Caribbean island is a quest
to find
meaning and purpose of their otherwise insignificant and directionless lives. The
decolonized natives started “doing what they see the big people doing” (Naipaul, 1980,
p.256). For Jane and Roche, the colonial mimicry assumed mocking tendencies as their ‘doer’
image is cleaned away in a decolonized colony where the natives have their reservations about
their mission and understand that:
…the Europeans could do one thing and say something quite different… Europeans
wanted gold and slaves…but at the same time they wanted statues put up to
themselves as people who had done good things for the slaves. (Naipaul, 1980, p.23).
Bhabha makes an apt observation in this regard as he says “… civilizing mission is
threatened by the displacing gaze of its disciplinary double” (Bhabha,1994, p. 123). In Naipaul’s
(1979) novel Salim, the protagonist takes the European at their face value and started considering
them as his messiah and true representative. Salim asserts:
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All that I know of our history and the history of the Indian Ocean I have got from books
written by Europeans… without Europeans, I feel, all our past would have been washed
away. (Naipaul,1980, p. 18).
Europeans made permanent footprints in African continent by establishing institutions to
strengthen their hold on power. The Europeanized institution named Domain in the African
Colony had the motto DISCIPLINE AVANT TOUT i.e. ‘Discipline Above All’. It was in
the name of Domain with false glory and grandeaur, the ambivalent President “… was creating
modern Africa … He was bypassing real Africa … wished to show us a new Africa”
(Naipaul, 1980, p. 110). As the President had become a mimic man, Africans were kept at a
safer distance from European ambience generated by Domain. This total dependence on the
colonizers, according to Bhabha, betrays the vastly shared colonial belief that “the black man
stops being an actional person for only the white man can represent his self esteem”
(Bhabha,1994, p.126).
The continuously frustrating state of mind becomes agonizing and
distressful for the colonized. Thus they had made become conscious of their eventual frustration.
Salim makes an apt comment on the ultimate destiny of the mimic men:
It was in the history of the land: here man had always been prey. You don’t feel malice
towards your prey. You set a trap for him. It fails ten times; but it is always the same trap
you set. The people were malins because they lived with the knowledge of men as prey.
(Naipaul, 1980, p.62)
The failure of the colonial mimic men is further sealed and cemented by
‘hybridity’,. Hybridity is defined by Bhabha as an act of subversion to undermine the narratives
of colonial power and dominant cultures. Though ambivalence is the common property of all
colonized, hybridity and multiculturalism further compound the ambivalence and intensify it.
Ferdinand, ‘an unprotected boy full of ambition’ and a native of mixed heritage suffers from
lack of security as he has no cultural in group where he has sense of belonging and bond.
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Salim finds that Ferdinand’s ambivalence is doubly agonizing and his “affectations were
more than affectations … his personality had become fluid” (Naipaul, 1980,p.55).As dominant
culture hinges on the clutches of inclusions and exclusions, it enters in the deconstructive mode
when formerly-excluded subjects enter into the mainstream discourse. In Naipaul’s (2001)
novel, Willey Chandran’s Odysseus undertakes a journey towards empire and back as void and
meaningless not only because of dynamic and vibrant nature of the culture but also because
of the hybridity triggering the feelings of anguish among the colonial expatriates.
With the influx of the emigrants, the dominant culture is corrupted by the linguistic and
racial differences of the native population. Pertinent in this context is Belgian missionary Father
Huismans’ defence of the Latin words carved on the ruined monument “Miscerique probat
populos et foedera jungi” or “He (God) approves of the mingling of the peoples and their bonds
of union” (Naipaul, 1980, p. 23).Such holy commandants are taken with a pinch of salt because
they pose threat to the sanctity of indigenous culture cherished by the natives. The
multiculturalism and hybridity are treated as corrupting influences which endanger the purity of
native cultures and values. It is in this conceptual framework, that ‘hybridity’ is seen by Bhabha
as a counter-narrative, a critique of the canon and exclusion of other narratives. To prove his
point of view about hybridity, multiculturalism and notion of origins, Bhabha says:
Their mixed and split origin is what decides their fate. We may compare them with
individuals of mixed race who taken all around resemble white men but who betray their
coloured descent by some striking feature or other and on that account are excluded from
society and enjoy none of the privileges. (Bhabha,1994, p. 127)
So Father Huismans’ sense of belongingness and bondage with the natives is treated with
suspicion. Although he makes sincere efforts to defend hybridity and multiculturalism but these
efforts are seen by the natives as a plot and conspiracy hatched by the Europeans. Huismans’
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defends hybridity on the belief that the colonial ambivalence accentuates uncertainty; and
second, that the migration of yesterday's "savages" from their peripheral spaces to the homes of
their "masters" would be treated as a blessing. As the missionaries like Huismans gets killed so it
implies the deep rooted resentment among the natives against cultural integration and
assimilation. However, Father’s murder couldn’t reverse the tide; rather, Salim bitterly opines:
But now we, who remained— outsiders, but neither settlers nor visitors, just people with
nowhere better to go—put our heads down and got on with our business…. After
each setback, the civilization of Europe would become a little more secure at the bend
in the river. (Naipaul,1980, p. 95)
However, it further solidifies the idea that "Third-Worlding" the center or “FirstWorlding” the margins creates "fissures" within the very structures that sustain them. It simply
agonizes the colonized who feel that “It isn’t that there’s no right and wrong here. There’s no
right” (Naipaul, 1980, p.102).
Ashcroft (1989), a prominent postcolonial critic, contradicts Bhabha and gives his
arguments that culture is a dynamic, vibrant and thriving force. Culture absorbs external
influences and produces new dynamics. So the idea of a cultural purity and isolation that existed
prior to the colonial invasion is a fallacy. Ashcroft (1989) condemns this notion of cultural purity
and persuasively argues that all cultural interactions irreversibly change both participants,
irrespective of the nature of the relationship. He thinks that the anguish of the colonized lie in the
fact that they lack capacity to adapt themselves. On the contrary, Naipaul shows the colonial
natives distributing pamphlets. The pamphlets make a passionate appeal to public to condemn
the initiative to affect the purity of African culture:
By ENEMY we mean the powers of imperialism, the multi-nationals and the puppet
powers that be, the false gods, the capitalists, the priests and teachers who give false
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interpretations. The law encourages crime. The schools teach ignorance and people
practice ignorance in preference to their true culture. (Naipaul, 1980, p. 228-29)
The agony of the African natives is partially attributable to their insistence to keep their
culture intact as observed by Salim who comments:
Once the Arabs had ruled here; then the Europeans had come; now the Europeans were
about to go away. But little had changed in the manners or minds of men.
(Naipaul, 1980, p.18).
Nevertheless, Bhabha is skeptical about the consequences of the heterogeneity and
hybridity and comments that:
From such a colonial encounter between the white presence and its black
semblance, there emerges the question of the ambivalence of mimicry as a
problematic of colonial subjection. (Bhabha,1994, p.129).
Thus, Bhabha’s ideas about mimicry, ambivalence and final disillusionment are
represented in Naipaul who being a sojourner and nomad himself, can understand fully well the
colonial predicament where everybody is ‘trampling on the past’. He universalizes the colonial
predicament of mimic men in this statement: “You mustn’t think it’s bad just for you. It’s
bad for everybody …. Nobody’s going anywhere. We’re all going to hell…” (Naipaul, 1980,
p.291).
Bhabha (1994) carries out an analysis of culture and finds ambivalence that characterizes
the structure of social authority. He defines culture as the result of multi polarities and
decentralization of centers of cultures. As seeds of cultures become prolific and give birth to
many sub types or centers of culture, cultural organism becomes a living entity maintaining a
distinct identity apart from its source of origin. In this process cultural matrix assumes life of its
own. Bhabha’s views show the potential of displacement of legitimizing narratives of cultural
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domination to reveal a ‘third space’. This creative form of difference permeates across the
spheres of socio-economic classes, gender, race, nation and different generations. Bhabha
solidifies his viewpoint by analyzing Fanon’s authorial voice. His dissection places him at
uncertain junctures of historical change. This created an area of ambivalence between race and
sexuality. Ambivalence was a result of an unresolved contradiction between culture and class.
Ambivalence was an outcome of chasm within the struggle of psychic representation and social
reality.
Writing about Fanon’s work Bhabha says, “ [His work is] phenomenological affirmation
of Self and Other and psychoanalytical ambivalence of the Unconscious”.( Huddart, 2005, p.40)
Since conscious self is the tip of the iceberg and unconscious is the colossal part of the mental
makeup, at the heart of the unconscious of the colonized is ambivalence. It is this ambivalence
which refuses to die down at the beck and call of the conscious self. In a nutshell, ambivalence
cannot be regulated by an act of will or altered through subordinating it to the reigns of
conscious self.
Bhabaha can be interpreted as a deconstructionist when he defines culture being a
product of other cultures. He identifies potent, symbolic and effective sources of cultural identity
in the following words:
It is the mark of ambivalence of the nation as a narrative strategy – and an apparatus of
power – that it produces a continual slippage into analogous, even metonymic, categories
like the people, minorities, or ‘cultural differences’ that continually overlap in the act of
writing the nation. ( Bhabha, 1990, p.292)
Key word in the above citation is ‘ambivalence’. Basically, it refers to socio-cultural state
of mental or behavioral condition of people which includes positive or negative aspect of
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anything. Bhabha explains the idea of ambivalence in the form of culture or culture itself from
deconstructive standpoint.
The ambivalent identification of the racist world – moving on two planes without in the
least embarrassed by it, as Sartre says of the anti- Semitic consciousness - turns on the
idea of man as his alienated image; not Self and Other but the Otherness of Self inscribed
in the perverse palimpsest of colonial identity. (Huddart, 2005, p.44)
Bhabha’s ideas are based on ambivalence. He finds ambivalence central in the colonial
discourses of stereotyping. Colonial discourse fixes identity and denies it any chance of change.
“Each actor or subject is divided, and each constructed identity is always split”. (Huddart, 2005 ,
p13 ) This identity fixation and stereotyping is inherently flawed as arguments given earlier have
established that culture is a living organism which leaves its marks and footprints on all members
of society irrespective of their ranking at the social scale. Each member of society is caught in
the cultural web and responds to its jolts, twists and turns.
Paradoxically stereotyping gives birth to ambivalence in post colonial discourse as per
views of Bhabha. He attempts to redefine the whole concept of stereotype. In political science,
stereotyping is concerned with negative or positive connotations of the term. Bhabha is inclined
to show how the stereotype is fundamental to the process by which individuals yields to the
social rules and regulations. To Bhabha, not only the one who is stereotyped in discourse is
affected by the stereotype but also the one who makes use of the stereotype. The political
implication of this view is that the clear demarcation of oppressor and oppressed is questioned.
In this context, the phenomenon of
ambivalence can be examined in greater detail. Bhabha
speaks of “productive ambivalence.” What is it that is produced? First, in defining the other
(which is the function of the stereotype), it is necessary to express difference in racial and sexual
terms. “Not everyone is the same,” is what this discourse is all about. “Blacks are savage brutes,”
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is one of the fundamental differences that are produced by discourse. In other words, through the
discursive production of differences, “the other” is constructed. It is what is said about the other
that defines the other.
Huddart (2005) comments that Bhabha brings ambivalence at the forefront while giving
the narrative of nation. Bhabha opines that nation is a construct and an abstract caused by
historical factors. He states “[ it is] a particular ambivalence that haunts the idea of a nation, the
language of those who write of it and the lives of those who live it.(Huddart,2005, p.1) It opens
up a new front as the mega construct of all i.e nation is also based on the idea of ambivalence. Its
connotations are nationalistic and the very idea of nation came in to fill the vacuum created in
the wake of disintegration of communal ties as the process of industrialization and urbanization
speeded up. Socio-economically and culturally diverse people find themselves yoked together as
one nation. Nation makes strange bedfellows and robs them of their individuality under the
rubric of nation.
Nation's ambivalent emergence has been articulated with great clarity:
The century of the Enlightenment, of rationalist secularism, brought with it its own
modern darkness...[Few] things were (are) suited to this end better than the idea of nation.
If nation states are widely considered to be 'new' and 'historical', the nation states to
which they give political expression always loom out of an immemorial past and...glide
into a limitless future. What I am proposing is that Nationalism has to be understood, by
aligning it not with self-consciously held political ideologies, but with large cultural
systems that preceded it, out of which--as well as against which--it came into being.
(Anderson, 1991, p.19)
The idea of nation in the modern world provides space to the people where they guard
their private interests by portraying them as having public significance (Arendt, 1958, p.33-35).
The two realms merge continuously and uncertainly into one another 'like waves in the never
ending stream of the life-process itself'. Nairn (1997) , terms nation 'the modern Janus', that the
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'uneven development' of capitalism meant progression and regression, political rationality and
irrationality in the very coming into being of the nation. This is a historical fact to which there
are no exemptions and 'in this sense, it is an exact (not a rhetorical) statement about nationalism
to say that it is by nature ambivalent.'
The colonized people have diversity in their nature and traditions. As their culture is
constructed from the standpoint of their colonial masters but nevertheless their culture is
changing. They may be 'other' from the colonizers, they have differences among themselves
projected in terms of ethnic, socio-cultural and linguistic factors. They are different from their
own pasts, and any doctrine that tries to totalize or essentialize them by using terms such as black
consciousness, Indian soul, aboriginal culture and so forth, will eventually fail to capture reality
on ground. This notion of totalization and essentialization is generally a type of nostalgia which
has its origin more in the thinking of the colonizers than of the colonized. It gives the colonizer a
sense of the unity and homogeneity of his culture while mystifying that of others. It makes a
mythical One out of many.
Hybridity in Post Colonial Critics’ Perspectives
The term hybridity has become one of the most widely used concepts in postcolonial
cultural criticism. It is used as an antithesis to the notion of ambivalence. Hybridity challenges
the stance and forms of purity encompassed within essentialist theories. Bhabha is the leading
critic who pointed out the contradictions inbuilt in colonial discourse in order to highlight the
colonizer’s ambivalence in respect to his position toward the colonized Other. The simple
presence of the colonized Other within the textual structure serves as sufficient evidence of the
ambivalence of the colonial text. It is this ambivalence that undermines its claim for absolute
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authority or valid authenticity. Hybridity or cultural integration is a comparatively new idea and
considers identity as more "decentred, ambivalent, contradictory, provisional, contextual and deessentialized" (Bolaffi et al., 2003, p.142) which is in harmony with the deconstruction of binary
oppositions.
According to Ashcroft (2000) most post colonial writing has focused on the hybridized
nature of post colonial culture as strength rather than as weakness. It is not the case of the
oppressor wiping out and eliminating the oppressed or the colonizer silencing the colonized. Its
practical manifestation stresses the two way flow and mutually beneficial process of cultural
interaction. Ashcroft sees more positives and gains of the process rather than branding it as
negative in its characteristics and impact. Ashcroft (1996) says:
..hybridity and the power it releases may well be seen as the characteristic feature and
contribution of the post colonial, allowing a means of evading the replication of the
binary categories of the past and developing new anti-monolithic models of cultural
exchange and growth.( p.183)
Bhabha’s concept of hybridity can be seen as an antithesis to the concept of western
liberal multiculturalism. Multiculturalism is premised on the basis of “cultural diversity” which
suggests that culture for any specific group is an object which has definite boundaries and
characteristics that are long-standing, “authentic” and can be easily observed. Bhabha takes this
argument suspiciously and terms it as a part of imperial design that defines culture in a
“mythologized and often exoticized way”. This scheme of things defines the natives with an
identity formed by external players as if they have no agency of their own to project their
identity.
Bhabha argues culture cannot be reduced to a set of traditions rather culture is a
complicated system of social exchange and interaction which happened throughout the history as
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well as under the system of imperialism, cultural domination and in the era of globalization. So
culture does not have fixed boundaries and cannot be defined by essentialism. Essentialism
attributes differences to race and gender. So it produced culture as a homogenized and
monolithic mass. This approach runs the risk of producing racial stereotypes. In his opinion,
culture is located somewhere in the Third or inbetween space as he says:
The theoretical recognition of the split-space of enunciation may open the way to
conceptualising an international culture, based not on the exoticism of multiculturalism or
the diversity of cultures, but on the inscription and articulation of culture's hybridity. It is
the inbetween space that carries the burden of the meaning of culture, and by exploring
this Third Space, we may elude the politics of polarity and emerge as the others of our
selves. (Bhabha, 1994)
Bhabha argues in favour of hybrid conception of culture as it can develop into an
international culture. In order to neutralize cultural dominance, he argues that multiculturalism
should be centered around “cultural difference” rather than “cultural diversity.” With the help
of post-structuralist theory, he says language is unable to represent the world correctly, and
therefore claims that “all cultural statements and systems are constructed in this contradictory
and ambivalent space of enunciation” (Bhabha, 1994, p.208). Bhabha calls this space as “Third
Space” a state of in between cultures that are generally considered as diametrically opposed to
one another. In this space cultural differences can be articulated and refined. In this space, there
is a possibility for formerly colonized people to renegotiate space for their own identities which
is beyond the purview of externally-imposed binaries.
Hybridity is seen as a cultural outcome of globalization. For example, hybridity is
presented by Kraidy (2005) as the ‘cultural logic’ of globalization as it "entails that traces of
other cultures exist in every culture, thus offering foreign media and marketers trans-cultural
wedges for forging affective links between their commodities and local communities." Another
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promoter of hybridity as globalization is Pieterse (1993), who asserts hybridity is the springboard
of culture. He argues that globalization as hybridization opposes views which see the process as
homogenizing, modernizing, and westernizing, and that it broadens the empirical history of the
concept. However, neither of these scholars has reinvigorated the hybridity theory debate in
terms of solving its inherent problems. The term hybridity remains contested and there is no final
verdict by the critics to seal its fate.
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Chapter 3
Research Methodology
Psychological Perspective of Ambivalence
In ambivalence, the prefix ambi means both; the suffix valence is derived from the Latin
for vigour. It refers to the attraction or aversion felt toward something. Someone can feel a
positive or negative valence or both. Ambivalence should not be confused with indifference.
Someone in an ambivalent state of mind has a lot of opinions, not an absence of it. An
ambivalent person may feel very strongly about the subject at hand without forming any
coherent, structured and organized point of view on it.
Ambivalence can be easily defined as having feelings that are mixed or uncertain. To be
more specific, the term can refer to having both positive and negative feelings. In the field of
psychology it is used to describe simultaneous positive and negative feelings toward the same
object, which can be a person, thing, or an idea. There are many causes of ambivalence, as there
are the ways of tackling conflicting emotions and ideas.
To be more specific, the term can refer to having both positive and negative feelings. In
the field of psychology it is used to describe simultaneous positive and negative feelings toward
the same object, which can be a person, thing, or an idea. There are many causes of ambivalence,
as there are the ways of tackling conflicting emotions and ideas.
In psychology valence means the intrinsic attractiveness (positive valence) or
aversiveness (negative valence) of an event, object, or situation. However, the term is also used
to characterize and categorize specific emotions. For example, the emotions popularly referred to
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as "negative", such as anger and fear, have "negative valence". Joy has "positive valence".
Positively valenced emotions are evoked by positively valenced events, objects, or situations.
The term is also used about the hedonic tone of feelings, affect, certain behaviors (for eaxample,
approach and avoidance), goal attainment or nonattainment, and conformity with or violation of
norms. Ambivalence can be viewed as conflict between positive and negative valence-carriers.
Ambivalence is a daily phenomenon in our lives. Both minor and major events can cause
ambivalence. Small events like watching television and big events like sending a child to college
— can cause ambivalence. Someone may like the special effects in a TV program, but may find
the plot to be not original. Parents may take pride in the academic brilliance of their son or
daughter, and may have apprehensions about their capabilities to adjust to college life.
Unfulfilled ambitions or desires, nostalgia, and important moments in the lives of human
beings can potentially cause mixed feelings. Someone who has a lifelong passion of becoming a
famous celebrity and rock musician may end up composing songs and giving performance at
local places. When that person encounters frustrations in his life his positive feelings of
composing music may get blended with negative feelings of frustration or resignation.
Psychology reveals that people who experience ambivalence are generally unaware or
unconscious of having more than one set of feelings for the same object. One type of feelings is
repressed in the subconscious, allowing the remaining positive or negative set of feelings to
dominate. For example, there is a bachelor who is unhappy about his marital status may
consciously experience only happiness at his younger brother's wedding, but at the subconscious
level he has feelings of sadness or envy as well. Although everyone may occasionally feel this
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type of ambivalence, it is a feature which is common in many psychological disorders, including
anxiety, depression, and phobias.
Many psychological theories study ambivalent human behavior. Festinger (1957) is the
pioneer of the theory of cognitive dissonance. He suggests that people try to reduce or resolve
dissonance, which comes to the surface when conflicting ideas are found about the same subject.
Dissonance is the outcome of perceived mismatch between attitudes and behavior. For example,
a person thinks that he is charitable, but does not give money to anyone. In order to overcome
dissonance, he will have to either change his attitude or his behavior, or he will try to justify to
himself why he refused to be charitable in a particular example.
Approach-avoidance conflict theory of psychology carries out analysis of ambivalence.
This theory is championed by Lewin (1935). He carried out analysis of methods, patterns and
sequence of conflict resolution with regard to desirable and undesirable goals. The patterns
Lewin recognized include approach-approach, where two desirable goals are in conflict;
avoidance-avoidance, where two undesirable goals are in conflict; and approach-avoidance,
where the same goal has both desirable and undesirable qualities. The last pattern or cycle is
typical of conflict resolution when a subject experiences ambivalence.
Despite its propensity to produce unpleasant feelings, there are positive fallouts attached
with ambivalence as well. The ability to accommodate mixed feelings and cognitive dissonance
can encourage and sharpen creative abilities and faculties. It can also strengthen resilience,
which is an adaptive response to stress. Many factors can impact a person's ability to
accommodate ambivalence, including socio-cultural background, lifestyle choices, and social
status.
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Ambivalence is an unpleasant experience from psychological perspective. Ambivalence
is a dilemma in the mind of a person when the positive and negative shades of a subject are both
present in the psychological makeup of a person at the same time. This mental state can generate
two possible responses which are avoidance or procrastination. A person can also make
deliberate attempts to resolve the issue of ambivalence for the rest of his life. Ambivalence
becomes rather innocuous when the situation does not entail a decision to be made. It is the
absence of making decisions and choices which make people experience less discomfort even
when feeling ambivalent.
Bleuler is considered to be the pioneer in psychology as far as the idea of ambivalence is
considered (Gay, 1989, p. 198). In the realm of psychoanalysis, the idea of ambivalence was
introduced by him in 1911.The psychologist refers to perplexing emotional attitude in which the
co-existing contradictory impulses (usually love and hate) have a same source of origin and are
thus regarded as intertwined and interdependent. There is a fair degree of clarity in
psychoanalysis about ambivalence. Psychologists understand that the person experiencing
ambivalence would not actually feel both of the two contradictory emotions at precisely one
point of time. Rather the contradictory emotions would be experienced in a cyclic pattern or
style. Barring the cases of obsessional neurosis, one or other of the conflicting sides is usually
repressed. To illustrate it with relevant examples will not be out of context. For example, a son’s
love and admiration for his father might be quite consciously experienced and openly expressed
– while his "hate" for the father might be heavily repressed and only indirectly expressed. It
requires deeper insight and thus only revealed in analysis. A drug addict may feel ambivalently
about his drug of choice. Destructive effect of the drug is known to him along with the negative
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social and financial costs. While the drug addict simultaneously seeks social integration but uses
drug because of the pleasure he gets from the drug's usage.
There is another relevant distinction of the psychoanalytic notion of ambivalence as it is
steeped in the idea of neurotic conflict from experiencing ambivalence as a part of daily life. As
things or objects are in a state of flux and dynamic and evolving nature of things induce mixed
feelings as a logical corollary to correspond to the ever changing reality. So ambivalence in the
context of daily life is because of imperfect nature of things.
Ambivalence is deeply rooted in human psyche and it is an integral part of human nature
as per the findings of Freud, considered to be a great authority on psychoanalysis. The term
ambivalence was used by Freud, who is regarded as the pioneer in the subject of psychoanalysis.
Freud defines ambivalence as the coexistence and simultaneous presence of love and hate
towards the same object ( J. Bleger et al, 2013, p. 251). As per his observation the main object
that the child relates to during the oral stage is the breasts of mother. At the very young age there
is no ambivalence at all towards the mother’s breasts, as the only aim of child is to orally
incorporate the breasts. At the second sub-stage titled as oral-sadistic, the phenomenon of
ambivalence surfaces with the start of biting activity. As the breast of mother is the object of
aggressive and libidinal gratifications so the breasts are loved and hated at the same time. When
it is a source of nutrition and pleasure, breasts are loved but when it causes frustration it is hated.
Freud observed that through the mechanism of projection, the baby anticipates similar aggression
in others, mainly in powerful and authoritative adults. So, biting becomes destructive when it is
done angrily by the child. The more frequently biting is done angrily, the more he attributes the
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same impulses to others. As the oral activity is a vital component of pleasure, and there is intense
love for mother’s breast, the emergence of a sadistic component now causes ambivalence.
In Sigmund Freud’s opinion, ambivalent feelings find expression in a dyadic relationship
between the mother and the child during pre-oedipal stages. The feelings of ambivalence are
experienced in the oedipal phase within a triangular framework which involves the child, the
mother and the father. It is in this stage that the boy and the girl develop negative feelings and
attitudes towards the parents of same sex. Jealousy, hostility and rivalry are directed towards the
parents of the same sex. The boy develops emotional bondage with the mother and he starts
envisioning his father as a potential rival, competing for reciprocal feelings from the mother. In
the meanwhile, the child starts developing negative feelings of rivalry and hostility toward the
father. The boy wishes to harm and destroy the father so that he is the sole centre of attention and
love of his mother. On the other side of the spectrum, the girl starts developing emotional
equation and symmetry with the father. The girl considers the mother as the competitor, vying
for the love and affection of the father. As the emotions run deep, the girl starts feeling hostility
and jealousy towards her mother. The negative feelings which are experienced at this stage in
both the boy and the girl result in an ambivalence which is manifested in feelings, behavior and
fantasies. These negative feelings cause anxiety, stress and strain in the life of a child who
apprehends that retribution will follow in the wake of discovery of these feelings on the part of
mother/ father. In order to lessen the anxiety level, the child triggers the defense mechanism of
identification and identifies himself with the parents of same sex. This process leads to the
formation of the Super-Ego.
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To sum up Freud’s findings, ambivalence is the pre-requisite of melancholy, coupled
with loss of a loved object, oral regression and directing of the aggression toward the self.
Because of the social taboos libido is suppressed and repressed. So libido is withdrawn into the
self in order to establish identification and relate with the loved one. As the object loss becomes
an ego loss, the conflict between ego and super ego comes to the forefront. The same
ambivalence occurs in the obsessional neurosis, but in that case it is related to the outside object.
Another psychologist Klein (1975) analysis love and hate phenomenon through her
object relations theory. Differentiation between love and hate starts early in the infant’s life. In
Klein’s opinion inborn aggression in human beings is a reflection of the death drive. There is a
tug of war and constant battle between life and hatred spread over the complete span of life. As
the baby steps in this world, mother is the first object for the baby to relate with the external
world. It is at this stage that the good and bad aspects of self are split. These aspects are then
projected as love and hatred to the mother and the others around her later on.
Infant’s assessment of objects as good or bad is in his/ her inverse proportion to the
experiences with them. When the infant’s wishes are gratified, he feels happy. He cherishes
loving and good feelings with those experiences and objects. On the contrary, objects are seen as
bad when the infant’s wishes are not met adequately and frustration prevails. In the world of an
infant there is a thin line difference fantasy and reality so loving and hating experiences towards
the good and bad objects are considered to have tremendous impact on the surrounding objects.
It is imperative for the infant to keep these loving and hating emotions as distinct as possible. If
it is not done then because of the paranoid anxiety that the destructive force associated with the
bad object can potentially destroy the loving object from which the infant seeks escape. So
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simplifying the equation for the infant will be good for his emotional health and mental
equilibrium. The reductionist strategy does well for an infant by visualizing mother either as
good or bad and the resultant feeling induced is either love or hate.
However, at the later stage, feelings of love and hate start getting enmeshed and mixed up
as the emotional cauldron boils up. Infant’s capacity to experience ambivalence grows with the
passage of time during the depressive mental states. The infant starts perceiving the objects
around him as both good and bad by accommodating the coexistence of these two diametrically
opposite feelings for the same object. At this juncture, the previous paranoid anxiety (that the
bad object will destroy everything) turns into a depressive anxiety; this is the inborn and intrinsic
fear that the child’s own destructiveness (hate) will damage the loved objects. Resultantly, for
the simultaneous existence of love and hate, the child must believe in her ability to contain hate,
without letting it destroy the pleasing things and loving objects. He/she must believe in the
capacity to sustain loving feelings over his/her aggressiveness. Ambivalence is a transitory
phenomenon at this stage so under the heat of the moment and adverse set of circumstances it is
lost. The person reverts to the previous mental state keeping love and hate apart for the time
being until he/she is able to regain the capacity for experiencing ambivalence.
Suttie (1952) has also made significant contribution as object relations theorist. He puts
forth the theory of separation anxiety. As per his explanation infant’s attachment to mother is
because her being source of food and protection. So he feels the need of her company and feels
discomfort in isolation. In Suttie’s opinion, infant first tries to relate to his mother and his future
mental health hinges on the success or failure of this first relationship (object relation).
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The theory of object relations was in contrast with Freud’s psychoanalysis. All those
advocating object relations theory, except Klein, had consensus that most differences in
individual development that are vital for mental health could be traced to differences in the way
children were treated by their parents or to the loss or separation of parent-figures. In explaining
love and hate relationship Suttie’s focus lies in relations and the social environment. According
to Suttie, Freud saw love and hate as two distinct instincts. Hate had to be overcome with love,
and because both terms are seen as two different instincts, this means repression. In Suttie’s view
however, this is inconsistent with the other Freudian view that life is a struggle to attain peace by
the release of the impulse. These inconsistencies would be caused by leaving out the social
situations and motives. Suttie (1952) saw hate as the frustrating aspect of love. “The greater the
love, the greater the hate or jealousy caused by its frustration and the greater the ambivalence or
guilt that may arise in relation”. Hate has to be overcome with love by the child removing the
cause of the anxiety and hate by restoring harmonious relationships. The feeling of anxiety and
hate can then change back into the feeling of love and security. This builds up the relationship
between mother and child and later for all other relationships.
In Suttie’s view, the beginning of the relationship between mother and child is a happy
one. This happy relationship between mother and baby can be discontinued for example with the
arrival of a second baby or the mother attending to work. This makes the infant feel irritable,
insecure and anxious. This would be the start of the feeling of ambivalence: feelings of love and
hate towards the mother. The child attempts to remove the cause of the anxiety and hate to
restore the relationship (retransforming). This retransforming is necessary, because hate of a
loved object (ambivalence) is intolerable.
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To sum it up, it can be said that ambivalence is a state of mind in human beings. It
connotes the coexistence of conflicting emotions and desires directed toward a person, object,
idea or some experience that activates uncertainty and doubt. Ambivalence is experienced when
difficulties are faced in making decisions and difficulties keep on producing complications. The
situation warrants taking some kind of action but human mind is afflicted with indecision and
inaction. This mental state produces feelings of uncertainty and doubt. When confronted with
the coexistence of opposing emotions and desire toward a person, object or an idea, man
becomes paralyzed by the feelings of doubt and uncertainty, as he vacillates between two or
more sides. Man realizes the importance of doing something or wants something but he is
consumed by self-doubt and uncertainty that prevents him from taking the action. Both the
courses of actions are fraught with potential hazards so man becomes nervous as he is preoccupied with consequences.
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Chapter 4
Similarities and Differences of Ambivalence in My Son the Fanatic and
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Ambivalence as Inter-Personal and Inter-Generational Phenomenon in My Son the Fanatic
As father and son are part of the genetic continuum, we can find their ambivalent attitude
towards Western worldview and values in a glaring way in My Son the Fanatic. Family as a unit
is regarded as an integral social component and single entity, so ambivalence is at the forefront if
their life is seen through family lens. The father Parvez is immersed in Western culture and
civilization but his son Ali suffers from identity crisis. Written by Kureishi, the short story My
Son the Fanatic develops through the conflict between a father and his son. In the story, the
father Parvez who works as a taxi driver emigrated from Pakistan to England with his family
twenty years ago. His son Ali is a college student in England. When Ali was behaving
abnormally, Parvez’s suspicion led him to discover that Ali had turned into a religious Muslim.
Parvez, although born as a Muslim, does not strictly abide by Islamic code of conduct and rules.
The father and son are holding different beliefs; hence they could hardly accept each other’s
moral values anymore. Because the author told the story from Parvez’s point of view, it might be
difficult to give value judgment in favour of either Parvez or Ali. However, as the title of the
story suggested, Kureishi, the author, clearly wanted to convince the readers that the son Ali is
the fanatic, urging the readers to take Parvez’s side.
Ali started behaving in an abnormal way as his room was cleared of “usual tangle of
clothes, books, cricket bats, video games” which led to suspicion on the part of the father,
Parvez. Ali discarded his “computer disks, video tapes, new books and fashionable clothes”
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which he had bought just a few months back. Ali also parted ways with his English girlfriend
who used to pay visit to his home quite often. Ali also stopped playing his guitar. He termed all
these things as symbols of Western civilization which he deemed as secular in conception. All
these changes indicated total personality transformation of Ali, who suffered from identity crisis
and developed identity on religious, cultural and national or communal lines.
Ali was once “excellent at cricket, swimming and football” and was “getting A’s in most
subjects”. He was the rising star of the family and his father looked at him as his alter ego and
substitute, who would realize “His dreams of doing well in England” by getting a good job and
marrying the right girl. Ali started praying five times a day and grew a beard. Ali did not sell his
belongings rather “He threw them out, gave them away or donated them to charity shops”. His
acts proved that he was embracing the ultra conservative brand of Islamic ideology as a counter
strategy to define himself as a radical Other.
Ali was quite candid and frank in assessing the character of his father by asking him a
direct question about drinking alcohol. He said to him, “Don’t you know it’s wrong to drink
alcohol? Ali told his father “You are too implicated in Western civilization.” He justified his
hatred towards West by saying “The Western materialists hate us”. Ali said, “Papa, how can you
love something which hates you?”
Ali started over generalizing and thinking in terms of binary division of us (East) versus
them (West). He found identity steeped in religion and articulated his wish list by saying, “The
laws of Islam would rule the world: the skin of the infidel would burn off again and again; the
Jews and Christians would be routed. The West was a sink of hypocrite, adulterers, homosexuals,
drug takers and prostitutes”. He identified himself with all other Muslim as a large oppressed
group of people, who would level the score against West one day, “My people have taken
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enough. If the persecution doesn’t stop, there will be jihad. I, and millions of others, will gladly
give our lives for the cause.” His hatred towards West is not the result of brainwashing by a
spiritual mentor in a closed religious seminary being run by some Islamic religious fanatic or
fundamentalist, rather he attributed it to “Living in this (England) country”. He gave up his
career in accountancy because in his opinion “Western education cultivates an anti-religious
attitude.” He did not want to become an accountant because accountants had to “meet women,
drink alcohol and practise usury” all forbidden and grave sins as per Islamic faith.
Ali hatred towards West is because of its corrupting influence and he announced his
future course of action by joining some philanthropic project directed towards spiritual purity of
his brothers in faith. Ali says that, “he was going to work in prison, with poor Muslims who were
struggling to maintain their purity in the face of corruption.” In Ali’s opinion Western
civilization is inherently corrupt and it exercises corrupting influences on innocent Muslim youth
who fall in the trap of its enchanting façade. Ali’s ideological make-up and mental alignment
with ultra conservative Islamic religious forces make him a total misfit in the modern day West.
Ali launched a ruthless attack on his father, who in his opinion had reduced himself to a
mimic man in the presence of Whites in order to ‘fit in’. Parvez did it in order to adapt himself
with the circumstances. “Ali accused Parvez of ‘grovelling’ to the Whites; in contrast, he
explained, he was not ‘inferior’; there was more to the world than the West, although the West
always thought it was best”. Ali’s counter narrative was as radical in conception as he perceived
the narrative of the Westerns superiority was.
On the other hand, Parvez had developed a secular and modern outlook on life. He had
started liking ‘whisky bottle’ and local brasses or prostitutes were his regular customers. Being a
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taxi driver, he had to work hard for his living and his profession was branded as notorious for “A
ride in exchange for a ride” motto which was an occasional pastime of the drivers.
Parvez’s antipathy and aversion to religion can be partially answered by a traumatic
experience which happened to him in his childhood in his motherland i.e Pakistan, before his
emigration to United Kingdom. This nightmare and encounter with representatives of religion in
daily life, left an indelible mark and imprint on his mind. He equated religion with violence and
extremism. In Lahore, his spiritual mentor and instructor adopted some innovative methods and
ingenuity during the time of his imparting teachings of the holy book, Koran. The local “Maulvi
had attached a piece of string to the ceiling and tied it to Parvez’s hair, so that if his head fell
forward, he would instantly awake. After this indignity Parvez had avoided all religions.” It does
not come as a surprise that Pravez had a low opinion of radicalized Muslims, who resorted to
violence for preaching their religion and propagating their narrative through foul means.
It was not that Parvez did not have a spiritual side to his personality. His close watch on
Ali was triggered by his realization of the fact that he had lost touch with spirituality. “He
yearned to understand how Ali had discovered the ‘spiritual dimension’. Parvez came to know
about this deficient aspect in his personality after he discussed the matter of transformation of
Ali with his confidant, Bettina. Parvez also shared with Bettina “that he thought people in the
West sometimes felt inwardly empty and that people needed a philosophy to live by.” This
observation on the part of Parvez highlights the fact of realization of spiritual vacuum in his life.
These moments of self examination and soul searching are fleeting and rare occurrences in his
life.
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Parvez had a working morality and philosophy of sort which served him well all along
his life. Being a practical and pragmatic man, he is a hardcore realist with a more or less secular
outlook on life devoid of any religious contours. “In his view this life was all there was and when
you died you rotted in the earth.” Continuity of life is seen by him in terms of giving birth to off
springs and not in terms of life after death. Man can leave his children as his mark and signature
on the planet earth. Parvez says, “Grass and flower will grow out of me, but something of me
will live on”. He wanted to make the most of his life while he was here. He wanted to grab all
that life had to offer him. He wanted to make the most of all moments of life by enjoying
himself. Parvez says, “But while I am here on earth I want to make the best of it. And I want you
too as well.”Enjoyment as a mode of life is subscribed by him while this philosophy of life is
spurned by his son Ali, in a dismissive mood.
Parvez was reminded by his son that “he had broken countless rules of the Koran” by
indulging in drinking wine and gambling. Parvez “ordered his own wife to cook pork sausages,
saying to her, “You are not in the village now, this is England. We have to fit in.” Parvez told his
son ‘I love England’. “They let you do almost anything here”. Parvez enjoyed personal liberties
in England which his son, Ali loved to hate. Parvez believed in Western philosophy, which he
articulated in these words “you should enjoy yourself. Yes. Enjoy yourself without hurting
others.”Ali retorted that enjoyment was a ‘bottomless pit’.
So, ideologically speaking there is no common ground between the father and the son.
They are pools apart in terms of their values and worldview on life. Although, they live under the
same roof but there is hardly anything common among them. They find one another on different
mental wavelength. As family is regarded as a basic social unit, so ambivalence comes at the
forefront in their lives. One extreme is matched by another extreme end of the spectrum.
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Ambivalence in their lives surfaces as inter-generational and inter personal phenomenon
in nature and complexion. Ideological tension and tug of war between the father and the son
ensued as a result of identity crisis suffered by Ali. He aligned himself with radical forces
shaping themselves as political right wing in the desperate search and quest for connecting with
his ideological and socio-cultural roots. For him the notion of nation is not an abstraction and
something mythical in conception but a tangible and undeniable living reality. For Ali Muslims
are “our people” who are oppressed by the West but father responds to this phrase of “our
people” with narrative of oppression, as an alien idea and totally abstract in conception. He
cannot relate himself with the idea of “our people”.
Ambivalence as Intra-Personal Phenomenon in The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Ambivalence in The Reluctant Fundamentalist is floating on the face of the novel. This
ambivalence is in the form of intra-personal conflict or conflict within. Changez’s hatred for
United States of America comes to the surface in the wake of incident of 9/11, a well-known date
on international calendar. The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a fine blend of personal story and
political events as it details a storyline with a post-colonial political perspective. The story
revisits the personal and political territories in the person of Changez, a young Pakistani. The
story is narrated in a single monologue and no perspectives of other characters are given.
Changez’s mood is captured in all its varying human forms, from ecstatic to downright depressed
and out. He tells his story to a nameless, mysterious American who sits across from him at a
Lahore cafe. Changez is educated at Princeton, employed by a first-rate valuation firm, Changez
was living the American dream, earning more money than he could think, caught up in the New
York social scene and in love with a beautiful and wealthy girl. The romance seems to be one
way affair; Erica is emotionally non-responsive, endlessly grieving the death of her lifelong
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friend and boyfriend, Chris. It is rather ironical that Changez’s consummation of love with Erica
only takes place when he pretends to be Chris as Erica cannot come out of her emotional
entanglement with him.
Changez is in Manila on 9/11 and sees the twin towers, iconic symbols of America’s
economic and financial powers, come down on TV. He tells the American, "...I smiled. Yes,
despicable as it may sound, my initial reaction was to be remarkably pleased... I was caught up in
the symbolism of it all, the fact that someone had so visibly brought America to her knees..."
(p.83)These pertinent and spontaneous remarks reflect his ambivalence and his latent intrapersonal conflict comes to the surface. Changes transformation from an admirer of United States
of America for her meritocracy regime to experience ‘pleasure’ when pain is inflicted on her is
rather dramatic and remarkable in scope and volume. When he returns to New York, there is a
visible change in attitudes of Americans toward him, starting right at immigration. His name and
his appearance make him suspect. In the wake of incident of 9/11terrorists’ act, an immigration
official woman enquires from him at New York airport in the following words, “What is the
purpose of your trip to the United States? (p.86). Changez feels being singled out and
discriminated on the basis of his colour and appearance. He is subjected to body search and
interrogation session which he takes as insulting and dehumanizing.
American troops attack Afghanistan to flush out the militants of all hues and types.
Americans do so to restore their self image of invincibility, so audaciously challenged by a
ragtag of mujahedeen in frontal suicidal attacks. This sets the most technologically advanced and
technology savvy world nation to set in motion its military juggernaut and huge apparatus to
restore the so-called power equilibrium. The scene of Afghanistan’s invasion by America is seen
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live on television screen by Changez and his dormant sense of belonging to Muslim nation
comes to the forefront. He boils with outrage at this act of the American troops. Changez says:
I chanced upon a newscast with ghostly night-vision images of American troops dropping
into Afghanistan for what was described as a daring raid on a Taliban command post. My
reaction caught me by surprise; Afghanistan was Pakistan’s neighbor, our friend, and a
fellow Muslim nation besides, and the sight of what I took to be the beginning of its
invasion by our countrymen caused me to tremble with fury. I had to sit down to calm
myself, and I remember polishing off a third of a bottle of whiskey before I was able to
fall sleep. (P113-114)
Because of the trouble between Pakistan and India Changez feels like to pay a visit to his
home, despite his parents' advice to stay where he is. While in Pakistan, he realizes that he has
changed in a way that shames him. "I was struck at first by how shabby our house appeared... I
was saddened to find it in such a state... This was where I came from... and it smacked of
lowliness."(p.141) These remarks show his inferiority complex and ambivalence as well. He
balances out that feeling and once again appreciates his home for its "unmistakable personality
and idiosyncratic charm." (p.142) After acclimatizing at his home in Pakistan, he realizes that his
home becomes familiar to him once again. It dawns upon him that it is not his home that his
changed in any significant manner rather he has undergone some transformation. Changez says:
…it occurred to me that the house had not changed in my absence. I had changed; I was
looking about me with the eyes of a foreigner, and not just any foreigner, but that
particular type of entitled and unsympathetic American who so annoyed me when I
encountered him in the classrooms and workplaces of your country’s elite. (p.141)
While at home, he grows his beard. He is advised by his mother to shave his beard but he
refuses. It will be his identity mark, his statement about who he is. His company sends him to
Chile for another business valuation; his mind filled with the troubles in Pakistan and the U.S.
involvement with India. There is a popular political and public discourse in Pakistan that the
country never got the kind of material and moral support that it expected from United States of
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America even after rendering great services to safeguard and further American interests in the
region. Changez thinks of Pakistani support to America against Soviet Union of Russia in
Afghanistan when Afghanistan was invaded and occupied by the Russian troops. American
connivance with India to mount pressure on Pakistan keeps his mind in a troubled state and
unable to focus on work. His work and the money he earns have been overshadowed by
resentment of the United States and all its political symbolism, particularly from the perspective
of Third World and developing countries.
In Pakistan he starts thinking about himself as a person who is torn between two
irreconcilable halves and suffering from predicament of a person who has divided loyalties. He
contemplates about his situation in the following words. “This caused me to reflect again on the
absurdity of my situation, being two hemispheres - if such a thing is possible - from home at a
time when my family was in need”. (p.169)
There is sense of urgency in him during his trip to Pakistan to seek resolution of this
conundrum of identity crisis. When he has to leave his motherland to come back to the United
States of America, he does not feel good about it. Although his personal fortunes would change
for the better but he starts looking at himself as a traitor to the nation, who quitted his people in
the hours of trials and tribulations.
When Changez comes back to United States of America, he is disturbed and mentally
upset. His mind is read by Juan-Bautista, who is good at understanding human psychology. In
conservation with Changez, Juan-Bautista draws an interesting analogy of Changez’s destiny
with that of janissaries. Janissaries were Christian boys who were “captured by the Ottomans and
trained to be soldiers in a Muslim army, at that time the greatest army in the world. They were
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ferocious and utterly loyal: they had fought to erase their own civilizations, so they had nothing
else to turn to.”(p.172) Juan-Bautista further says that janissaries “were always taken in
childhood. It would have been far more difficult to devote themselves to their adopted empire,
you see, if they had memories they couldn’t forget.”(p.172)
Ambivalent attitude of the protagonist of the novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist comes
to the limelight in a charged political atmosphere when emotions are running high amongst the
Americans. This emotional frenzy articulates itself in macro policy framework by looking at all
people of coloured skin as potential terrorists, out there to dismantle the edifice of Western
civilization. As twin towers in America symbolized her towering economic standing among the
comity of nations, so United States of America adopted stringent security checks to neutralize
any nefarious designs of the would be terrorists. These security checks in the form of thorough
body searches of all coloured people further alienated them from the American mainstream
community of White people, who did not have to undergo the ordeal. Some rowdy acts of
vandalism in street by bigoted White youth were directed against racial minorities living in
America. These random acts of violence further compounded the social quagmire and made
minorities realize that identity is a cultural trademark defined along racial features and ethnicity
factor. The minorities realized in those tense encounters that there is no running away from the
socio-cultural legacy and baggage of history.
The main difference between My Son the Fanatic and The Reluctant Fundamentalist lies
in the fact that ambivalence comes to the surface in My Son the Fanatic as an inter-personal and
inter-generational phenomenon. Ambivalence as an inter-generational phenomenon in the fatherson genetic continuum offers an interesting reading of the novel. It has been analyzed in a
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threadbare manner. It is the son who challenges the worldview of his father and tries to embrace
those values which has been thrown in the waste basket of history by his father.
In The Reluctant Fundamentalist the novelist, explores the idea of ambivalence in the
protagonist of the story. The main character of the story experiences ambivalence after the
realization of his American dream. It is rather intriguing that his ambivalent attitude comes to the
surface after he achieves phenomenal success and moves up the social ladder in a meteoric
fashion. In terms of similarity it can be inferred that both the stories portray the issue of identity
crisis of the protagonists as fundamental in nature, which needs to be resolved to give any
meaning and sense of direction to their lives. The enormity of the crisis can be gauged from the
fact that lives of both the characters virtually come to a standstill and demands urgent resolution
of the crisis before any headway or progress can be made in their lives.
Another similarity that can be observed is the yearning of connecting with the sociocultural roots as the theme of rootless person has been dealt with in a delicate and artistic
manner. Both the stories place identity crisis at the centre stage which is closely tied to the idea
or notion of ambivalence. Both the leading characters are not embraced as equal social citizens in
their adopted countries and their points of difference from dominating majority become the basis
of discrimination. Their heightened sense of awareness and sensitive natures force them to delve
deep in the deeper recesses of their souls to seek answer to this enigma and puzzling question in
life. They did manage to find the answer which aligns their political outlook with conservative
and nationalist forces. They happily embrace their mythical notion of nation as a grand political
abstract rather than accepting their alien neighbours and masters as their benefactors and well
wishers, who particularly fail them in their crisis moments to shatter their attempts to integrate
with them socially.
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Chapter 5
Conclusion
Second generation is viewed by some as existing between two cultures (Bolaffi et al.
2003, p.301).Second generation has made a significant mark so that it could redefine
representation. Second generation has challenged the notion of British nation and what it means
to be British. It is called by Hall (2000) as 'cultural diaspora-ization' because "there can,
therefore, be no simple 'return' or 'recovery' of the ancestral past which is not re-experienced
through the categories of the present . . . "(p.108).
For the second generation (1960s and 1970s), identity was a burning issue. The second
generation had to redefine British identity in the sense that all discriminatory practices based on
caste, colour and creed were consigned to the waste basket of humanity. This inevitably meant to
adopt a proactive strategy. This strategy was subscribed to by the second generation because
accepting subservient position or role did not pay dividends to their parents. Resultantly, second
generation adopted an aggressive strategy. It led to civil disturbances which were fuelled in an
environment of socio-economic marginalization and right-wing extremism strengthened its base
and foothold among some emigrants.
The feeling of injustice acts as a decisive factor in promoting aggressive behavior among
second generation emigrants as Philips (1987) says "a sense of relative deprivation, coupled with
feelings of valuelessness, and of having no investment in the society, no grip on the steering
wheel of power" ( p.127). If a person lives on social fringes and does not look at himself as a
stakeholder in a social system then he tries to inflict pain on others members of the privileged
community and takes revenge by adopting violent ways and means.
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In a newspaper article, Dad (2013) argues that historically heterogeneous cultures took
their birth in Pakistan with diverse and distinctive origins. However, the creation of Pakistan
brought heterogeneous cultural identities under the identity of a single state. How the state
narrative to champion and sponsor single identity of the nation-state backfired is explained by
the writer in the following words:
Being a post-colonial state, Pakistan resorted to a modern narrative that espouses a single
identity of the nation-state. The incompatibility of the state’s narrative of identity with its
cultural components fuels tension between the state and cultural/regional groups.
Coupled with this, the increasing influence of globalisation and modernisation is bringing
about drastic changes in the old order and provides only a base of shifting sands for
identity formation. As a result, each cultural group in Pakistan faces identity crises within
as well. ( Dad, 2013)
Keeping the fact in view that selected texts have been written in post-colonial time
period. The thesis has amplified the fact that identity formation is a dynamic process marked
with hybridity and vibrancy. In his oft-quoted research, Fanon (1952) drew upon the base of
psychoanalysis to show the inferiority complex the colonizers had managed to inculcate in the
conscious and unconscious mind of the colonized. His research is premised on the fact that the
colonized will try to imitate the culture of the colonizer because it is projected as more
sophisticated and desirable owing to its superior knowledge base. The colonized indigenous
culture had been denigrated and consigned to the dustbin of history. It was done because of the
growth of the British Empire and the supremacy which was accorded to English language,
consciously by the British masters and unconsciously by the colonized. The values system that
emerged under British patronage portrayed their civilization as superior and the narrative was
internalized by the colonized.
This narrative was at the centre stage for creating division in the world. Certain cultures
were termed primitive, old-fashioned, savage or native. In binary opposition, cultures of the
91
colonized were contrasted unfavourably with their own culture which was termed as standard or
barometer of civilization and humanity. The cultural denigration coupled with oppression and
suppression, does not only influence and modify the culture, but it also exert tremendous
influence on the personality and the perception of the self (Ashcroft et al.; 9). Since European
cultures were obsessed with the idea of continuous progress since the era of Enlightenment or the
Renaissance period, it was but natural on their part to seek to reform the cultures of the
colonized, to make the world a better place to live in.
As per the opinion of Fanon, the national consciousness or nationalism is a temporary
phase. In all probability it will lead to awakening in political and public discourse. National
consciousness should not be seen as a final stage because the next phase is trans-nationalism or
internationalism which "does not forsake the concern of local populations, but rather recognizes
the systemic relationship of national causes to global capitalism" (Richards, 1980). National
consciousness can help to "decolonize the minds".
Globalization has made huge footprints in every nook and cranny of the world.
Globalization is defined by Pilkington (2003) as a trend which undermines traditions. Under its
influence, people become aware of the fact that there are different ways of living life.
Globalization can make people contemplative and make them question about their collective
identities and it does not preclude the possibility to find an underlying trend to take diversity in
positive sense of the term (p.197).
National identity is one dimension of the multiple identities a human being can have.
National identity is the most esteemed and prized part of an individual's identity. Although in the
recent times the value of national identity has been fading away owing to trends of globalization.
92
National identity is wedded to the concept of political community. Identity as a notion is not
defined by most of the critics as inherently fixed. Identity formation is a complex phenomenon
marked with vibrancy and dynamism. The forces of globalization have gained momentum but
the problem of identity has ironically accentuated by living in a global village.
As the thesis has discussed at length in Literature Review that the colonized cannot run
away from their colonial legacy because the colonizers made fundamental reforms and impacted
their culture through the instrument of language significantly. If the colonized make a desperate
attempt to reconnect with their socio-cultural root that is not possible because the colonizers
wiped out their cultural trademarks by branding them as inferior. Under colonial rule, the
colonized themselves started thinking that the ways of living of their masters were superior in
every sense of the term. They were led to believe in looking at themselves as inferior in a
systematic manner and organized scheme of things instituted by their foreign masters.
In most of the cases, implementation of a new education system in the former colonies
severed links of the people from their past cultural history. The homegrown culture and customs
once practiced so fervently became a distant dream. Colonial educational system patronized and
sponsored a hybrid culture. In hybrid culture multiple cultural forms, practices, beliefs and power
dynamics are created. Colonial education creates a smoke screen which makes it difficult to draw
distinction between the old and the new. Ngugi (1986) , a leading post-colonial critic from Kenya,
expresses his resentment against colonial education which in his opinion wreaked havoc on
colonized peoples. He says that colonization:
…annihilate[s] a people’s belief in their names, in their languages, in their environment,
in their heritage of struggle, in their unity, in their capacities and ultimately in
themselves. It makes them see their past as one wasteland of non-achievement and it
93
makes them want to distance themselves from that wasteland. It makes them want to
identify with that which is furthest removed from themselves. (p. 3)
Psychology studies ambivalence in a detailed manner. Majority of the renowned
psychologists explore the idea of ambivalence in the relationship between mother and a child.
They are of the view that ambivalence is a perfectly natural state of human mind. Child is torn
between two conflicting emotions and unable to make up his mind in normal day to day life.
Ambivalence becomes an intense experience in the lives of emigrants, who are lured by the
greener pastures and seek to turn around their fortunes by moving up the social ladder. They earn
some quick bucks but some discriminatory practices force them to seek reconnection with their
roots.
The colonized will remain entangled in this love hate relationship with their masters for
quite some time. Despite the best of their attempts to integrate in the mainstream society, the
emigrants will not be embraced in the social fabric of their adopted countries as equal citizens. In
a politically charged atmosphere and crisis situation, they will have to turn inwards. After some
soul searching and self-examination, some may end up aligning themselves with ultraconservative and nationalist forces. Their political alignment with the far right political forces
may alienate them further from the mainstream society, championing the cause of secularism and
individual freedom of action to make life choices freely.
The counter perspective of ambivalence is hybridity. Hybridity explores the possibility of
simultaneous coexistence of heterogeneous elements of a person and culture in a peaceful
environment. Hybridity embraces the possibility that cultures are hybrid and culture becomes a
thriving entity if it is all inclusive in its practice. Cultures which remain static wither away in
time and space. Culture is as much a product of man as man is a product of culture.
94
Multiculturalism needs a democratic and tolerant polity, which is confident of itself. A society
which is constituted of individuals who are cosmopolitan in outlook would be in a position to
synthesize different worlds and live in harmony with these different worlds.
In the era which goes down in the annals of history as post-colonial period, is marked by
heightened sense of national and cultural awakening. Literature being a reflection of the spirit of
the age records human emotions and sentiments in artistic style and innovative ways. Emergence
of national consciousness and more than eager attempt to embrace one's cultural roots are very
important features of the post-colonial literature. Acceptance of one’s cultural roots is followed
by embracing one's cultural roots. Same goes for one’s racial belonging and taking pride in it. An
eclectic approach coupled with breadth of vision can germinate the seeds of trans-nationalism
and nurture feeling of belonging in a truly cosmopolitan society rather than staying on its
peripheries. Policy of inclusion rather than exclusion is the way forward for a thriving multicultural society. What policy measures can be taken by host countries to integrate emigrants in
their fold, can be thoroughly searched by those who want to undertake extensive study in this
field. To what extent inclusive policies can overcome the phenomenon of ambivalence among
emigrants can be explored by quality research in the field of study by future research scholars.
95
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