2.2.1 Heat and Dust:Solidification of Natural Scenery
In the process of colonization,the colonizers not only interpret the colonized as adegenerate group,but also stereotype the environment.In their words India is alwaysa combination of heat and dust and is not suitable for human habitation.There aremany depictions of the environment in the novel,where it is barren,hot,and devoidof civilization.Almost all the British people who come here would repeat over andover again the terrible environment.“There is nothing till the next one except flat land,broiling sky,distances and dust”(Jhabvala 13).This is due to the fact that whencolonizers come to an unfamiliar land,they develop an unknown fear of itsenvironment and people“In order to alleviate the anxiety of confronting an unknownand differentiated Other,the colonized subject retreats into the imaginary realmdominated by fantasy and image.”And“in this relationship of imaginative order,thecolonized becomes the sovereign’s imagined Other”(Shen Anfeng 67).Theestablishment of this imaginary order enables the sovereigns to escape for a whilefrom the problems they encounter when confronted with this new environment.Theyhave always had to find an interface for themselves to hide their uncontrollableinfluence on the land.
Chapter Ⅲ Resistance and Subversion: Dissolution of the Authority of Suzerainty .................. 32
3.1 The Homelessness of the Suzerain in India ......................... 32
3.1.1 The Ambivalence and Dilemmas of Olivia ...................... 33
3.1.2 The Desperation and Longing for Home of Harry .................... 37
Chapter Ⅳ Hybridity and Negotiation: Coexistence in the Third Space . 53
4.1 The Hybrid Phenomena in Heat and Dust .......................... 53
4.1.1 Hybridity of Language ............................. 54
4.1.2 Cultural Hybridity ............................. 56
Chapter Ⅴ Conclusion ............................ 70
ChapterⅣHybridity and Negotiation:Coexistencein the Third Space
4.1 The Hybrid Phenomena in Heat and Dust
“Hybridity refers to the fact that cultures are not discrete phenomena;instead,they are always in contact with one another,and this contact leads to culturalmixedness”(David 4).The novel Heat and Dust takes place in the context of Britishrule and the post-colonial period,which inevitably leads to a contact of cultures-thenative Indian culture and the British culture.“According to postcolonial theorists,Hybrid in colonial and postcolonial contexts takes many forms:linguistic,cultural,political,ethnic,and so on”(Sheng Anfeng 120).There are many hybrid phenomenain the novel that they are reflected in many aspects,such as language,culture(clothing,food,etiquette,etc.)and so on.These mixed phenomena on the one handdispel the centrality of the culture of the host country,and the colonized affect thesuzerain state in a silent form.On the other hand,they also provide space for thenegotiation between the two sides.
Chapter Ⅴ Conclusion
As an important British postcolonial novelist,Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s writingabout the meeting of East and West in the colonial and postcolonial times has attracted the attention of many scholars.Heat and Dust,as one of her most famous novels,bears witness to the
