Postcolonial theory and the deconstruction of the centre in Caryl Phillips`s Cambridge

Abstract

ABSTRACT Western literary, ideological, political, historical, psychological etc., theories have enjoyed a privileged place in the representation of not only European values and cultures, but also in the representation of non-European cultures around the world due to the verity, challenging character and universal application. Comprehensibly, the literature written for many centuries has reflected these `scientific discoveries` and has contributed immensely in depicting the most fundamental values of European culture to the point that we may say it has sanctioned the universality of Western thought not only at home but also everywhere European colonisers şet foot. The end of official colonialism and the creation of new, `artificial`, postcolonial, independent states encouraged the native intellectuals at home but mainly abroad (armed with the language of the `master`) to rediscover themselves in their own way, to analyse the outside forces that had shaped their personality and hybrid culture. Literary works and theories that soon followed the awakening of the `native beast` are generally characterised by a desire to put an end to all the erroneous theories and prejudices regarding natives' representation and a backlash against the `universalities` that they themselves were educated to take for granted. Consequently, the revival of historically forgotten values/identities and the reconstruction of the Eurocentric/Ethnocentric thought become the main concern of the new reconstructing/deconstructing process. The aim of my thesis is to analyse these relatively new literary/political/cultural developments directed against the dominant European/Colonial `centre` from the theoretical point of view: postcolonial theory, regional point of view: Caribbean Literature and literary point of view: Caryl Phillips's Cambridge. I decided on such a division forced by the increasing recognition that both postcolonial theory and postcolonial writers have been enjoying recently in academic and literary discussions.The character of the thesis tends to be educative and explanatory accompanied with ample references from experts and analysts in this field. Throughout the thesis I have preferred quotations to summary or paraphrasing due to the expressive power original words have. The whole study is divided into three main parts, which contribute to the objective of the thesis, and to the background knowledge required to grasp these literary developments of post-modern times. Yet, they can also stand on their own as separate divisions/chapters with separate purposes as well. Some of the issues analysed are so closely related and dependent on each other and their separation is merely arbitrary. Subjectivity from a postmodernist stance is characteristic of literary works in general and my thesis in particular. In the first part, an overview of Postcolonial literature is presented alongside the main issues that preoccupy today's critics and writers in this field such as the new representation of indigenous cultures, history and literature of the subaltern. As a matter of fact, this is the most controversial area as it undertakes to restudy / rewrite the above-mentioned issues from the natives' viewpoint, coming up with a new version of their own. It is a direct opposition to the hierarchical theories of the `centre` and the `other`, where the `other` is kept historically in darkness through the Eurocentric tendencies / ideology of `natural inferiority` and servitude. The lasting effects of colonialism on the native people's consciousness, educational hybrid, mimicry, ambivalence etc., to mention a few are among the issues that are going to be tackled in this chapter. The second part consists of a narrower scope of my study and deals with Caribbean Literature as the literature produced by writers who are descendants of a unique history and culture: the most painful example of forced displacement/ implantation and racial discrimination. C. Phillips himself is a native of this `broken history` and identity; what is more important, he is one of the most prominent contemporary writers of the fragmented region, despite the fact that he was raised up and educated in Britain. The main aspects of the literature from this part of the world are going to be introduced and analysed moderately such as its unique history, quest for home, exile (brain drain), life without fiction and other literary attempts which undertake to provide sound identity foundations / values to cling to as lack of collective memory has caused a serious identity crises especially for those West Indians that live in multi-cultural metropolis. By stating the desperate conditions ofthe West Indian immigrants in the `Promised Land` (Britain), a reverse representation of the white man's values is implied. In the third chapter, Caryl Phillips's Cambridge is analysed from the postcolonial point of view. Special attention is paid to the technical devices he uses to deconstruct the centre like the juxtaposition of tales, intertextuality etc. Cambridge depicts the most vulnerable spot of colonialism, it reveals the real character of slavery and plantation economy as the only shaping factors of Caribbean history and culture. The importance of the novel lies in the fact that Phillips deconstructs the canonical dominance from the Other's point of view, from the `voices` that have been silenced for centuries by the colonial ideology and its infamous institutions of exploitation. The authority of the traditional `centre` has been challenged, its so-called universal application have been downgraded by an insider like Phillips who has firsthand knowledge of the life both in the metropolis and periphery.

ABSTRACT Western literary, ideological, political, historical, psychological etc., theories have enjoyed a privileged place in the representation of not only European values and cultures, but also in the representation of non-European cultures around the world due to the verity, challenging character and universal application. Comprehensibly, the literature written for many centuries has reflected these `scientific discoveries` and has contributed immensely in depicting the most fundamental values of European culture to the point that we may say it has sanctioned the universality of Western thought not only at home but also everywhere European colonisers şet foot. The end of official colonialism and the creation of new, `artificial`, postcolonial, independent states encouraged the native intellectuals at home but mainly abroad (armed with the language of the `master`) to rediscover themselves in their own way, to analyse the outside forces that had shaped their personality and hybrid culture. Literary works and theories that soon followed the awakening of the `native beast` are generally characterised by a desire to put an end to all the erroneous theories and prejudices regarding natives' representation and a backlash against the `universalities` that they themselves were educated to take for granted. Consequently, the revival of historically forgotten values/identities and the reconstruction of the Eurocentric/Ethnocentric thought become the main concern of the new reconstructing/deconstructing process. The aim of my thesis is to analyse these relatively new literary/political/cultural developments directed against the dominant European/Colonial `centre` from the theoretical point of view: postcolonial theory, regional point of view: Caribbean Literature and literary point of view: Caryl Phillips's Cambridge. I decided on such a division forced by the increasing recognition that both postcolonial theory and postcolonial writers have been enjoying recently in academic and literary discussions.The character of the thesis tends to be educative and explanatory accompanied with ample references from experts and analysts in this field. Throughout the thesis I have preferred quotations to summary or paraphrasing due to the expressive power original words have. The whole study is divided into three main parts, which contribute to the objective of the thesis, and to the background knowledge required to grasp these literary developments of post-modern times. Yet, they can also stand on their own as separate divisions/chapters with separate purposes as well. Some of the issues analysed are so closely related and dependent on each other and their separation is merely arbitrary. Subjectivity from a postmodernist stance is characteristic of literary works in general and my thesis in particular. In the first part, an overview of Postcolonial literature is presented alongside the main issues that preoccupy today's critics and writers in this field such as the new representation of indigenous cultures, history and literature of the subaltern. As a matter of fact, this is the most controversial area as it undertakes to restudy / rewrite the above-mentioned issues from the natives' viewpoint, coming up with a new version of their own. It is a direct opposition to the hierarchical theories of the `centre` and the `other`, where the `other` is kept historically in darkness through the Eurocentric tendencies / ideology of `natural inferiority` and servitude. The lasting effects of colonialism on the native people's consciousness, educational hybrid, mimicry, ambivalence etc., to mention a few are among the issues that are going to be tackled in this chapter. The second part consists of a narrower scope of my study and deals with Caribbean Literature as the literature produced by writers who are descendants of a unique history and culture: the most painful example of forced displacement/ implantation and racial discrimination. C. Phillips himself is a native of this `broken history` and identity; what is more important, he is one of the most prominent contemporary writers of the fragmented region, despite the fact that he was raised up and educated in Britain. The main aspects of the literature from this part of the world are going to be introduced and analysed moderately such as its unique history, quest for home, exile (brain drain), life without fiction and other literary attempts which undertake to provide sound identity foundations / values to cling to as lack of collective memory has caused a serious identity crises especially for those West Indians that live in multi-cultural metropolis. By stating the desperate conditions ofthe West Indian immigrants in the `Promised Land` (Britain), a reverse representation of the white man's values is implied. In the third chapter, Caryl Phillips's Cambridge is analysed from the postcolonial point of view. Special attention is paid to the technical devices he uses to deconstruct the centre like the juxtaposition of tales, intertextuality etc. Cambridge depicts the most vulnerable spot of colonialism, it reveals the real character of slavery and plantation economy as the only shaping factors of Caribbean history and culture. The importance of the novel lies in the fact that Phillips deconstructs the canonical dominance from the Other's point of view, from the `voices` that have been silenced for centuries by the colonial ideology and its infamous institutions of exploitation. The authority of the traditional `centre` has been challenged, its so-called universal application have been downgraded by an insider like Phillips who has firsthand knowledge of the life both in the metropolis and periphery.