Literary Voice: An International Peer Reviewed Journal of English Studies (ISSN: 2583-8199) is published annually with a special focus on literature written/being written or translated in English all over the globe. It aims to promote healthy, constructive, critical, and interpretative writing on literary issues and trends, and provides a publication platform to talented young research scholars from all over the world and emerging new voices in the genres of poetry. We publish research papers/articles on various facets and genres of literature, literary criticism, linguistics, ELT, Book Reviews, Poems, and Interviews with writers. The journal aims to promote high-quality empirical and non-empirical interrogations of the extant critical canons that define and enrich credible appreciation of literary texts. The submissions are screened by internationally eminent Editorial Board Members who hail from the U.S.A., Canada, Turkey and India.
Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Meeting the Artist in Transnational World: Jeff Goldberg with American Glance on Indian Theatre
Jeff Goldberg is an Actor and Film Director who, after finishing his Bachelors in Film and Television from Boston University, moved to Paris to attain Graduate degree in Film direction from EICAR, The International Film School of Paris, and embarked upon his professional career. While in his early 20’s, Jeff wrote and directed his first independent feature film on the streets of Paris that was selected to the St. Petersburg International Film Festival. On the heels of that success, he began working as a director and screenwriter with French, American and Indian producers winning several prestigious screenwriting awards. After moving to India in his 30's, he directed a string of short films that were selected at several international film festivals and has staged hundreds of theatres shows all over India. In conjunction with his film work he has also been writing, directing and acting for the stage producing over 20 productions at some of India’s most renowned venues and festivals. As an educator Jeff has taught at some of the leading film schools and acting programmes in the world; The Lee Strasberg Institute (NYC), EICAR, The International Film School of Paris, The School of Visual Arts (NYC) and Fordham University (NYC). Currently, Jeff runs one of the finest acting studios in India, The Jeff Goldberg Studio and has worked with many of India’s top talents and a variety of NGOs; Salaam Bombay (educational initiative for slum children), Teach for India and Being with Beti (women’s rights). Jeff's shows have played to sold-out audiences all over India. His work cuts across genres ranging from drama to comedy, classics to experimental. He dares to challenge the conventions of theatre with each new production, making sure to incorporate his school of acting The Goldberg Method. He regularly tackles classics and original work pushing the boundaries each time he stages a show. Jeff happens to be one of the most popular trainers for acting workshops in Mumbai. He is extremely vocal about all the issues that he brings out via literary stories and performances and he loves meeting the youth with the sense of responsibility to be handed over to them. That is the responsibility of taking care of this world with the art of acting, the art of connecting people and the art of performing for humanity. Dr. Bhagyashree Varma, Associate Professor of English at Mumbai University interviewed Jeff Goldberg to unravel the mystique about the active experimentalist and thinker artist in Theatre and film industry.
The Mingling of Philosophy and Prayer in Puran Singh’s The Spirit of Oriental Poetry
This article explores the philosophical dimensions of Puran Singh’s The Spirit of Oriental Poetry, examining his integration of mysticism, spirituality, and poetic expression. Singh perceives poetry as a divine revelation, distinguishing Eastern poetry’s transcendental essence from the materialistic tendencies of Western literature. Through his discussions on poets like Whitman, Blake, Rumi, Guru Nanak, and Kabir, Singh underscores poetry’s role in spiritual awakening. His critique of Western rationalism highlights the erosion of poetic intuition, advocating for a return to poetry as a means of divine communion. By positioning poetry as a bridge between the human and the divine, Singh reaffirms its metaphysical significance. This study contextualizes Singh’s work within comparative literature and mystical philosophy.
Puran Singh, mysticism, spirituality, poetry, Eastern vs. Western poetry, poetic intuition, transcendence, The Spirit of Oriental Poetry
Relevance of Rabindranath Tagore’s Muktadhara, to Contemporary World – A Perspective
The present article explores Tagore’s concept of freedom against the backdrop of Tagore-Gandhi debate on ‘charkha,’ the role of science and technology in Indian context, and the concept of Nationalism. These concerns of Tagore are evidently manifest in the play, Muktadhara as the author analyses the writer’s ‘meditations’ on the frailties of State sponsored educational system and the imposition of science on humanity, thus causing horrible imbalance in man-nature equations.
Charkha,’ nationalism, science, technology, ‘mukti.’
Inherited Wounds: Intergenerational Trauma in Kavita Daswani’s Everything Happens for A Reason
This research paper explores the theme of intergenerational trauma in Kavita Daswani’s Everything Happens for A Reason through Jeffrey C. Alexander’s Cultural Trauma Theory. Centering on the protagonist, Priya, the study examines her family dynamics and cultural expectations to understand how collective traumatic experiences are transmitted across generations. The analysis highlights the emotional and psychological impacts of inherited trauma on Priya’s identity and mental health, particularly how family secrets and unspoken histories perpetuate these struggles. The paper delves into the cultural and societal pressures that Priya faces, emphasizing the conflicts arising from traditional values and modern aspirations. Additionally, it investigates Priya’s journey toward healing and reconciliation, showcasing her efforts to address and overcome the cycle of trauma. By applying Cultural Trauma Theory, this study offers a nuanced perspective on how cultural and societal factors shape personal histories and resilience, contributing to literary scholarship, psychology, and cultural studies.
Intergenerational Trauma, Identity, Family Dynamics, Cultural expectations, Societal pressures
Theorizing Sisterhood: Reconstructing the Female and Feminine in Literature
This research paper is meant to be an extension of any study of Women’s Studies. The roles of women in societies and domains of knowledge are not devoid of struggles of varied hues. Despite the struggles, women have spelled out a strong presence for themselves over centuries. In the realm of Women’s Studies, the waves of Feminism and Womanism have rendered immense strengths and conviction to makeovers in policies, attitudes and structures by highlighting and resisting injustices targeted towards women and men. The struggles and resistances have been strengthened by the collective powers of women’s organisations and women’s’ influences on drafting better political and social policies that reduce the struggles and sufferings of both, men and women. This paper elaborates the concept and role of Sisterhood and its fundamental status in the realm of Women’s Studies.
Sisterhood, Feminism, Womanism, Humanism, Oppression, Sameness, Feminist Osmosis Theory
Healing and Transformation: Power of Resilience in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit
The interplay of healing and transformation to the fate of humanity, as well as that of individual characters, is a recurrent theme in both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. The focus of this paper is on the concept of resilience as it extends beyond the portrayal of the characters to include societies and landscapes, and how efforts taken by Tolkien centered around myth, sacrifice and redemption. Close reading and the textual analysis of Tolkien’s works reveal the healing and transformation of various characters. Frodo, is one among them whose healing is not merely a physical aspect but has deeper spiritual connotations, with imposing effects arising from sacrifice. This is further compounded by the fact that for Tolkien healing and transformation are intertwined concepts, and this synthesis resonates in Frodo and even more in Aragorn. The paper presents the argument that landscapes are equally important here. The healing of the Shire and the destruction of Mordor seem to mark the themes of nature and corruption respectively. Focusing on the sacrificial hero and the reborn king as prominent archetypes, Tolkien’s works are placed in a greater context in which cycles of death and rebirth and renewal are important. This line of analysis helps the readers see how healing and metamorphosis are key parts of resilience in Tolkien’s outlook, emphasizing that in reality healing is both individualistic and collective.
Resilience, Sacrifice, Redemption, Spiritual connotations, Nature, Corruption.
Aesthetic Consciousness and Literature: Sartre’s Existential Queries
Jean-Paul Sartre raised a number of pertinent existential questions exploring the realms of not just art, philosophy and literature, but addressed all aspects of man’s being. His philosophic thought starts with two types of being- Being-in-itself and Being-for-itself. In-itself is the transcendent essence of human existence, therefore beyond the framework of space and time. Being-for-itself perpetually seeks completion. Being arises through Nothingness, yet Nothingness denies Being. He discusses three types of consciousness: perceptual, conceptual and imaginative. Imagination functions on the basis of the negation of what is here and now. The imaginative act results in the creation of an unreal object. Why then does man create art? This is the question which immediately arises in this context. All creative activity, according to him, derives its impetus from Being-for-others. Art is an expression language (the term 'language' here is taken in a wider sense and does not merely refer to verbal language) that reveals the others. Without language, no awareness is possible- of oneself as well as of others. Therefore, language becomes valuable as a means of revealing the other in his essential freedom. His essay ‘What is Literature?’ delves into the deeper queries of the creation of literature, beginning with what, for whom, what should and so on.
Aesthetics, consciousness, existentialism, Jean-Paul Sartre, literature, language.
Exploring Historical Echoes: Unveiling the Allegorical Connection Between A Clash of Kings and The War of the Roses
In this research article, the analysis explores into George R.R. Martin's complex combining of historical allegory from the 15th-century The War of the Roses into his epic fantasy, A Clash of Kings. The analysis reveals similarities between important historical characters from Westeros, including Richard III and Henry VII, and shows how the political complexities of real-world inspiration are reflected in the fictional battles of the book. Beyond war scenes, the research highlights the significance of family dynamics in historical and fictional contexts, suggesting parallels between The War of the Roses and the power struggles in the Seven Kingdoms. Additionally, the narrative complexities in A Clash of Kings are examined, highlighting the seamless blending of historical events into the fantasy plot. For instance, the conflict between the Starks and the Lannister’s recalls images of the York’s and Lancaster’s historical struggles (Neubauer 30; Martin 245). Ultimately, this article indicates that Martin's novel serves as a bridge between historical events and the fantastical world of Westeros, providing readers with a rich and engaging experience that goes beyond genre and era conventions.
George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings, The War of the Roses, Westeros, political intrigue, dynastic rivalry, historical allegory, family conflicts, Seven Kingdoms and Battle of Blackwater Bay.
The Cultural Genealogy of ‘Bharat Mata’ and Mothers in Gandhian Discourse: A Reading of Raja Rao’s Kanthapura and Doodhnath Singh’s “Mai ka Shokgeet”
This paper proposes to interrogate the cultural genealogy of Bharat Mata and the posited connection of the anthropomorphic image with the accent on women’s participation in the Gandhian movement in terms of the fictional, textual space of Raja Rao’s Kanthapura and Doodhnath Singh’s long short story, “Mai Ka Shokgeet.” Both the texts offer a serious, sustained engagement with the idea of women’s assimilation and participation in the Gandhian nationalist movement, and indeed stage this engagement in terms of how it is practiced in everyday lives of ordinary women. The Gandhian movement is credited with being the most participatory and inclusive mass movement. Records suggest that the kind of participation of women it ensured in the public domain remains unparalleled. Part of the reason for this overwhelming participation may perhaps have to do with not only how Gandhian discourse effectively played upon the iconic symbol of Bharat Mata /Mother India: this had been successfully done in various preceding as well as parallel nationalist/ revivalist movements. None of the other movements, however, correlated Bharat Mata with the lives of ordinary mothers as effectively. In the Gandhian framework, not only were women expected to participate in the struggle to free Bharat Mata; their collective participation was held out as the promise as well as proof of their own emancipation. This paper, shall examine how, in these texts Bharat Mata gets established in a reinvented myth as a besieged deity; and why, therefore, her devoted son Gandhi must be assisted in every way possible. The paper shall attempt to understand how this myth circulates, negotiates resistance and gains currency. How at the outset, it is presented as an intervention in known lores, which requires interpretation of a knowledgeable insider in order to be accessed by an entire community or group. The interpretation, of course, is inevitably geared at inspiring women listeners to enlist in Gandhi’s ‘army’. Interestingly, these women, in the very act of accepting this conscription–which is a radically changing experience for them–often turn the Gandhian agenda into something radically different as well. Eventually, the pursuit of the Gandhian promise of emancipation is transformative, though not necessarily as desired. These leading faith keepers of Mother India (who incidentally are almost never mothers), manage to come good even when the Gandhian dream does not.
Gandhian Movement, Bharat Mata, Culture, Mother, Emancipation
Gender Discrimination is a social phenomenon where unfair treatment is meted out to a person based on gender. This inequality is caused due to gender bias or sexism. The treatment may be due to the distinctions with regard to biology, psychology and sociocultural norms. While some of the distinctions are empirically grounded others are social constructs. Gender roles can further lead to unequal treatment. Violence against women is a kind of gender discrimination and can limit their access to education, job opportunities and other facilities thereby perpetuating the cycle of gender inequality.
Gender Discrimination, Bible, Women, Christianity, Old Testament
Revisiting Bankim Chandra’s Idea of Cultural Nationalism-A Perspective
In the 19th Century, due to the influence of the West, there was a tendency to offer reasons for and against standard practices. Dharmic traditions and practices, too, suffered a similar fate. Young nerves in Bengal were influenced by Western culture and started to doubt the validity of any classical understanding of life's problems. Several attempts to understand dharma as being based on morality, science, art, or as a type of philosophy have resulted in a wide range of views among classical philosophers. On the other hand, there have been some critical attempts to distinguish religion from other forms of understanding. It has been argued that the enterprise started by early classical thinkers to rescue religion from obscurity and isolate what is unique about it by approaching it psychologically dominates our thought today. Bankim was the one who attempted to offer a secular basis for religion to a mind that had already embraced the empirical objection to all suprasensible phenomena. Thus, this paper will further explore the colonial literary thoughts raised by Bankim against the secular orientation of dharma in the Indian context.
Literature, dharmic consciousness, omnipotent, reformation, and nationalism
Copyright (c) 2024 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Lalit Mohan Sharma. Imaginary Knots: Poems, Authors Press, New Delhi. 2024
Life is not a series of gig lamps symmetrically arranged; life is a luminous halo, a semi-transparent envelope surrounding us from the beginning of consciousness to the end, says Virginia Woolf. And the poet’s vocation is to charter this irregular flow of life, and try to inject meaning into the anarchic, and if possible, order the chaos. In the ordered universe, only man is an aberration. He is in fact an organized chaos, working hard to rework his own pattern and trying to find meaning in jumbled existence. Catch a thread in a jumble and you can unknot it by and by. But human mind is a jumble which knows no easy solutions. The unrest, angst, the stir that marks human mind at this juncture of existential history of mankind is what makes the warp and woof of Dr Lalit 's poetry. If poetry is an image of our lives, his poems go a step forward and present not only the outward image, but also lay bare the inside corrosion suffered by the human soul. The most corrosive of all elements is the passion for greed, more and more, and a complete lack of sensitivity towards others who might suffer when we blow our trumpet.
To Be or Not to Be: Undergraduate ESL Learners’ Attitudes Towards Code-Switching
Code-switching and its pros and cons, is a highly debated phenomenon in second language learning in a classroom setting. This study also discusses how hindering code-switching affects the learning process in English language classrooms. The data for this quantitative study was gathered from the population of 50 BS second language learners at the University of Lahore through a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire. The results indicate that the majority of undergraduate learners have a favorable disposition towards the practice of code-switching. They face difficulties when they are not allowed to switch codes in the classroom. However, it has been found that there are a few learners who do not feel any difficulty in the absence of code-switching opportunities. According to the findings, stopping the learners from code-switching in educational settings is disadvantageous. The encouragement of code-switching practice in classrooms is a robust way of enhancing communicative skills, socio-emotional engagement, and accelerating learning outcomes. These findings have important implications for language educators and policymakers and will help in fulfilling the actual classroom requirements and bringing about a change in the attitudes towards code-switching.
Code-switching, ESL learners’ attitudes, problems, Learning development.
Moving from a Textual to Visual Medium: Transposition of Ruskin Bond’s The Blue Umbrella to the Cinematic Canvas
Intertextuality, which emphasizes the interaction of various works of art, is associated with adaptation studies. According to comparative literature scholar James Naremore, modern life's nerve center is remaking. Additionally, based on the interpretation of the original source material, remaking brings out ideological and aesthetic beliefs. According to the intertextuality school of thought, the novel always comes before the movie, but a consumer is more likely to see the movie first. However, the novel and the movie complement one another visually and aesthetically due to the components they contain. The study attempts to explore how Vishal Bharadwaj's adaptation of Ruskin Bond's novella The Blue Umbrella differs from the original and how they stay connected. The paper will try to find aspects of film and literature that are not easily changeable while considering the convergence of these two art forms.
Intertextuality, Adaptation, Convergence, Fidelity, Aesthetics
Intimate Partner Violence and its Realistic Projection: A Critical Study of Contemporary Indian Cinema
Despite an array of new statutes designed to safeguard women and punish abusers, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) continues to snuff out many lives leading to infringement of fundamental human rights and serious physical and mental health consequences. Like other societal phenomena, gender-based violence particularly IPV alongside its resistance, is prominently depicted in contemporary Indian cinema. By evaluating three films in light of a social responsibility paradigm which relies on realistic representation as its basic dimension, this research investigates how accurately IPV is portrayed across contemporary Indian cinema. The behavioural elements of the widely recognized The Duluth Model and Power and Control Wheel will be applied to determine realistic representation of IPV in each particular movie. This study focuses on films like Jasmeet K. Reen’s Darlings, Charukesh Sekar’s Ammu and Vipin Das’s ‘Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey’ which premiered in year 2022 in Hindi, Telugu and Malyalam cinema respectively. The results demonstrate significant variations in the measure of social responsibility indicating that contemporary Indian cinema may play a significant role in realistic projection of IPV
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), Indian cinema, realistic presentation, Power and control, social responsibility
Mind-Body Mantra: Unleashing the Potentials of Life through Mind-Body Medicine illustrated in the Essays of Swami Vivekananda and Deepak Chopra
Good bodily and mental health is a condition of well-being. We may keep our bodies in good health by embarking on a quest to explore the deepest corners of our minds. The practical and scientific approaches for comprehending the relationship between the mind and body are the main emphasis of the study. Through their writings, Deepak Chopra and Swami Vivekananda emphasize the vitality of the fountain known as consciousness as a prelude to awareness, focus, and purpose - all of which are subsequently incorporated into medical procedures like radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery. Both the writers’ literary works highlight and discuss ancient Indian life sciences like Yoga and Ayurveda as well as Western Medicine. Through the field of Medical Humanities, the intersection of Literature, Philosophy, and Medical Science, this research will engage significant elements required for the purpose. Thus, the research delves into both the physiological and psychological facets of preserving bodily health.
Mind-body balance, awareness, attention, Ayurveda, Yoga
The Women Characters of Amish Tripathi: A Postfeminist Perspective
The paper attempts to explore the women characters of Amish Tripathi in his Shiva Trilogy and Ram Chandra Series with a post-feminist perspective. In the recent trend of mythological fiction, women characters are given the roles of protagonists for voicing their emotions and decisions. From their shadowed existence to their new avatar of prominence and strength they have become role models for the young generation. Tripathi has subverted the characterization of women with extraordinary virtues. His Sita is the pride of Malayputras who confer on her the coveted title of ‘Vishnu’ for making her accountable for the welfare of the people by destroying evil. He very carefully associates masculine qualities with women to prove their wisdom and power. The paper focuses on Tripathi’s defiance of patriarchal society by presenting a world of women who possess masculine qualities along with utmost femininity.
Post-feminism, Empowered Women; Femininity; Feminism, Mythology
Shanti and Second Birth: S. Radhakrishnan on Literature, Art and Spiritual Values
Radhakrishnan, as a visionary educationist in his writings, has been a chief votary of the ideal of Gyanam -Vigyanam sahitam, meaning wisdom and the sciences go together. This paper investigates the thoughts of S. Radhakrishnan on how literature and art give a second birth in the spirit through wisdom. He holds that great works of literature and art give a spiritual birth regarded as a second birth in Indian culture. Once born in the vision of the spirit, Buddhi, that is, intelligence, works on the light of spirit, spiritual value or truth, stabilizing the mind, a zone of thoughts and feelings. A stable mind thus becomes divine by spiritual insight and vision. Literary compositions and arts born out of this state lend a person in Shanti tranquillity, a clear and pure mind capable of spiritual vision. Thus, writers and artists create the minds of the people and the nation.
Spirit, Shanti, Literature, Art, Intelligence, Wisdom, Science
Introspecting on Adivasi Rights: A Critique of C K Janu’s Autobiography Mother Forest: The Unfinished Story of C K Janu
Mother Forest: The Unfinished Story of C.K Janu (2003) is an autobiography of C.K Janu, a tribal rights activist from Kerala. The paper examines how Janu narrates the essence of the tribal culture and its shared sense of mutuality with the environment. Describing the enriched experiences of the tribal society, achieved through ecological practices, Janu focuses on the fact that the tribal society maintains an inherent relationship with the forest. The indigenous philosophy of life and its impact on the sustenance of forest terrains, is highlighted in the narrative. The paper also examines the politics of power while analyzing Janu’s role as an activist for tribal land rights. The insensitivity of the system towards tribal culture and tribal land rights is critiqued against the backdrop of contemporary and contentious socio-political scenario.
Autobiography, Tribal Lives, Ecological Consciousness, Tribal Land Rights
Writing for Healing: A Metaphorical Conceptualisation of Mental Disorders in Shaheen Bhatt’s I’ve Never Been (Un)happier
Illness narratives inarguably resonate with the physical and psychological pain experienced by the patients as well as the caregivers because of the impact of illness and social alienation. The act of writing about the tribulations of being ill, as Lacan posits, protects the writer from its more devastating effects; though it is inadequate to eliminate psychosis. Shaheen Bhatt narrates the agonizing ordeal in I’ve Never Been (Un)happier through a metaphorical conceptualisation of the mental disorders she suffers from. When the telling of the lived experience occurs, the writer creates an alternate story in which she plays the dominant role of a protagonist, retrospects the episodes of mood disorders and fantasizes about death. This paper attempts to analyse the significance of the conceptual metaphors corresponding to the pervasive psychological distress and the role of writing in the recovery process.
Conceptual metaphor; Depression, Illness narratives; Pathography; Writing
An Eco-heritage or an Eco-curse? - A Postcolonial Ecocritical Study of Helon Habila’s Oil on Water
Nigerian literature has been strewed with much political activism and ecological degradation. It has brought to the fore the connivance of oil companies, government agencies and a few members of the local communities in devouring the sacred land of Nigeria. The fictional literature of the Niger Delta takes into account the socio-cultural and political factors that revolve around the management of environmental problems in Nigeria. Rapid industrialization and excessive oil mining leave devastating ecological imprints on the flora, fauna and the landscape of the Delta. The fundamental issues of capitalism, globalisation, and exploitation of natural resources that cause the obliteration of Nigeria’s ecosystem are the themes of numerous literatures seeping out of the Niger Delta. Helon Habila’s Oil on Water works in the creative space to divert attention towards real-life issues that threaten the ecological sustenance of Niger Delta. The present paper analyses the novel by raising questions about the unethical practices being executed in the name of development. While being socio-ecologically intertwined, the novel also provides a postcolonial discourse on the corruption of moral order that plagues the fabric of Nigerian society.
: Oil, Niger Delta, Eco critical, Postcolonial, MNCs, ecological sustenance
Ramifications of Digital Technology - A Critical Study of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
Mankind is the only species to be gifted with the power of reasoning. Our quest to comprehend life has always been on the move. There was a time when we were completely governed by the laws of nature. However, through breakthroughs in science and technology, man has been able to evolve and exercise control. We now live in an era where our lives are governed by digital technology. Literature, cinema, and other art forms are the bases on which this is built. As movie lovers there have been times where we wished the movies had alternate endings. This stems from our own thoughts of living vicariously through the main characters. This is being facilitated by Interactive Digital Narrative in video games and movies. To understand and analyse this, the present paper takes Black Mirror: Bandersnatch to study the same. Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is an interactive movie that gives us several choices as we become the protagonist and attempt to change the fate of the protagonist in the story. Does digital technology help or harm our core values? Can art forms withstand the test of time, even in this digital era? This paper comprehends to find answers to the above questions.
: Interactive Digital Narrative, digital technology, cinema, value system, choices
Exploring the Fluidity of Becoming: A Stylistic Analysis of Claudia Morgado E.’s No Bikini
The paper is a critical exploration of the fluidity of becoming through the character of Robin in Claudia Morgado Escanilla’s short film No Bikini1 (2007). The paper further investigates the role of water in the dynamic configurations of the paradigms of gender expressions and highlights Robin’s relationship with water in their process of ‘becoming.’ An extensive focus on the stylistic construction of Robin’s character and the space of the swimming pool is analysed in rendering further possibilities of extending one’s self beyond the realms of the heteronormative world. Hence, this paper essays at understanding the positionality of children amidst the larger queer expressions predominantly constitutive of adult lives, and how children negotiate gender roles and a child’s casual manner of queering heteronormative structures, are further studied.
Fluidity, Becoming, Gender, Water, Heteronormative, Queer
Ambiguous Selves: Examining Psychological Repercussions of Human Cloning in Mildred Ames's Anna to the Infinite Power
Artificially created human beings are speculated to grapple with psychological struggles, including identity crisis, existential angst, societal discrimination, and complicated family dynamics resulting from their unorthodox genealogy, which is portrayed in posthuman narratives that feature genetically diversified society that integrates artificially created human beings with sexually reproduced individuals. Apart from cloning humans for procreation, the concept of cloning a historical figure who could make tremendous contributions to the world has intrigued the proponents of cloning. In a hypothetical space where cloning achieves rampant societal acceptance, addressing the moral, ethical, and legal rights of the clones becomes paramount to preserving the sanctity of human life. This article conducts a bioethical analysis of the possible psychological repercussions of human cloning that culminate into complexities in identity formation, individuation and family dynamics among human clones in Mildred Ames's Anna to the Infinite Power.
Human cloning, Identity formation, Family Dynamics, Bioethics
Copyright (c) 2024 Grace George, gracetheresageorge@gmail.com https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Meditations on the Female Chronic Pain Experience in Literature: An Exploration of Lupus in Flannery O’Connor’s Letters
“Men are more likely than women to be given medication when they report pain to their doctors. Women are more likely to be given sedatives,” claims Leslie Jamison while citing evidence from the 2001 study The Girl Who Cried Pain (Jamison 117). Pain as an experiential category is different from other somatic experiences, in that it is heavily dependent not only on its mitigation but also on its avowal of external perceptual forces. As Elaine Scarry puts it “To have great pain is to have certainty; to hear that another person has pain is to have doubt” (Scarry 7). This is true except in circumstances when one is inflicting pain on another – such as torture, where the other’s articulation of pain reinforces the effectiveness of pain being inflicted. A close look at the existing theoretical apparatus and literary representations of women’s physical pain reveals a big issue. Even when gender is acknowledged as a contributing factor in women’s pain, these conversations are often limited to representations of descriptions of sexual assault, childbirth and, fairly recently, menstruation. The experiences of female pain that aren’t solely mediated through the genitalia, lack both representation and a theoretical vocabulary to talk about them productively. My engagement with pain as a symptom of lupus shows that there are experiences of pain heavily dependent on gender identity, which have nothing to do with the genitalia. In establishing a theoretical apparatus for talking about such experiences it might be useful to draw on Flannery O’Connor’s letters as a test for the theoretical apparatus thus developed.
pain, femininity, lupus, neglect, continuity.
Copyright (c) 2024 Pavini Suri, Dr. Shivani Vashisht https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Locating the Subject in Postmodern State: A Critique of Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day
A British novelist of Japanese origin, Kazuo Ishiguro explores the social and political atmosphere of England that unsettled the nation in the decade after World War I. He brings to notice the significant role of an individual’s inner emotional dilemma of the professional self. This paper then offers a close reading of Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day (1989), exploring the discourse of the subject within a social, political and ideological framework that constructs the concept of selfhood. This play of socio-political ideologies includes subjects that are no more than cultural performances. Centring on Ishiguro’s exploration of this decentred subject, this paper scrutinises the symbolic link between the protagonist Stevens’s selfhood caused by self-deception or the ideological state apparatus and fictional world leaders’ discourse on professionalism. From this viewpoint, the main objective of the paper is to uncover how Ishiguro’s work dramatises the transformation of the modernist preconstituted subject into the postmodernist decentred subject.
Kazuo Ishiguro, subject, subjectivity, postmodern, England
Copyright (c) 2024 Suraj Soni, Dr. Vipan Pal Singh https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
The Evolution of Literary Canons: Coetzee's 'What is a Classic?' in the Contemporary Context
J. M. Coetzee, a South African-born writer, is renowned for his sparse yet potent prose. His writing often delves into complex themes such as apartheid, colonialism, and the human condition with a stark, introspective style. Through his precise and evocative prose, he explores the depths of human experience, inviting readers to confront uncomfortable truths about society and the self, and he even writes about the fundamental themes of literature. He examines the development of Johann Sebastian Bach's reputation as a classic from a critical standpoint in his famous essay "What is a Classic," drawing parallels with contemporary writing. Coetzee's research provokes reflection on the procedures and complexities of declaring a piece of writing a classic. Discussions about the creation of canons, cultural identity, and historical conditioning continue to influence opinions on classic literature in the contemporary literary landscape. Coetzee's admittance that our historical background influences how we play and interpret Bach's music provides a critical perspective on the subjectivity that permeates classical composition interpretation. Coetzee's research provokes reflection on the procedures and complexities of declaring a piece of writing a classic. Discussions about the creation of canons, cultural identity, and historical conditioning continue to influence opinions on classic literature in the contemporary literary landscape. Through a close reading of the selected essay from the book, the paper will analyse Coetzee's reflections on the nature of the classic, his critique of canonical thinking, and his exploration of the tensions between tradition and innovation in literary discourse.
Literary Canons, J.M. Coetzee, Johann Sebastian Bach, historical context, Horatian.
Copyright (c) 2024 Dr. Shaleen Kumar Singh https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Tamali Neogi. V.S.Naipaul: His Dark and Comic Vision
V.S.Naipaul: His Dark and Comic Vision is an insightful study by Dr. Tamali Neogi to investigate the dark and comic vision of V.S.Naipaul in his selected fiction and non-fiction. The book reveals the scholarly and perceptive venture of Neogi to unravel the creative and proliferative genius of Naipaul (1932-2018), a literary giant of the contemporary times “ known for his ‘terrifying honesty’ in addressing cultural dislocation and restlessness caused by migration and rapid unsettling social and technological changes” who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001 for mapping the predicaments of the wounded and fragmented psyches of the people of most of the post-colonial cultures and societies in various continents.