Representation of asian culture in the novels of Adib Khan : a postcolonial study

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to provide a postcolonial study of the representation of Asian culture in the novels of distinguished Asian-Australian writer, Adib Khan: Seasonal Adjustments (1994), Solitude of Illusions (1996), The Storyteller (2000), Homecoming (2003) and Spiral Road (2007). Khan’s novels display a rich array of cultural images of South and Southeast Asia. However, the author’s first-hand contact with Australian society also facilitates the research to examine the metropolitan culture. The novels document recurrent cultural images, as well as the beliefs and views of people living in certain Asian countries with a colonial past. The writer’s presentation of postcolonial cultural phenomenon in these societies is examined with a view to identifying his contribution to the existing body of postcolonial literature. Being a diasporic writer, Khan attempts to look into his own home culture by positioning himself at the ‘contact zone’ between the two disparate cultures. Pertaining to the research objectives, the thesis investigates the depiction of Asian images, as well as issues relating to postcolonialism and diaspora. In this regard, the home culture is discussed in juxtaposition with the dominant host culture. As the study focuses primarily on cultural images depicted in the novels, Khan’s factional narratives provide the fulcrum for this research. Considering the postcolonial inheritance of the author, postcolonial theory is used to examine the diaspora identity, ‘othering’, hybridity and postcolonial discourses. Moreover, representational theory is used for its theoretical framework. The research finds that Asian societies, irrespective of their different nationalities, hold almost similar cultural images in terms of patriarchy, poverty, superstitions, women’s condition and family relationships. Despite enjoying the status of independent nation states, Asian societies are still under the control of invisible colonial ideologies.