Search

This study aims to explore causes of continuation of slavery-like practices in postracial America through the analysis of Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad (2016). Contemporary African American novels reverberate with the enigma that despite the election of Barak Obama to the US presidency, a black subject still finds herself in a slave-like status. To explore this paradox, The Underground Railroad is investigated in the light of Frantz Fanon’s postcolonial theorization. An important concept of Fanon’s theory; negrophobia, is explored in the text of the novel by examining the psychological causes of slavery and its effects on the blacks as depicted by Whitehead. Resorting to antebellum south, and connecting past with the present through anachronism provide contemporary Black American writers a chance to contest the notion of postraciality, to revisit the past, and to fill gaps in the historical record. The significance of the study is that it analyzes the racial matrix in the US, thereby contributing to the cause of the wretched of the earth; the marginalized, and the oppressed, by deconstructing psychological melody which is the cause of racism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shakespeare's Richard 11, Richard 111 and Henry 1V offer a unique insight to the power play of kings that ruled England. The plays explore the desires, hopes, values and the power dynamics in those who nurture a desire to rule others. It reveals their dearth of morals and questions the absolute authority of kings and kingship. It further explores the weaknesses and strengths of those who aspire for such authority. Do they find it as self-satisfying as they had expected when they were fighting for it or otherwise? Do these personals regret their ambition later? In their unleashed desire for power do they harm others more than they harm themselves? Does this entire power struggle for self-gratification or earnest service pay in sublimation or degradation? Is Shakespeare in search of an ideal king? Questions like these boggle the minds of all those who read these history plays. The present study is an attempt to find the answers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Pride and Prejudice, we see skilful management of different types of feelings between men and women and their effects on the life of those involved. Love, infatuation and compromise are revealed through the relationships of different characters and their actions which reflect their state of mind and helps the reader to analyse and judge their degree of contentment. The happy characters prove that for an ideal relationship sincere love is essential; for then one is morally and ethically satisfied. There are those who consider worldly gains as the ultimate source of happiness. For them physical comfort and superficial assurance of a happy life is the ultimate gain. However there are some who consider peace of mind, sound morals and union based on trust and understanding as a source of true happiness. The desire for wealth among different social classes does not matter when it comes to valuing relationships based on material gains. The poor want to acquire wealth and the rich want to have more. For this they are ready to implement fair or foul means without any regard for truth, honesty or morality. Though they achieve their goals yet at a price they are destined to regret forever because then there is no going back. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a fact universally acknowledged that humankind struggles to live an honourable and happy life. However, the concept of happiness and honour varies from person to person; community to community; and generation to generation. These phenomena of "true" happiness are as much social as psychological. The Collins, Mary, Mr. Weston and the like are "happy" in their lives and with themselves as much as Elizabeth, Darcy and their kind are happy with themselves and their lives. The perception of true happiness among characters in Pride & Prejudice is divergent. Some of Austen's characters learn from life as they experience ups and downs in lives due to the choices they make. Others continue to perpetuate the misery that has become their lot due to the compromises they make. The likes of Elizabeth and Darcy face numerous problems in the beginning in finding their soulemates. Once they find one, the remaining part of their lives become productive, peaceful, and prosperous. They go through the mill of power, social, and sexual politics of their society but emerge successful since they and choose wisely. The others, like the Collins and the Charlottes, choose their partners on the prevailing standards of their society; thus, the duality in their beliefs and deeds undo them. They opt for short-cuts in making choices, and end up having lives full of challenges, boredom, and indifference to the wellbeing of each other. Such lives have their prices and consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the pursuit of private gains sometimes humans are tempted to maneuver and trespass the rights of others consciously or unconsciously. At times the desire of personal happiness becomes too alluring to be rejected on the grounds of morals and values. The study is to explore how blinded by the intensity of securing possessions and profit, humans are led to encroach and tamper public good. It also compares the happiness of those who prefer one over the other and the outcome of the preference. In the novel Pride and Prejudice1 by Jane Austen, we meet different characters who behave outrageously to achieve their private good and in this endeavor they bring harm to others without any compassion for the victim. Yet there are some who exhibit concern and sympathy. They too have desires and wishes which may run contrary to the accepted social norms but their inert decency and regard for the feelings of others help them secure their happiness through fair means. They have patience and sympathy, for the others that bring the fruits of wholesomeness in their lives. They are those who are blessed with successful relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Austen's serene world, which harbours dynamic action, goes unnoticed by the readers who read her novels on the surface level. But the readers who fathom the depths of her creativity can realize that active forces are working, reforming and psychologically moulding the characters in her novels. The in-depth study of her novels, reveal how the characters of the novels become better individuals when they come into contact with the other. This paper is an attempt to throw light on how the characters in Pride and Prejudice manage to harmonize the chaotic forces which disrupt their relationships, towards the establishment of a wholesome relationship after achieving self-realization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Jane Austen's world happiness is measured with parameters of the amount of money i.e. the number of pounds a person may acquire or earn. Morality for them is something to talk about and not practice. They fail to understand the true value of good morals hence people who lack worldly wealth have neither a say nor are considered worthy of acquaintance. Even those who fall in love are afraid of the "low connections" and are led by others to tend to revise their emotional attachments. Yet there are those who value love, emotions and truth and are ready to reformulate their criterion of happiness. They are those who go through the mill of self-analysis so as to learn what true "happiness" means. They are blessed with the knowledge of finding longer lasting happiness in contentment and peace of mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is an attempt to explore in Pride and Prejudice1 if Jane Austen is satisfied with the rules, values, norms and regulations of her society? What is her reaction to the social issues of her time? What is it that she desperately wants to change in her society that makes her use an introspective way to reform? Is she aware of the problems that arise due to this classification of human beings on the basis of how much an individual possessed? Does she want to erase the class difference or is she presenting a more happy solution? Questions such as these boggle the mind of Austen readers but the answers may not be simple and straight forward. The desires, hopes and fears of the members of a society, and its social psyche, are reflected in the regulated or unregulated regulations of their behaviour The interaction of one class of people as well as the clash that sometimes result with the other, reveals the whole picture of the society making one aware of the confusion between the socially acceptable and individually desirable exists in all societies. Sometimes it comes into conflict with each other in the form of social issues that can be peacefully resolved only, through tolerance and understanding. For this, one has to evaluate oneself and learn the deeper realities of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jane Austen's attitude towards morality has always been a debatable topic for those who consider morality as an integral part of religion. Though the daughter of a clergyman, she never discusses religion in her novels which is why she remains popular to this day. Austen, a keen observer of her society, can see that times change with new ideologies, inventions and contact with others at universal level because of modern means of communications. She knows that acceptance and respect for the opinions of others can lead to greater understanding and world peace. Her art of creating a microcosm which she calls "little bit (two inches wide) of ivory"1 conveys the message through the stories of few families. This paper is an attempt to search how she tries to harmonize the characters of her novel belonging to different classes and social groups, by making them realize that if they keep on sticking to their old worn-out beliefs, they will never be able to bridge the gap with the others and taste the fruits of wholesome relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main concern of Jane Austen seems to be focused on the individual's relationship with the society as well as the selfrealization of the individual. Her protagonists learn from their mistakes and have the ability to analyze their own actions. For this reason they go through a process of change from self subjectivity to objectivity where they are not only able to see within themselves and know their own weaknesses but are able to understand the stance and limitations of others. This creates in them tolerance and understanding which provides them happiness, peace, and contentment. The blissful reward elevates their character and helps them live a satisfied life. Only those go through a process of self-realization that are ready to adjust with the changing times. Those who become aware of their failings also learn how to overcome them to live a harmonious life. In Pride and Prejudice Darcy and Elizabeth change positively and manage to elevate socially, intellectually and morally. While characters like Wickham/Lydia and Collins/Charlotte remain suffering from self-deception and hence they live a discontented life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice reflects the attitude of the nineteenth century society yet its implications are obvious to the present times as well. The desires, hopes, fears, and social psyche of a society are reflected in the socially acceptable or unacceptable principles and practices of a society, and the way the members of the society perceive these principles and practices. The confusion between the socially acceptable and individually desirable exists in all societies. Sometimes it comes into conflict with each other in the form of social issues that can be peacefully resolved only through tolerance and understanding. For this, one has to evaluate oneself and learn about the deeper realities of life by interacting with others and developing a sympathetic understanding of how the others approach life. Class differences have to be resolved, suffering of the others has to be shared and one must step down from their high pedestal so as to understand the others around them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Representation of people and their land from non-European territories as 'others' has been a powerful tool used by the European writers in their works. These Europeans, who were often the colonizers, went to non-European regions to colonize the people and their resources. The colonizers made strenuous efforts to represent these people of the colonized regions as inferior, uncultured and uncivilized in their literature(s). Colonial writers aimed to show to their own people that people living in other parts of the world, whom they call 'Orient', did not have their own civilization; and it is the responsibility of the West to civilize them, which can best be summed up in the words of Kipling, 'The White Man's Burden'.1 E. M. Forster, a prominent English writer, represented India and its people as degenerate, strange and feminine in his novel A Passage to India (1924). Forster showed females in India to be strange, timid and uncivilized who had nothing else to do except fill the blank spaces in the lives of their men. To unearth the hidden underpinnings in the colonial literature, postcolonial theory is the best counter discourse to respond to such misrepresentation of the colonized. The scope of this research paper is restricted to the representation of female gender as 'Others' in A Passage to India. The objective of this research article is to analyze the despicable motive(s) of Forster behind his representation of the Indian females as worthless human beings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]