Cross-Cultural Conflicts and Pursuit of Identity in Bharati Mukherjee’s Jasmine
Journal Title: Asian Journal Social Sciences & Humanities - Year 2015, Vol 4, Issue 1
Abstract
Multiculturalism is an offshoot of developing global culture emanating from incessant flow of people between nations and intercultural interactions. Crossing the borders results in psychological metamorphosis of the immigrants as their ethnic identity shaped by social, religious, historical and political forces over decades is in continual flux. Though different kinds of responses to the situation of cultural multiplicity may be diagnosed, the fact remains that there are no simplistic ways of dealing with or responding to multiculturalism. The immigrants face cultural clash and find difficulties in acculturating. When the immigrants come to ensconce in another country, they are accosted with a new culture, a new statute and a reticent group of people who do not mix so very easily. Everyone does not have the capacity to adjust their feelings and mind. They form a community of diaspora who are always reminded of their roots in an alien land. The impact of diasporic experiences on immigrants’ psyche depends on their level of belonging in an alien land. Bharti Mukherjee’s odyssey from India to Canada to United States gives her a cutting edge over her contemporaries to be established as most revered author of Indian Diaspora abroad. Mukherjee, molded and transformed by the cultures of her countries of origin, movement and settlement, has been earnestly engaged in re-conceptualizing the idea of diaspora as a profitable affair as opposed to the popular belief that render immigration and displacement as a condition of loss. Her novels are bulging with women protagonists of staunch spirit and calibrating credence who win the tussle with cultural conflict and in the process evolve and emerge as winners. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how Mukherjee's heroine “Jasmine” in her novel of the same name evolves with cultural changes, endeavors for self-realization and finally takes control of her destiny.
Authors and Affiliations
Gunjan Oberoi, Jyoti Sharma
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP122268
- DOI -
- Views 136
- Downloads 0
Writing Problems and Strategies: An Investigative Study in the Omani School and University Context
The aim of this paper is to identify and investigate the gaps in English language teaching and learning that exist between post-basic schools and universities in the Sultanate of Oman. The gaps were examined in relation...
UNDERSTANDING OF AND ATTITUDE TOWARD PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN AN ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE IN THE PHILIPPINES WITH INCLUSIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM MODEL
Inclusive education is a relatively new educationalapproach being implemented as one of the many arrays of services of special education in the Philippines. There are only a few tertiary educational institutions exis...
ANALYZING THE ROLE OF INSTRUCTIONAL LANGUAGE IN ENHANCING SCIENTIFIC COGNITION OF ELEMENTARY LEVEL STUDENTS BELONGING TO MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES; SINDH - PAKISTAN
The study revolves around the analysis of the efficiency of instructional language, i.e. the mother tongue, regional language, national language and international language in developing the cognition of the stude...
MOSAICS VS MURAL: INVESTIGATING PRESCHOOL CHILDREN TACTILE MOVEMENT, INTERACTIONS AND PREFERENCE
Designing a suitable, natural-based and attractive outdoor decoration in a preschool environment is important to develop both children and adults’ aesthetic values. Compared to mural drawing, mosaics is a collaborative d...
SOCIAL FUNCTIONS OF ETHNIC ANGKOLA MANDAILING PROVERBS (UMPAMA) OF NORTH SUMATRA
Proverbs (Hata-hata umpama in Ethnic Angkola-Mandailing) not only describe the events or certain things, but the play an important role in social interactions; they have the very deep meanings. The research objectives ar...