Reading the Postcolonial Island in Amitav Ghosh’s the Hungry Tide
This paper argues that literature has much to contribute to the theoretical work of island studies, and not just because literary texts provide evidence of the ways islands are conceptualized in different historical and cultural contexts. To this end, it discusses Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide (200...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Island Studies Journal
2011-04-01
|
| Series: | Island Studies Journal |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.248 |
| _version_ | 1797800033757691904 |
|---|---|
| author | Lisa Fletcher |
| author_facet | Lisa Fletcher |
| author_sort | Lisa Fletcher |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper argues that literature has much to contribute to the theoretical work of island studies, and not just because literary texts provide evidence of the ways islands are conceptualized in different historical and cultural contexts. To this end, it discusses Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide (2004), a novel which actively theorizes key concepts in island studies. The Hungry Tide is set in the Sundarbans, an “immense archipelago” in the Ganges delta, and tells the largely forgotten history of the forced evacuation of refugees from the island of Morichjhãpi in 1979. The liminal space of the Sundarbans, the “tide country”, is an extraordinary setting for a literary exploration of the relationship between postcolonial island geographies and identities. Ghosh’s depiction of the “watery labyrinth” (Ghosh, 2004: 72) and “storm-tossed islands” (Ghosh, 2004: 164) of the Sundarbans raises and addresses questions, which should be at the heart of the critical meta-discourse of island studies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:27:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-76079a44e1f5444385d9bf28717d2ede |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1715-2593 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:27:55Z |
| publishDate | 2011-04-01 |
| publisher | Island Studies Journal |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Island Studies Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-76079a44e1f5444385d9bf28717d2ede2023-06-19T23:35:55ZengIsland Studies JournalIsland Studies Journal1715-25932011-04-0162Reading the Postcolonial Island in Amitav Ghosh’s the Hungry TideLisa FletcherThis paper argues that literature has much to contribute to the theoretical work of island studies, and not just because literary texts provide evidence of the ways islands are conceptualized in different historical and cultural contexts. To this end, it discusses Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide (2004), a novel which actively theorizes key concepts in island studies. The Hungry Tide is set in the Sundarbans, an “immense archipelago” in the Ganges delta, and tells the largely forgotten history of the forced evacuation of refugees from the island of Morichjhãpi in 1979. The liminal space of the Sundarbans, the “tide country”, is an extraordinary setting for a literary exploration of the relationship between postcolonial island geographies and identities. Ghosh’s depiction of the “watery labyrinth” (Ghosh, 2004: 72) and “storm-tossed islands” (Ghosh, 2004: 164) of the Sundarbans raises and addresses questions, which should be at the heart of the critical meta-discourse of island studies.https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.248 |
| spellingShingle | Lisa Fletcher Reading the Postcolonial Island in Amitav Ghosh’s the Hungry Tide Island Studies Journal |
| title | Reading the Postcolonial Island in Amitav Ghosh’s the Hungry Tide |
| title_full | Reading the Postcolonial Island in Amitav Ghosh’s the Hungry Tide |
| title_fullStr | Reading the Postcolonial Island in Amitav Ghosh’s the Hungry Tide |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reading the Postcolonial Island in Amitav Ghosh’s the Hungry Tide |
| title_short | Reading the Postcolonial Island in Amitav Ghosh’s the Hungry Tide |
| title_sort | reading the postcolonial island in amitav ghosh s the hungry tide |
| url | https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.248 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lisafletcher readingthepostcolonialislandinamitavghoshsthehungrytide |