Journeying, self-displacement and conflict with the other in selected works by Joseph Conrad, E. M. Forster, D. H. Lawrence and Graham Greene

Al-Kalo, Hassan Muayad

Abstract

This thesis discusses the relationship between the Self and the Other by tracing selected literary characters through their journeys and experiences of self-displacement in foreign territories. The characters’ behaviour and their self-reflections are examined from a postcolonial perspective by adopting Frantz Fanon’s (1925-1961) colonial theory, and Edward Said’s (1935-2003) philosophical concept of Orientalism. The cultural interaction with the Other is also studied by examining Mary Louis Pratt’s (1948- ) and Homi K. Bhabha’s (1949- ) cultural theories through highlighting the concepts of the ‘contact zone’ and ‘in-betweeness’. In the light of the selected theories, the thesis aims at exposing the ideology of the Orientalist and colonial systems, which determine the nature of the cultural interaction with the Other. To scrutinise the relationship between the Self and the Other, four primary texts have been selected: Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899), E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India (1924), D. H. Lawrence’s The Plumed Serpent (1924) and Graham Greene’s Journey Without Maps (1936). The unanimous factor that connects these texts is the concept of journeying and self-displacement. These fictional texts will be studied in conjunction with related biographical works and correspondences in which the chosen authors describe the ‘real’ journeys they have undertaken. The variety of the visited cultures reflected in the selected primary texts–the African, Indian, and Mexican adds invaluable scope and interest to the comparison of the writers’ reflected experiences.

Citation

Al-Kalo, H. M. Journeying, self-displacement and conflict with the other in selected works by Joseph Conrad, E. M. Forster, D. H. Lawrence and Graham Greene. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4224584

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Jan 5, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 24, 2023
• Keywords: English
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4224584
• Additional Information: Department of English, The University of Hull
• Award Date: Apr 1, 2017