POSTCOLONIAL PARADOXES AND CULTURAL CRITIQUES: A STUDY OF INDIGENOUS THEMES IN SELECT NOVELS OF PETER CAREY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i4.2024.3003Keywords:
Postcolonial Literature, Aboriginal Themes, Australian Fiction, Colonial Legacy, Settler Narratives, Magical Realism, Cultural Erasure, Representation, Indigenous Voices EtcAbstract [English]
This paper explores the postcolonial themes and cultural critiques in the novels of Peter Carey, focusing on Illywhacker, Oscar and Lucinda, and Bliss. Through the lens of these works, it examines the portrayal of Aboriginal themes, settler identities, and the legacy of colonization in Australian literature. While Carey’s narratives offer incisive critiques of Australia’s colonial history and its cultural implications, they grapple with the inherent limitations of settler perspectives in representing Indigenous voices. The study highlights Carey’s use of satire, magical realism, and unreliable narration to deconstruct colonial myths and interrogate Australia’s cultural consciousness. By comparing Carey’s works to Indigenous-authored texts, this paper underscores the need for authentic representation and agency in addressing Aboriginal issues in literature. Ultimately, it situates Carey’s novels within the broader framework of postcolonial Australian literature, emphasizing their contributions and limitations in engaging with themes of identity, dispossession, and cultural erasure.
References
Carey, Peter. Jack Maggs. Vintage International, 1997.
Carey, Peter. True History of the Kelly Gang. Vintage International, 2000.
Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin. The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literatures. Routledge, 1989. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203402627
Gelder, Ken, and Paul Salzman. After the Celebration: Australian Fiction, 1989–2007. Melbourne University Publishing, 2009.
Huggan, Graham. Australian Literature: Postcolonialism, Racism, Transnationalism. Oxford University Press, 2007. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199229673.001.0001
Johnson-Woods, Toni. Peter Carey: A Literary Companion. McFarland & Company, 2003.
Said, Edward W. Culture and Imperialism. Knopf, 1993.
Heiss, Anita, and Peter Minter, editors. Anthology of Australian Aboriginal Literature. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2008.
Schaffer, Kay. In the Wake of First Contact: The Elusive Recovery of Indigenous Voices through Narratives of ‘the Other’. Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Flanagan, Martin. “The True History of True History of the Kelly Gang.” The Age, 9 Dec. 2000.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Prof. Raja Sekhar Patteti, Dr. B. Raju
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
With the licence CC-BY, authors retain the copyright, allowing anyone to download, reuse, re-print, modify, distribute, and/or copy their contribution. The work must be properly attributed to its author.
It is not necessary to ask for further permission from the author or journal board.
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.
