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Diasporic Narratives and the Discourse of the Other in Marina Lewycka’S Novels

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Diasporic Narratives and the Discourse of the Other in Marina Lewycka’S Novels University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2018-04-13 Diasporic Narratives and the Discourse of the Other in Marina Lewycka’s Novels Krochak Sulkin, Olga Eliya Krochak Sulkin, O. E. (2018). Diasporic Narratives and the Discourse of the Other in Marina Lewycka’s Novels (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/31789 http://hdl.handle.net/1880/106501 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Diasporic Narratives and the Discourse of the Other in Marina Lewycka‘s Novels by Olga Eliya Krochak Sulkin A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH CALGARY, ALBERTA APRIL, 2018 © Olga Eliya Krochak Sulkin 2018 Abstract This thesis examines Marina Lewycka‘s earlier novels to show how they represent the intrinsic discourse of the other evident in diasporic groups of East European communities in the UK. It also looks at how Lewycka‘s narratives engage and challenge the view of diaspora groups as unified and homogenous entities. As the field of diaspora studies continuously becomes more inclusive, it still overlooks the importance of the inner connections extant within diaspora groups and reduces the linkage of the diasporans to national solidarity and ethnicity. This thesis questions those relationships and proposes a Levinasian reading that demonstrates how, in Lewycka‘s novels, groups are formed based on the ethical responsibility of the self to the other. I prove my thesis by researching the novels as follows: firstly analyzing the diasporic representation of alterity and migration, secondly by looking at the possibility of hospitality and responsibility to the newly arrived migrant, and finally I examine how guests and hosts engage with the concept of justice in its cultural and universal understandings in a liminal space. One of the conclusions of this thesis is that an ethical reading of diasporic narratives is not only possible but also needed. ii This thesis is original, unpublished, independent work by the author, Olga Eliya Krochak Sulkin. iii Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to the Department of English at the University of Calgary and the Faculty of Graduate Studies for making it possible for me to explore this research and for their financial support. I would also like to thank my defense committee, Dr. Shaobo Xie and Dr. Lloyd Wong, for taking time out of their busy schedules to support and improve this project. There are not enough words to thank my thesis supervisor, Dr. Clara Joseph, for whose support, encouragement, and generosity there is no equal. I have benefited greatly from her intelligent counsel, vast knowledge, and endless support. I am indebted to her patience in reading my numerous drafts and listening to various ideas. I would like to thank my family heartily: my father, Joseph, my mother, Lyudmila, and my sister, Tatiana who are always in my heart although far away. A big thank you goes to my husband, Alex, and my daughter, Emily, for love and understanding at the time I needed it most. I should mention with gratitude my parents-in-law, Ludmila and Yefim, for their support. I also benefited a great deal from the advice given to me by Robyn Winograd, who always had time to listen to my struggles and doubts and to offer words of encouragement instead. Finally, I want to thank my late maternal grandmother, Valentina, and my late paternal grandparents, Asher and Musya, to whom this thesis is dedicated. Unfortunately, they did not live to see the completion of this project, but I could never thank them enough for their absolute and unquestionable support in me and infinite love. Thank you for teaching me how to love the other. iv Dedication For my late grandparents, Musya and Asher, who believed I could achieve anything and my late grandmother, Valentina, whose faith in me has never failed and whose memory in my heart will never fade… v Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... iv Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... vi Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Responsibility and Hospitality in the Face of Diaspora: Theory and Practice with Emmanuel Levinas, Jacques Derrida, and Marina Lewycka ........................................ 13 The Alterity of the Other............................................................................................................ 22 Responsibility and Reciprocity .................................................................................................. 27 Justice and the Hostage............................................................................................................. 32 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 37 Chapter 2: Migration as an Issue of Alterity in Marina Lewycka’s Two Caravans ............. 39 The East European Migrant Other............................................................................................ 39 Invisible Global Labour ............................................................................................................ 47 Beyond Diasporic Communities ................................................................................................ 58 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 61 Chapter 3: Responsibility for the Other: Representation of Hospitality in Marina Lewycka’s A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian................................................................ 63 The Death of the Motherland .................................................................................................... 69 Host and Hostage: Responsibility and Hospitality Intertwined ................................................ 76 English Justice Best of All? ....................................................................................................... 83 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 86 Chapter 4: Home, Human Bonding and Justice in Marina Lewycka’s We Are All Made of Glue............................................................................................................................................... 88 House as Homeland .................................................................................................................. 92 “Mercy. Forgiveness. If only it came in tubes” ........................................................................ 99 Justice and Sacrifice................................................................................................................ 104 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 111 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 112 Works Cited ............................................................................................................................... 117 vi What the end usually demands is something of the beginning Rienzi Crusz, Roots vii Introduction There have been numerous contributions to the concept of diaspora since its re- emergence almost thirty years ago, to the point that nowadays the term eludes any concrete definition. Khachig Tölölyan, in his extremely popular piece from 1991, ―The Nation-State and Its Others: In Lieu of a Preface,‖ claims that the term diaspora that has been used in the past mostly in reference to Jewish people became more comprehensive and now includes an entire spectrum of terms, such as immigrant, expatriate, refugee, guest worker, and exile. He also adds that diasporas are a source of ―ideological, financial, and political support for national movement that aim at a renewal of homeland‖ and that they operate across national boundaries to ―bring to their kindred ethnonations new ideas, new money, even new languages‖ (5). While Tölölyan evokes the idea of ethnic solidarity, William Safran in the same first issue of Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies asks (but does not answer) how do interethnic diaspora relations manifest themselves and, what are their ―crucial elements‖ and ―determinants‖ (95)? He is perhaps
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