Beyond the Post-Colonial: Comic Effects in British Migrant Fiction

Beyond the Post-Colonial: Comic Effects in British Migrant Fiction Inauguraldissertation zur Erlangung des Akademischen Grades eines Dr. phil., vorgelegt dem Fachbereich 05 ‒ Philosophie und Philologie der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz von Anđelka Križanović aus Zenica (Bosnien-Herzegowina) Mainz 2013 Die vorliegende Arbeit wurde vom Fachbereich 05 Philosophie und Philologie der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz im Jahr 2013 als Dissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines Doktors der Philosophie (Dr. phil.) angenommen. Die Dissertation wurde durch ein Promotionsstipendium der Begabtenförderung der Konrad Adenauer-Stiftung gefördert. Referentin: Koreferentin: Tag des Prüfungskolloquiums: 14. August 2013 Danksagung Mein herzlicher Dank gilt meiner Betreuerin für ihren steten Zuspruch und ihre Unterstützung. Danke, dass ich mich immer an Sie wenden konnte, dass Sie keine Zeit und Energie gescheut haben und dass mich Ihre Betreuung fachlich immer angespornt und menschlich nicht selten aufgefangen hat, wenn sich meine Forschungsarbeit quergestellt hat. Ich danke der Koreferentin nicht nur für ihr Zweitgutachten, sondern auch für weitere wertvolle Anregungen, die mich zu einem Konferenzbeitrag und somit dazu gebracht haben, über den Tellerrand meiner Forschungsarbeit zu blicken. Den Mitgliedern des Prüfungsausschusses danke ich für ihre freundliche Bereitschaft, im Prüfungsausschuss mitzuwirken. Der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung bin ich zu großem Dank verpflichtet: Nicht nur für das Promotionsstipendium, mit dem ich meinen Kopf und meine Zeit für meine Forschungsarbeit frei hatte, sondern auch für die vielen interdisziplinären Einblicke, Forschungsreisen und nicht zuletzt Freundschaften, die mir im Rahmen ihrer Förderung zuteil wurden. Ich danke meinen Eltern, meiner Schwester, meinen Freunden, Bekannten, Konstipendiaten und allen Interessierten für jede kleine Geste, bewusst oder unbewusst, die sie zum Gelingen dieser Arbeit beigesteuert haben, sei es durch Korrekturlesen, Diskussionen, Zuspruch, Interesse – oder auch nur durch ein Lächeln. Table of Contents I Introduction 1 II British Migrant Fiction: Context, Genre and the Importance of Humour 11 1. Points of Departure: Assessing the Post-Colonial 11 1.1 Key Concers of Post-Colonial Theory and Writing 12 1.2 Promoting Post-Colonial Agendas? Humour as a Strategy in Post-Colonial Fiction 21 2. ‘Beyond the Post-Colonial’: Key Concerns of British Migrant Fiction 26 2.1 Contesting Post-Colonial Concepts and Fiction 27 2.2 Humanism and Universalism as Counter-Agendas of the Post-Colonial 34 3. Methodology of a Genre: Comic Effects in British Migrant Fiction 41 3.1 The Textual Architecture of Comic Effects 47 3.2 Comic Effects as Tools of Textual Guidance and Narrative Commentary 50 III Comic Effects in British Migrant Fiction: Textual Analysis 62 1. Meera Syal's Anita and Me 62 1.1 Racism in Tollington: Manifestations of a Human Phenomenon 63 1.2 Agency and Belonging in Anita and Me: Between Discord and Affiliation with the Indian Community 88 1.3 Downsides of Hybridity in Anita and Me 106 1.4 Conclusion: Comic Balance and Critical Belonging in Anita and Me 120 2. Hanif Kureishi's The Buddha of Suburbia 121 2.1 ‘Oppositionality’ Reconsidered: Karim as a ‘Post-Colonial Anti-Hero’ 123 2.2 Contesting Agency and the ‘Burden of Representation’ in The Buddha of Suburbia 141 2.3 A Case for Universalism in The Buddha of Suburbia 154 2.4 Conclusion: Contesting the Post-Colonial and Mocking the Human 175 3. Zadie Smith's White Teeth 171 3.1 Revisiting ‘Happy Multicultural Land’ From Humanist Perspective 178 3.2 Racism: A Post-Colonial Catchword or a Basic Human Trait? 189 3.3 Hybridity Revisited: Remnants of Post-Colonial Hybridity in Light of Human Inconsistencies 201 3.4 Human (Un-)Belonging and Fundamentalisms in White Teeth 212 3.5 Conclusion: Reading White Teeth from the Humanist Approach 228 IV Conclusion 232 V Works Cited 238 1 I Introduction As the term ‘postcolonialism’ changed from its original meaning, from an historical period (used to avoid the misleading ‘colonial’, ‘independence’, ‘post-independence’ chronology) it took on various cultural and political significances, most of which are concerned with the continuing effects of Western imperialism on Others, and with cultural resistance to those who hold power in the West. As the term has become fashionable it has been applied to all ‘minority’ struggles against a dominant order, and even to all post-invasion periods of history. It is not uncommon to hear of classical or medieval postcolonial studies. Like most once cutting edge ideas that have been around too long, ‘postcolonialism’ has become a cliché, a ‘received idea’ enshrined in the cultural vocabulary. It is unlikely that any student of literature can avoid some version of ‘postcolonialism’ or ‘postcolonial resistance theory’… . [However], literature often seems to be written against such simple-think. - Bruce King1 What does it mean when a paradigm has been ‘around too long’? How does that affect the dynamics of its development? What implications does it have for the relationship between an established critical approach and its object of inquiry, literature? In the above epigraph, Bruce King claims that post-colonialism today represents one such outdated paradigm. King expresses his critique of the status quo of the post-colonial discourse by arguing that the rise of post-colonialism as a critical theory has over time lead to its unchallenged establishment in the academic arena. Once a political novelty and a revolutionary approach to literary fiction, it has become a familiar set of critical tools or, as King suggests, an unquestioned template for analysis and interpretation of literary texts. King points to the consequences of what he calls post-colonial ‘simple-think’: parameters of post-colonial theory are too easily applied to literary fiction regardless of its context, history or agenda. This approach seems particularly problematic in the light of new emerging fictions that are reaching for new horizons beyond traditional post-colonial idea(l)s. Kingʼs critique of post-colonial theory as an outdated yet conventional perspective in literary criticism represents a starting point for my analysis. I agree with Kingʼs objection that the over-hasty application of post-colonial concepts and questions in British literature of the last two decades has been a common practice that has eventually resulted in limited and narrow readings of contemporary texts. What is more, post-colonial criticism has been imposed upon works of fiction that 1 Bruce King, “Abdulrazak Gurnah and Hanif Kureishi: Failed Revolutions,” The Contemporary British Novel, ed. James Acheson (Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 2005) 85. 2 rather propose a critique of post-colonial parameters and suggest alternative views and agendas. One such body of literary fiction is what in the following I will refer to as British migrant fiction. With this genre, contemporary British writing has entered new ground different from the hitherto known post-colonial fiction. The label ‘migrant fiction’ echoes Roy Sommerʼs Fictions of Migration (2001), a study on current intercultural and transcultural fiction in Britain. According to Sommer, migrant fiction captures a whole range of migrant and intercultural experiences in Britain. It is a genre produced by writers of hyphenated origin, who “do not permit any kind of limitation in the choices they make in their topics nor do they accept any kind of role as representatives of a particular ethnic group” (Sommer 8, my translation). Sommerʼs focus on the hyphenated authorial origin is all-encompassing: it allows for authors with South-Asian, African, but also Caribbean roots or family ties, predominantly 'born and bred' in Britain, with many in possession of UK citizenship. These authors lay claim on fresh and unique perspectives on what they believe the multicultural society in Britain to be made of. At the same time, they refrain from ambassadorship for any ethnic or minority groups. More importantly, Sommer states that the literary oeuvre of migrant fiction has abandoned the domain of the traditionally 'better- established' post-colonial writing and its typical concerns. The novels of migrant fiction are not occupied with the notorious post-colonial agenda of writing against the former imperial power and its legacy in present-day Britain. Instead, British migrant fiction thematises multicultural and transcultural experiences and responses of the first and second migrant generations to the environment they inhabit (Sommer 15). Sommerʼs genre classification provides a vantage point for my characterisation of British migrant fiction. It is a genre created by British writers with (partly) hyphenated personae and recent immigrant family histories. Their literary focus is multi-directional; the authors explore a variety of topics in their work. In doing so, they act against the public expectation to speak for ethnic or minority communities. Their concerns lie mainly in portrayals of multicultural and transcultural experiences; post-colonial conflicts play, if anything, a marginal role. In addition to Sommerʼs concept, two more aspects are crucial for my perspective on this genre. Firstly, as my analysis of three representative novels will show, post-colonial concepts and ideas are explicitly negotiated in British migrant fiction. However, the relationship 3 between the post-colonial paradigm and the new genre is one of contrast and re- negotiation; the distinction between

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