Orientalism in G.R.R Martin's a Song of Ice and Fire Deanery's the White

International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 5(3) May-Jun 2020 |Available online: https://ijels.com/ Orientalism in G.R.R Martin’s a Song of Ice and Fire Deanery’s the White Savior Ghita Mesbah Department of English language and literature “Istanbul Aydin University “ ( Istanbul, turkey) Abstract— Identities, cultural differences, feminism, women in power, racism and so on have always been a controversial concept in most contemporary works. Starting with The Arabian Nights, modern fantasy has lately followed the same pattern of depicting the Oriental "Other". The cultural differences between the East and the West have been theorized by many scholars and critics in numerous works of literary modern studies, with reference to Edward Said’s book,, Orientalism. Said debates that Orientalism is the collateral damage of colonialism, by dominating the East economically, politically and culturally. This collateral damage still exists nowadays; where the patterns of superiority between the West and the East are to be considered. As it is some kind of everlasting unconscious domination, there is no way to dispose of its effects. The West plays the savior's role for the colonized communities; as they are considered helpless and waiting for the support of the West, while facing racial prejudice and religious discrimination The reasons why I have chosen this topic are the exotic representation of the characters' traits and the political and social structures in the series. This is compelling because the world of A Song of Ice and Fire is a secondary one, where reality should be less featured. I argue that this subgenre does not belong to the world of enchantment and magic. Furthermore, the existence of Orientalism within the framework of this subgenre makes the novel series worth examining in this context. The representation of the text makes the texture of fantasy arguable, as the writer still use the same familiar methods to formulate a modern fantasy. Keywords— The theory of Orientalism, The Eastern world, The Western world, The Orient "other", The improvisation of power. I. INTRODUCTION of liberation and development that caused manufactured Postcolonial studies have been dealing with territories, societies and economics. The main goal was methods and theories that denote all fields of colonialism winning over the minds and hearts of the population. and all its dimensions for decades. This continues to It is difficult to portray the difference between colonialism postulate its effects on all social patterns until the present. and imperialism, as the latter includes control over The most important part about these postcolonial studies is dependent territories and power and dominance over the consideration of the relationship between the East and economics and politics. The colonial project involves the the West that has shaped an identity of the colonized suspension, obedience and integration of ethnic cultures; regions and Europe. Colonialism has created a big gap and most of the time obedience is the key to the success. between the East and the West in terms of political In order to ensure continuity and eliminate the "Other’s" strategies, cultural behaviors and economic stability, which identity, the colonizer must improvise power and the in turn creates infrastructural imbalance among the two. colonized must abide. Postcolonial thinking is a result of The power that was given to the colonizers over the the consciousness of the ancestors to guarantee a new place colonized was shaped into so many social fractures in and space and create instability of other nation’s identities. colonized regions. The term power was considered The colonizers bragged about having good intentions, but beneficial for both sides because it included helping the good intentions should never come with fear, control and economy, escaping poverty, keeping peace, preserving manipulation. The colonial project cannot occur within two natural resources and holding order and discipline in the different mental maps, so the colonizers need to instill fear countries. However, the ugly face of power was in order to expect obedience. As long as obedience legitimizing tyranny and political emergence of new forms ISSN: 2456-7620 https://dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijels.53.22 698 International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 5(3) May-Jun 2020 |Available online: https://ijels.com/ operates, the situation can only worsen. These created methodologies and theories that represent people through fantasies contain traditional strategic planning that aims to social and political constraints. These postcolonial thinkers detach the population from its own traditions and attitudes. analyze the phenomena of colonization through the In order for that to happen, the population must believe that damaging strategies of the spectator’s mindsets that there is no planning from the colonizers and try reinforcing declares the rejections of the differences of human their own, which will lead to achieving particular experiences through different mediums, which may not be objectives and advantages. easily removable. By the usage of media, social Edward Said (1979) has defined the phenomena of environments, and educational systems, the receivers colonialism to a great extent, and that includes its sources, become blind to the interpretive processes set through objectives, and effects. He has also made a critical those mediums. That includes literature as well, as it is an evaluation of all the aspects of colonialism. effective method for the colonizer’s systematic manipulation. It certainly is neither easy to reformulate In his article about Orientalism, Sered (1996) these patterns nor to defend them, but this power relation explains that: between the West and East might be studied and A rejection of Orientalism entails a deconstructed separately from postcolonial studies. Instead rejection of biological generalizations, of rejecting foreign thinking, one may try reconciliation cultural constructions, and racial and with one’s self and the "Other’s" identity with no greed of religious prejudices. It is a rejection of pursuit. greed as a primary motivating factor in Scholars may try new aspects and approaches to better intellectual pursuit. It is an erasure of the understand indigenous people; they may allow indigenous line between 'the West' and 'the Other'. people to represent themselves in a way that may help both Said argues for the use of ‘narrative’ sides by implying the truth about the real identity of each. rather than 'vision' in interpreting the This might help a whole civilization bring back its core geographical landscape known as the values and mentality, in addition to gaining dignity and Orient, meaning that a historian and a personhood once again so that these populations can have a scholar would turn not to a panoramic better perceived future. The lost of identity is argued to be view of half of the globe, but rather to a due to the colonization of the mind for certain populations; focused and complex type of history that furthermore, the understanding of their psychology made allows space for the dynamic variety of the colonizers capable of performing psychological human experience. Rejection of colonization, something which proved to be quite effective Orientalist thinking does not entail a and hard to remove. With reference to the most operative denial of the differences between 'the means, the educational system which delivers wrong West' and 'the Orient', but rather an ideologies about colonialism and its collateral damages evaluation of such differences in a more must be mentioned. critical and objective fashion. ‘The Orient’ cannot be studied in a non- In light of this phenomenon, the rejection of Orientalism Orientalist manner; rather, the scholar is has caused restrictions of intellectual growth, a weakening obliged to study more focused and of the economic systems of the colonized, and an smaller culturally consistent regions. The alienation of women. The results of these issues are very person who has until now been known as destructive for the future of an entire civilization. ‘the Oriental’ must be given a voice. Maintaining these strategies with the improvisation of Scholarship from afar and second-hand power either financial, technological or militant - give rise representation must take a back seat to to an adaptation of the colonizer’s attitudes, which expel narrative and self-representation on the one’s own viewpoint and result into a confusion of one’s part of the ‘Oriental’. (Sered, 1996) identity. As the Western colonizers separate themselves from the “Other”, especially if there is fear of danger, acceptance of racial distinctions that are depicted as an Through an examination of the essay and a close agreement between the East and the West take place. Even observation of all the related works of Said and Greenblatt, if there is resistance and a struggle for independence in Sered assumes that colonial narratives reflect a fictional order to gain national existence, it is combated by all discourse, far from the reality of past events. The nuanced means. In addition, as long as one lives within a system of interpretive works, such as G.R.R. Martin’s, reusing exploitation which makes difficult to succeed, there will ISSN: 2456-7620 https://dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijels.53.22 699 International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 5(3) May-Jun 2020 |Available online: https://ijels.com/ always be constraints from all sides by the dominant she has gone through in her quest for power with a system. These ideas concur with Greenblatt’s perspective substantial monologue by Daenerys: about the use of power from one level to another. I spent my life in foreign lands. So many In explaining further, Greenblatt (2005) states: men have tried to kill me; I don’t In our culture to abandon self-fashioning remember all of their names. I’ve been is to abandon the craving for freedom, sold like a brood mare. I’ve been shamed and let go of one’s stubborn hold upon and betrayed, raped and defiled.

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