Author(s):
Preesita, Shailesh Ku. Mishra
Email(s):
preesita30@gmail.com
DOI:
10.52711/2321-5828.2024.00055 
Address:
Preesita1, Shailesh Ku. Mishra2
1Research Scholar, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, S'O'A Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.
2Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, S’O’A Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.
*Corresponding Author
Published In:
Volume - 15,
Issue - 4,
Year - 2024
ABSTRACT:
The representation of the subaltern has long been a prominent theme in postcolonial literature, offering insight into the experiences of the oppressed, marginalized, and voiceless in society. Arvind Adiga’s The White Tiger (2008) and Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance (1995) are seminal works that delve into the consciousness of the subaltern, particularly within the framework of modern Indian society. This paper seeks to conduct a comparative analysis of the two novels, focusing on how each work portrays subaltern consciousness, the socio-political forces shaping these characters’ experiences, and the varied paths they take toward agency and self-expression. While both novels focus on systemic oppression and the denial of power, they differ in their narrative approach and the nature of resistance or compliance depicted within the lives of the subaltern. The study reveals how each author articulates the tension between hope and despair, agency and powerlessness, survival and morality within an unequal society.
Cite this article:
Preesita, Shailesh Ku. Mishra. Voices from the Margins: Subaltern Consciousness in Arvind Adiga’s the White Tiger and Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance. Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. 2024;15(4):349-1. doi: 10.52711/2321-5828.2024.00055
Cite(Electronic):
Preesita, Shailesh Ku. Mishra. Voices from the Margins: Subaltern Consciousness in Arvind Adiga’s the White Tiger and Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance. Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. 2024;15(4):349-1. doi: 10.52711/2321-5828.2024.00055 Available on: https://rjhssonline.com/AbstractView.aspx?PID=2024-15-4-17
REFERENCES:
1. Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. Can the Subaltern Speak? In Colonial Discourse and Post Colonial Theory: A Reader, edited by Patrick Williams and Laura Chrisman, 66-111. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994.
2. Gramsci, Antonio. Selections from the Prison Notebooks. Edited and translated by Quintin Hoare and Geoffrey Nowell-Smith. New York: International Publishers, 1971.
3. Adiga, Aravind. The White Tiger. New York: Free Press, 2008.
4. Morton, Stephen. Gayatri Spivak: Ethics, Subalternity and the Critique of Postcolonial Reason. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2007.
5. Gandhi, Leela. Postcolonial Theory: A Critical Introduction. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998.
6. Boehmer, Elleke. Colonial and Postcolonial Literature: Migrant Metaphors. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.