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Year 2019, Volume: 5 Issue: 2, 68 - 78, 14.12.2019

Abstract

References

  • Featherstone, M. (1982). The body in consumer culture. Theory, Culture & Society, 1(2), 18–33.
  • Featherstone, M., & Hepworth, M. (1991). The mask of ageing and the postmodern life course. In M. Featherstone, M. Hepworth, & B. S. Turner (eds.), The Body: Social Process and Cultural Theory, (pp. 371–389). London: Sage.
  • Holliday, R., & Hassard, J. (2001). Contested bodies. London: Routledge.
  • Kureishi, H. (2003). The Body and seven stories. London: Faber Faber.
  • Laslett, P. (1991). A fresh map of life: The emergence of the third age. Cambridge, MA, US: Harvard University Press.
  • Troyansky, D. G. (1992). The older person in the western world: From the middle ages to the Industrial Revolution. In T. R. Cole, T. D. D. Van, & R. Kastenbaum (eds.), Handbook of the Humanities and Aging. (pp. 49-61) New York: Springer.
  • Woodward, K. (1991). Ageing and its discontents. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana U.P.

An Old Mind in a New “Body” by Hanif Kureishi

Year 2019, Volume: 5 Issue: 2, 68 - 78, 14.12.2019

Abstract

Finding ways to live an eternal life has always been an issue that intrigues the minds of people and finds an important place in literary works, as well. At times, the key to live forever is through a magical touch; sometimes it is a scientific experiment on dead ones and it might also be a surgical operation that helps the characters sustain an endless life just like Hanif Kureishi’s novella, “The Body” in which Kureishi introduces the reader an old, famous playwright named Adam who is offered a chance to live a second life in a different body. The novella is mainly based on the operation that transplant Adam’s brain into a brand new body. Everything seems perfect at the beginning; he experiences an almost hedonistic lifestyle, but the accumulated experiences of his past life do not leave him. In other words, his consciousness, thoughts and memories are also transferred into his new body creating a big dilemma for Adam. The paradox he experiences, caused by an old mind in a new body, evokes the present subject of this paper; namely the dual nature of flesh and spirit, body and mind. Therefore, this paper aims to explore these dualities together with their effects on the individual and social self.

References

  • Featherstone, M. (1982). The body in consumer culture. Theory, Culture & Society, 1(2), 18–33.
  • Featherstone, M., & Hepworth, M. (1991). The mask of ageing and the postmodern life course. In M. Featherstone, M. Hepworth, & B. S. Turner (eds.), The Body: Social Process and Cultural Theory, (pp. 371–389). London: Sage.
  • Holliday, R., & Hassard, J. (2001). Contested bodies. London: Routledge.
  • Kureishi, H. (2003). The Body and seven stories. London: Faber Faber.
  • Laslett, P. (1991). A fresh map of life: The emergence of the third age. Cambridge, MA, US: Harvard University Press.
  • Troyansky, D. G. (1992). The older person in the western world: From the middle ages to the Industrial Revolution. In T. R. Cole, T. D. D. Van, & R. Kastenbaum (eds.), Handbook of the Humanities and Aging. (pp. 49-61) New York: Springer.
  • Woodward, K. (1991). Ageing and its discontents. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana U.P.
There are 7 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Ayse Demir 0000-0001-8563-590X

Publication Date December 14, 2019
Submission Date August 2, 2019
Published in Issue Year 2019 Volume: 5 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Demir, A. (2019). An Old Mind in a New “Body” by Hanif Kureishi. The Literacy Trek, 5(2), 68-78.

Creative Commons License The content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Copyright rests with the author; The Literacy Trek must be referred properly.