Abstract
George Lamming is a postcolonial author who has his roots in the Caribbean
islands in which he could witness harmful impacts of colonialism on the native
population. Instead of losing his hope to resist the colonial legacy, he
attempts to develop his anti-colonialist discourse through producing literary
texts in which he aims to raise awareness of the native peoples concerning
their cultural and psychological destruction that emerged because of a long
history of colonialism in the native land. His fiction underscores the demographic
diversity of the Caribbean islands which points to a variety of cultures, races
and ethnic descent exists as a result of immigration from other countries.
Lamming believes that these various groups in the Caribbean can establish their
political order by concentrating on their common and identical experiences as
well as sufferings in the colonial period since all of these native people
occupy the same inferior status in the eyes of the white colonisers. His novel The Emigrants
places the experiences, plight and psychological restructuring of the Caribbean
immigrants in the European metropolis at its centre. The aim of this paper is
to prove that being an immigrant in London and experiencing oppression and
racism strengthen the immigrants’ sense of identification with the Caribbean. Thus, this
process prompts them to rescue themselves from the colonial domination by
returning to their native land where they think they belong to.
References
- Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G. and Tiffin, H. (2004). The Empire Writes Back. New York and London: Taylor & Francis e-Library. Byron, M. and Condon, S. (2007). Migration in Comparative Perspective. New York and London: Taylor & Francis e-Library. Fanon, F. (2008). Black Skin White Masks. Trans. Charles Lam Markman. London: Pluto Press.Hall, S. (2001). “Old and New Identities, Old and New Ethnicities”. Theories of Race and Racism. Ed. Les Back and John Solomos. New York and London: Taylor & Francis e-Library. 144-154.Head, D. (2002). The Cambridge Introduction to Modern British Fiction, 1950-2000. New York: Cambridge University Press. Kundnani, A. (2007). The End of Tolerance: Racism in 21st Century Britain. London; Ann Arbor; MI: Pluto Press. Lamming, G. (1994). The Emigrants. The United States of America: The University of Michigan Press. Lamming, G. (2003). “The Occasion for Speaking”. The Post-Colonial Studies Reader. Ed. Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. New York and London: Taylor & Francis e- Library. 12-18. Lamming, G. (2009). “Language and Cultural Evolution”. Beyond Borders. Ed. Jennifer Rahim and Barbara Lalla. Jamaica: University of the West Indian Press. 17-34. Nasta, S. (2004). “George Lamming with Caryl Phillips” Writing Across Worlds. New York and London: Taylor & Francis e-Library. Odhiambo, C. J. (1994). “Outside the Eyes of the Other: George Lamming and Definition in Of Age and Innocence”Research in African Literatures Vol. 25,No. 2, Special Issue: Caribbean Literature (Summer), pp. 121-130. IndianaUniversity Press, (12.04.2013) http://www.jstor.org/stable/4618267. Page, K. (2010). Transnational Negotiations in Caribbean Diasporic Literature. New York and London: Taylor & Francis e-Library.Ramchand, K. (2004). The West Indian Novel and its Background. Kingston and Miami: Ian Randle Publishers. Rush, A. S. (2011). Bonds of Empire. New York: Oxford University Press.Said, E. W. (1996). Representations of the Intellectual. New York: Vintage Books.Szeman, I. (2003). Zones of Instability: Literature, Postcolonialism and the Nation. London: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Thiong’o, N. (1978). Homecoming, London: Heinemann Educational Books.Weedon, C. (2004). Identity and Culture: Narratives of Difference and Belonging. England: Open University Press.Weiss, T. (2009). “The Windrush generation”. The Cambridge Companion to The Twentieth-Century English Novel. Ed. Robert L. Caserio. New York: Cambridge University Press. 163-175.
Abstract
George Lamming is a postcolonial author who has his roots in the Caribbean
islands in which he could witness harmful impacts of colonialism on the native
population. Instead of losing his hope to resist the colonial legacy, he
attempts to develop his anti-colonialist discourse through producing literary
texts in which he aims to raise awareness of the native peoples concerning
their cultural and psychological destruction that emerged because of a long
history of colonialism in the native land. His fiction underscores the demographic
diversity of the Caribbean islands which points to a variety of cultures, races
and ethnic descent exists as a result of immigration from other countries.
Lamming believes that these various groups in the Caribbean can establish their
political order by concentrating on their common and identical experiences as
well as sufferings in the colonial period since all of these native people
occupy the same inferior status in the eyes of the white colonisers. His novel The Emigrants
places the experiences, plight and psychological restructuring of the Caribbean
immigrants in the European metropolis at its centre. The aim of this paper is
to prove that being an immigrant in London and experiencing oppression and
racism strengthen the immigrants’ sense of identification with the Caribbean. Thus, this
process prompts them to rescue themselves from the colonial domination by
returning to their native land where they think they belong to.
References
- Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G. and Tiffin, H. (2004). The Empire Writes Back. New York and London: Taylor & Francis e-Library. Byron, M. and Condon, S. (2007). Migration in Comparative Perspective. New York and London: Taylor & Francis e-Library. Fanon, F. (2008). Black Skin White Masks. Trans. Charles Lam Markman. London: Pluto Press.Hall, S. (2001). “Old and New Identities, Old and New Ethnicities”. Theories of Race and Racism. Ed. Les Back and John Solomos. New York and London: Taylor & Francis e-Library. 144-154.Head, D. (2002). The Cambridge Introduction to Modern British Fiction, 1950-2000. New York: Cambridge University Press. Kundnani, A. (2007). The End of Tolerance: Racism in 21st Century Britain. London; Ann Arbor; MI: Pluto Press. Lamming, G. (1994). The Emigrants. The United States of America: The University of Michigan Press. Lamming, G. (2003). “The Occasion for Speaking”. The Post-Colonial Studies Reader. Ed. Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. New York and London: Taylor & Francis e- Library. 12-18. Lamming, G. (2009). “Language and Cultural Evolution”. Beyond Borders. Ed. Jennifer Rahim and Barbara Lalla. Jamaica: University of the West Indian Press. 17-34. Nasta, S. (2004). “George Lamming with Caryl Phillips” Writing Across Worlds. New York and London: Taylor & Francis e-Library. Odhiambo, C. J. (1994). “Outside the Eyes of the Other: George Lamming and Definition in Of Age and Innocence”Research in African Literatures Vol. 25,No. 2, Special Issue: Caribbean Literature (Summer), pp. 121-130. IndianaUniversity Press, (12.04.2013) http://www.jstor.org/stable/4618267. Page, K. (2010). Transnational Negotiations in Caribbean Diasporic Literature. New York and London: Taylor & Francis e-Library.Ramchand, K. (2004). The West Indian Novel and its Background. Kingston and Miami: Ian Randle Publishers. Rush, A. S. (2011). Bonds of Empire. New York: Oxford University Press.Said, E. W. (1996). Representations of the Intellectual. New York: Vintage Books.Szeman, I. (2003). Zones of Instability: Literature, Postcolonialism and the Nation. London: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Thiong’o, N. (1978). Homecoming, London: Heinemann Educational Books.Weedon, C. (2004). Identity and Culture: Narratives of Difference and Belonging. England: Open University Press.Weiss, T. (2009). “The Windrush generation”. The Cambridge Companion to The Twentieth-Century English Novel. Ed. Robert L. Caserio. New York: Cambridge University Press. 163-175.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Creative Arts and Writing |
| Journal Section | Articles |
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | December 27, 2019 |
| Submission Date | September 12, 2019 |
| Acceptance Date | November 29, 2019 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2019 |
