White is For Witching: A Postcolonial Gothic

Öz

In White is for Witching (2009), Helen Oyeyemi defamiliarizes traditional narratives, subverts the classical doctrines and inserts recent issues. Although her novels are mostly read within the scope of gothic literature, she introduces ethnic mythology and folklore that provide myriad perspectives. As well as incorporating the traditional gothic features, Oyeyemi draws from the cultural motifs of her Nigerian roots to highlight the recurring patterns of immigration, coexistence, and integration in English history. Using the vocabulary and the pattern of gothic narration, the novel constructs a postcolonial story to question the xenophobic tendencies of the English nation as a legacy of the colonial era that endures today through immigration policies. Therefore, in this article, I read the novel as a postcolonial gothic criticising the xenophobic concerns of pure white Englishness against racial others and immigrants labelled as invaders of English identity through the elements of cultural gothic.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Helen Oyeyemi
• xenophobia
• Gothic
• Soucouyant

Beyaz Cadı Avında: Postkolonyal Bir Gotik

Öz

Helen Oyeyemi, Beyaz Cadı Avında (2009), geleneksel anlatıları yabancılaştırır, klasik doktrinleri alt üst eder ve eserine gündemi ekler. Romanları daha çok gotik edebiyat kapsamında okunsa da etnik mitoloji ve folkloru da içine alarak sayısız bakış açısı sağlar. Oyeyemi, geleneksel gotik özellikleri birleştirmenin yanı sıra, İngiliz tarihinde tekrar eden göç, bir arada yaşama ve entegrasyon modellerini vurgulamak için kültürel motiflerinden de yararlanır. Gotik söz dağarcığını ve anlatım modelini kullanan roman, İngiliz ulusunun yabancı düşmanı eğilimlerini, günümüzde göç politikalarıyla devam eden sömürge döneminin bir mirası olarak sorgulamak için sömürge sonrası bir hikaye inşa eder. Bu nedenle, bu makale, romanı, kültürel gotik unsurları aracılığıyla İngiliz kimliğinin işgalcileri olarak etiketlenen ırksal ötekilere ve göçmenlere karşı saf beyaz İngilizliğin yabancı düşmanı endişelerini eleştiren bir postkolonyal gotik olarak yorumlamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Helen Oyeyemi
• Yabancı Düşmanlığı
• Gotik
• Cadı Vampir

Kaynakça

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