PGIHS-RC 2017

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https://ir.lib.pdn.ac.lk/handle/20.500.14444/4075

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Browsing PGIHS-RC 2017 by Author "Amarasooriya, W.M.T.T."

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    The idea of “place” in a small place by Jamaica Kincaid and Toba Tek Singh by Sadat Hasan Manto
    (University of Peradeniya, 2017-03-31) Amarasooriya, W.M.T.T.
    The concern with place and displacement is a major characteristic of postcolonial literature. The colonized people suffer from alienation caused by colonization. Hence, many writers from former colonies highlight the significance of the sense of home and belonging. As explained in The Empire Writes Back, the gap which opens between the experience of place and the language available to describe it forms a classic and all pervasive feature of post-colonial texts. Place is significant in postcolonial texts, because the consequences of colonialism are discussed in some postcolonial texts through the effective use of the idea of place. Hence, the portrayal of “place” in A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid and Toba Tek Singh by Sadat Hasan Manto will be studied in this paper. A Small Place is a story set in an island called Antigua. In this story, place is of the utmost importance because the story develops along with descriptions of the island. Through the descriptions, the authoress tries to compare the past situation of Antigua with its present situation. It is the place which shows how everything has changed with colonialism and the destruction caused by the colonial rulers. The authoress feels alienated in her homeland as the process of colonization has made the colonized displaced. Toba Tek Singh by Sadat Hasan Manto is a story about the ownership of land and the confusion created by the demarcation of India and Pakistan. The story is set in a lunatic asylum. The setting implies that the partition of India and Pakistan is not comprehensible even for the lunatics in the asylum. People find it difficult to comprehend this demarcation. Displacement causes inconvenience, both physical and mental. The narrative is used as evidence to prove the effective use of the theme of place. Place and displacement are of utmost importance in postcolonial literature. The contents of the story and the message of the story are directly linked with the place and the setting in some stories. The paper tries to explain the role that “place” plays in the above-mentioned narratives.