Cultural Allotropy: A Study Through Some Indian English Novels

By Vinay Bharat

This research work spins around the issue of cultural allotropy, which we all have experienced at different levels; however, a conscious realization regarding it might be missing to some extent. Centuries of political intervention and subjugation by foreign countries results in the presence of a mixed culture and this side-by-side flourishing of two cultures seems now an accepted fact, a part of man's consciousness. But the presence of two contradictory sets of values-one not fully accepted and the other not totally rejected-gives rise to a difficult situation in the face of the conflicting claims of the two. This gives rise to a mixing of cultures, a blend which in other words may be called cultural allotropy-that is, existence of the culture of a particular region in two or more forms, having different and mixed properties at the emotional or intellectual level at a given point of time. Going beyond the political subjugation in the era of globalization, it has now become a matter of economic and cultural subjugation. Undoubtedly, our cultural allotropy is a byproduct of modern economic compulsions also. Through different Indian English novelists, I have tried to intrigue the issues via different portrayals and characters and finally posed a question, "What is it to be an Indian?"

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1482855925
• ISBN13: 9781482855920
• Release Date: August 2015
• Publisher: Partridge India
• Length: 286 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 8.0"