Preview

Cultural identity in Our Trusty and Well-Beloved, and its relevance to contemporary readers in Singapore

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1328 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Cultural identity in Our Trusty and Well-Beloved, and its relevance to contemporary readers in Singapore
Lok Yu Xin Anette
A0101095U
EN3263 Singapore Literature Assignment 1
Tutorial Group D3
A0101095@nus.edu.sg

EN3263 Assignment 1
Produce an analysis of any ONE of these short stories that argues for its ongoing relevance to a contemporary reader in Singapore.

Cultural identity in Our Trusty and Well-Beloved, and its relevance to contemporary readers in Singapore

This essay wishes to argue how Clifford’s Our Trusty and Well-Beloved still carries a vital relevance to contemporary readers in Singapore today, through the problematization of a fixed cultural identity. This is brought out by Clifford’s dramatization of the tension between the self and the other within the European protagonist (Sir Philip Hanbury Erskine). He is drawn in to the Asiatic other and yet, sees that he cannot escape his European self (and more so, his duties). Thus, it is this “amphibious” (Clifford 65) push-pull dynamic in Philips cultural identity that makes Clifford’s text relevant to us (contemporary readers) as we face the same problematization of a fixed identity in the age of globalization.

In order to demonstrate the argument, the essay shall first discuss how the tension between the self and other is formed through the material markers and metaphors that they are contrasted against, which then problematizes the idea of a single fixed identity.

Firstly, Philip’s European self is characterized by colonial conventions with an emphasis on one’s name and designation. This is already depicted in the opening paragraph of the text, where Clifford immediately introduces the protagonist as: Sir Philip Hanbury Erskine, G.C.B., G.C.M.G. – whose other titles, in the liberal type of the Royal commission … filled up many lines of print. (62)

Here, Clifford forces the readers to form their first impression of Philip based on his social position in the colonial hierarchy. By doing so, Clifford thus highlights the colonial superficiality of the European identity, as he draws



Cited: Clifford, Hugh. “Our Trusty and Well-Beloved.” Writing Singapore: An Historical Anthology of Singapore Literature. Eds. Angelia Poon, Philip Holden and Shirley Geok-lin Lim . Singapore: NUS Press Singapore and National Arts Council of Singapore , 2009. 62-70. Print. Sengupta, Chandan. "Conceptualising Globalisation: Issues and Implications." Economic and Political Weekly (2001): 3137-143. JSTOR. Web. 14 Sept. 2014

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Question- What do we learn from Komninos Zervos and Ahn Do’s experience of identity in multi-cultural Australia and how are their ideas effectively expressed?…

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Q. "Anthony Eaton portrays the issues of the abuse of authority and power through chracterisation". Discuss this statement providing close references to the novel.…

    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    An authors values and ideas originate and stem from their personal, historical and cultural context. By comparing the two authors Tim Winton (from an Australian context) and Zohra Saed (Afghani/New York context) we are able to see how similar values are shaped through identity/contex. Winton uses various literary techniques to embed personalised values into his texts such as place, family, and identity in “Big World”, 2005 and “The Turning”, 2005. Zohra Saed has implanted her values of culture, family, memory and identity into “What the Scar Revealed” and “Nomad’s Market: Flushing Queens” (both published in 2003) through poetic techniques. Both authors represent the value of freedom within juxtaposing setting and place, and how these values build your identity.…

    • 1181 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marele Day uses descriptive language to depict the city of Sydney in The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender. Day distinguishes the city of Sydney through various characters to bring out the truth behind the beautiful city. Through this unique setting, Chinese spelt with a capital C by Nicole Ng explores the same unique descriptive language through the setting of a Sydney School. This essay will explore how the two texts demonstrate the characters, techniques, and languages to discover the extent of each setting.…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Part of my culture identity is a mixture of my father’s Chinese background and my mother’s more traditional, Norwegian background. Instead of only choosing one to associate myself with, I choose to embrace my cultural diversity and…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why are people inclined to mask their true selves? The motivation could be complicated. As human beings it is our intrinsic desire to be anchored in a community which is greater than us. However, there are always discrepancies between group identity and individuality. We may renounce or conceal certain aspects of our identities to promote the procedure of assimilating into the group. The urge of belonging at the expense of shaping individuality could be exemplified in Sunil Badami’s sympathetically portrayed narrative, ‘Sticks and Stones and Such Like’, where Sunil is insulted by his prejudiced classmates as ‘darkie’ and ‘black bastard’ because of his distinct Indian heritage. Sunil not only, ‘scrubs his right arm until the blood began to sink’ to expunge his Indian existence, but also adopted an authentic Aussie name to disguise his ‘too Indian’ name. Even though this attempt prompts various problems for Sunil, he still confesses that he fails to connect his Indian being with his Australian experience’. Thus, as evidenced by Sunil’s experience, creating a false identity to reassure oneself appears to be a ubiquitous issue for those who struggle to belong.…

    • 897 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Gordimer, Nadine (1923 - ) Encyclopedia of Post –Colonial Literatures in English (Credo Reference) Ashford Library…

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Source: Chinua Achebe, "Benin Road," Collected Poems (2004; Random House for High School Teachers Web site), http://www.randomhouse.com/highschool/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400076581&view=excerpt (accessed October 11, 2007).…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chiang Yee’s work was written in English and capitalised on the increased Western interest in China and the East at the beginning of the twentieth century. The Silent Traveller in London describes London from an Oriental viewpoint and thus creates a double perspective as both insider and outsider that is of equal interest to the native Londoner and foreign reader alike. Chiang Yee is an author who is endearing in his modest humility, cheerful narrative and superior wisdom and whose style of writing allows him to be as enlightening as he is entertaining.…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Rodriguez, Richard. “The Chinese in All of Us.” Reading Literature and Writing Argument 5th ed. Eds. Missy James and Alan P. Merickel. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 242-48. Print.…

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    According to Kath Woodward (2004:6), an identity is an “active engagement”. It requires an awareness on one’s part as well as an element of choice, which in turn becomes the importance of identity. Woodward…

    • 2039 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    diversity is not based solely on culture and other human aspect, but as well as,…

    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Taylor, C. (1994). ‘The politics of recognition’ in Gutmann, A. (ed.) Multiculturalism: Examining the Politics of Recognition. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton Unverisity Press. 23-73. Reprinted in the Academic Learning English Manual, University of Kwa Zulu Natal, Durban (2010) , pp 35-38.…

    • 1382 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hundred Secret Senses

    • 3770 Words
    • 16 Pages

    A major part of the novel of Amy Tan's novels has been devoted to the reflection of the role of ethnicity in the life and choices of the narrator. Tan tries to force her characters to face the question and make decision that take the Chinese and American heritages into account. More specifically, the author, who hands the novel over to the narrator, centers on the drama of ethnicity and identity the various characters meet on occasion. In addition, in her novels, Amy Tan has tried to express the deep love and compassion between the relationships of the mothers and daughters of the novels. In her books, she presents the conflicting views and the stories of both sides, providing the…

    • 3770 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Lindsay, Louis (1981) The myth of a civilizing mission: British colonialism and the politics of…

    • 1567 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays