Postcolonial Concerns in the Novels of Ravinder Randhawa and Joan Riley: A Comparative Study

Abstract

The present thesis titled ‘Postcolonial Concerns in the Novels of Ravinder Randhawa and Joan Riley: A Comparative Study’ intends to examine and compare the selected writings of a British Asian author, Ravinder Randhawa and a Black British author, Joan Riley from a postcolonial perspective. Being a part of diverse diaspora, Ravinder Randhawa an Asian immigrant and Joan Riley a Caribbean immigrant have contributed extensively to the realm of postcolonial literature by challenging the surviving legacies of the colonial system prevalent in the contemporary British scenario. They have enriched the literary canon through their significant works which are engaged in revealing the dynamics of power and control that maintain the economic, political, cultural, and psychological subjugation on postcolonial societies and peoples. Although these two authors have come from different social, cultural, historical and linguistic backgrounds and produce their narratives in different ways, the themes dealt with in their novels are more or less similar. Their literary writings are a testimony to the marginalization and discrimination meted out to the migratory subjects in Britain. They bring to the fore the dilemma of the quintessential liminal Britons who find themselves caught between two cultures, identities, and lands, adjusting along the racial continuum. The present study, therefore, aims at examining the socio-political realities of contemporary British society, over-determined by covert and overt power politics, as reflected in the selected novels of Ravinder Randhawa and Joan Riley. It also explores the approaches adopted by these authors and examines the contribution of their novels to postcolonial literature. In order to support the argument of this thesis and to have a better understanding on how the works of these authors illustrate the challenges and new trends in postcolonial literature and culture, the study also takes into consideration the main theories and perspectives of postcolonialism. For this purpose, the study employs a case study based approach and carries out an in-depth study of the cross-cultural conflicts- marginalization, estrangement othering, racism, sexism, classism, discrimination, identity crisis, displacement, gender discrimination, home, belonging, and nostalgia- that are endemic in British mainstream society. The novels that are taken up for the study are: Ravinder Randhawa’s A Wicked Old Woman: Drama, Masquerade, Mischief (1987), Beauty and the Beast: Enemies, Romance, Fireworks (2014) and The Coral Strand: Passion Deceit, Revenge (2001), and Joan Riley’s The Unbelonging (1985), Waiting in the Twilight (1987), and Romance (1988). These novels have been critically analyzed, and meticulously compared and evaluated, highlighting the colonial residuals and postcolonial concerns. A critical evaluation of these novels provides a more powerful insight into the understanding of the postcolonial scenario in the contemporary British society, thus offering a way to engage with the power constellations that continue to exist and influence the current processes of migration and globalization. The research has been designed in such a fashion so as to bring to the fore the postcolonial aspects infused in these novels and to open up new vistas of research on literature produced by immigrant communities.