Minakshi Prasad Mishra

The Marginal in Twentieth Century Indian English Fiction: a Postcolonial Focus Minakshi Prasad Mishra

A major function of postcolonial literature came to be the reconfiguration of past stories and histories and the formation of new historicities across the world. The privileged position enjoyed by the powerful centre in the centuries preceding the twentieth century has thus been debunked by the marginals of the postcolonial world. The oppressed and enslaved people are hence now claiming their rights as humans to be treated equally with those from more privileged backgrounds. The proletarian self who had witnessed oppression and injustice of all kinds is now telling the stories to the world and asking to be heard. This book takes up for discussion four texts from four different authors of the twentieth century Indian English literature, who discover different aspects of the issue of marginality in postcolonial Indian nation. The conclusion underlines the postcolonial character of the texts discussed to give a definitive understanding of the marginal in twentieth century Indian English fiction. In doing so, this study seeks to foreground the treatment of the marginal in twentieth century Indian English fiction in all its scope and range.