24th Annual Student Research Conference
Locked Out of the History House: Criticizing Orientalism in Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things
Emily J. Autrey
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor
According to Edward W. Said, Orientalism is a "Western style for dominating, restricting, and having authority over the Orient." Over the centuries, uncountable literary and historical writings produced by Western/Northern scholars have helped to formulate this hegemonic relationship between the two, illustrating the supposed otherness that places the Orient within the Occident's domain of power and control. The era of postcolonialism, however, has given rise to a new genre of literature that refutes the idea of Eastern/Southern inferiority and works to reclaim agency over self-representation. It is thus the intention of this paper to demonstrate how Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things fulfills such a purpose in its criticism of Anglophillic servility.
Keywords: The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy, Orientalism, postcolonialism, Edward W. Said
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 24-5
Location: VH 1236
Time: 2:15