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Orientalism: a Critical Analysis of Muslim Characters in Tamburlaine the Great and Jewish Characters in the Jew of Malta

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Orientalism: a Critical Analysis of Muslim Characters in Tamburlaine the Great and Jewish Characters in the Jew of Malta ORIENTALISM: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF MUSLIM CHARACTERS IN TAMBURLAINE THE GREAT AND JEWISH CHARACTERS IN THE JEW OF MALTA BY AINI FATIMAH BINTI AMAT KAMAL A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Human Sciences Literary Studies Kuliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences International Islamic University Malaysia SEPTEMBER 2015 ABSTRACT This qualitative research attempts to discover elements of Orientalism in Muslim and Jewish characters in two selected plays by Christopher Marlowe, namely Tamburlaine the Great and The Jew of Malta. This is achieved by finding and analysing elements of Orientalism found in Marlowe’s plays using Edward Said’s Manifest Orientalism framework in his book Orientalism. The study found elements of Orientalism in Marlowe’s plays but there is limited evidence to substantiate Marlowe’s influences in his playwriting. Even if there is evidence, the influence that may have led to Marlowe producing the plays may be his own personal experience with Jews during his lifetime. The analysis establishes that Marlowe’s writings exhibit his personal biased views of Jewish and Muslim communities by stereotyping them, and his illustration on how the East is laden with natural resources and precious gems from his own imagination. Additionally, the study identifies apparent elements of stereotype, binary opposition of characters and manifestation of latent ideas that Marlowe perceived about the East in his plays. The analysis of the plays illustrates elements of Orientalism such as stereotyping Muslim and Jewish characters as well as emphasizing the binary opposition of Christianity’s superiority to selfish and wealthy Jewish merchants and blood-thirsty Muslim conquerors. This concludes that Marlowe’s plays Tamburlaine the Great and The Jew of Malta contains elements of Orientalism. ii ABSTRACT IN ARABIC iii APPROVAL PAGE I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Master of Human Sciences (English Literary Studies) …………………………………………… Siti Nuraishah Ahmad Supervisor I certify that I have read this study and that in my opinion it conforms to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Master of Human Sciences (English Literary Studies) …………………………………………… Aimillia Ramli Examiner This dissertation was submitted to the Department of English Language and Literature and is accepted as a fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Human Sciences (English Literary Studies) .................................................................... Zahariah Pilus Head, Department of English Language and Literature This dissertation was submitted to the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences and is accepted as a fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Human Sciences (English Literary Studies) …………………………………………… Ibrahim Mohamed Zein Dean, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences iv DECLARATION I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions. Aini Fatimah Binti Amat Kamal Signature………………………….. Date………………..... v INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH Copyright © 2015 by Aini Fatimah Binti Amat Kamal. All rights reserved. ORIENTALISM: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF MUSLIM CHARACTERS IN TAMBURLAINE THE GREAT AND JEWISH CHARACTERS IN THE JEW OF MALTA No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder except as provided below. 1. Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research may only be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement. 2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies (print or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes. 3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieval system and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other universities and research libraries. Affirmed by Aini Fatimah binti Amat Kamal. …………………………………. …………………. Signature Date vi DEDICATION This is for you Ummi, I know that happiness is with you where you are, therefore, please wait for me. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Syukur ya Rasulullah for giving me Your syafaah, rahmah and ni’mah in completing this thesis. Without Your blessings this would not have been possible. To my dearest, beloved late mother, I wish I had time for you to see me complete my thesis that you have always waited for. I am sorry for not being able to fulfill your wish but I finally made it and this thesis is for you Ummi, Siti Mariam Wong Bt. Abdullah, wait for me. To my father, Amat Kamal Bin Mohd Lana, this thesis and my life shows how as a woman I am able to stand on my own two feet and I have you to thank for. My kakak Fairoz Ayesha Amat Kamal, thank you for always being there as our pillar of strength and support to your sisters. We are going through a rough time and I am thankful to have you as my sister. My adik Khadijah Addawiyah Amat Kamal, even though you are my adik, there are times when you take over the duty of a kakak and I thank you for the love and care you give to me. To You, the whole of my heart. Thank you for believing in me and for your endless love and support. I cherish the care, love, words of wisdom and thought. Dearest former supervisor, Dato’ Dr Ghulam Sarwar Yousof, thank you for your endless guidance and support in the first two years when you were my supervisor. Your patience and guidance helped me through a lot. To my current supervisor, Dr. Siti Nuraishah Ahmad, your support when I first came to consult you, gave me the strength I needed to carry on because I gave up but you believed in me and your patience in correcting my thesis and waiting for me to complete it will be remembered. To all my lecturers who taught me, I can’t thank you enough for all your supervising and guide. I am forever indebted to you. Nur Yuhanis, Siti Hajar, Farah Akmar, Nashrah Khan and Sahila Latiff ; the love, support, help, care, and deed I received from all of you will forever be treasured. Dearest roommate Izzati Sapperi and my saviour Faatimah Salmyyah, without the both you I believe that my thesis and years as a Masters’ student will go to waste. Thanks you for being my beacon of strength. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .................................................................................................................... ii Abstract in Arabic .................................................................................................... iii Approval Page .......................................................................................................... iv Declaration ............................................................................................................... v Copyright Page ......................................................................................................... vi Dedication ................................................................................................................ vii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ................................................................. 1 1.1 Background of study ............................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem........................................................................ 6 1.3 Significance of the Study ........................................................................ 6 1.4 Objectives of the Study ........................................................................... 7 1.4.1 Research Questions ....................................................................... 7 1.5 Literature Review ................................................................................... 8 1.5.1 Tamburlaine the Great .................................................................. 8 1.5.2 The Jew of Malta ........................................................................... 11 1.6 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................... 14 1.6.1 Orientalism .................................................................................... 14 1.6.2 Orientalism .................................................................................... 20 1.6.2.1 Modern Orientalism .......................................................... 21 1.7 Methodology ........................................................................................... 23 1.8 Limitations of Study ............................................................................... 24 1.9 Proposed Chapter Outline ....................................................................... 24 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................... 26 2.1 Introduction............................................................................................
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