Divya T | Amrita Vishwa Vidhyapeetham (original) (raw)
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Papers by Divya T
Defamiliarization is a concept that has been used by Viktor Shklovsky in his ‘Art as Technique’, ... more Defamiliarization is a concept that has been used by Viktor Shklovsky in his ‘Art as Technique’, which intends to present a concept in a strange way in order to enhance one’s conception of that which is familiar. This article attempts to use the concept of Defamiliarization as a technique that studies the acquisition of a new mode of perception by jolting of one’s pre-conceived notions about the world, wherein one’s mundane perception is rescued from the plague of monotony, which consequently leads to the re-construction of one’s vision. This transformation that takes place during the process of ‘Defamiliarization’ is well reviewed in the novel One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Nine passengers belonging to different ethnic backgrounds are caught in the rubble after an earthquake reduces the visa office to a heap of debris. In this situation of life and death, the aspect of storytelling becomes an essential device for the characters in this novel, as they encounter, evaluate and eschew the previous perspectives in their life, in order to bring about a transformation in their vision. The earthquake which destroys the edifice of the visa office itself becomes symbolic of the aspect of Defamiliarization, ushering in the need to transform one’s perspectives in order to do away with the ‘narrow domestic walls’ of the mind. Therefore, the aspect of Defamiliarization jolts one’s cognizance and opens up new vistas of apprehension.
Contemporary Contemplations on New Literatures in English, Authorspress, New Delhi, 2020, ISBN: 9789389615616, 2020
Children's literature down the ages has been clouded with biased perspectives regarding gender. N... more Children's literature down the ages has been clouded with biased perspectives regarding gender. Notions of identity is often characterised by the performance of the traditional ideals of gender-specific activities. As a result, narratives depicted in children's literature often form the basis of latent ideologies that manifests itself in the form of 'gender-appropriate' roles. In turn, water tight compartments that suggests what it means to be a 'male' or a 'female' in the society, are formed. They contain within them layers of discourses regarding the 'accepted' behavioural norms which the respective genders have to adhere to, which ultimately leads to the typecasting of the gender roles. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch is often considered as a revisionist work that heralded the birth of feminist children's literature in general and Canadian feminist children's literature in particular. Published in 1980, it subverts the discourses regarding gender-roles depicted in the traditional tales by investigating the ‘damsel in distress’ and the ‘knight in shining armour’ stereotypes. Hence, his perspective embraces the view that the contemporary world has expanded far beyond the quest to marry the prince paramount in children's tales and has opened innumerable possibilities for thinking beyond it.
Contemporary Contemplations on Indian Writing in English , 2017
Incisive Insights Vol 1 Issue 1 (pg 75 - 104), Dec 2013
The uniqueness of the narrative of Wuthering Heights has been the centre of argument for litera... more The uniqueness of the narrative of Wuthering Heights has been the
centre of argument for literary critics, for over a century and it enables one to
study it from different angles. This assignment argues that the narrative
structure of Wuthering Heights is ‘layered’ rather than ‘linear’ because the
story reaches the readers after a rigorous session of editing and rephrasing, by
several narrators. This renders it a ‘folkloric’ attribute because there is no
authentic authorial voice to make the readers think in a particular way. The
main narrators of the story are two peripheral characters – Nelly and
Lockwood. Lockwood becomes the ‘frame’ narrator and Nelly becomes the
‘interpolated’ narrator who could also be considered as ‘fallible’ or
‘unreliable’ (thus rendering Lockwood’s version also unreliable). Lockwood’s
intellectual and pedantic perception and Nelly’s sentimental and ‘Victorian’
perception of the events and situations in Wuthering Heights render them
virtually unstable or incapacitated to fathom the psychological depth and
character of the protagonists. By transferring a given narrative from teller to
teller the novel creates a disjunction of voices which results in the
‘dispossession’ of the narrative. This leads to the loss of the source of the story
thereby inscribing the absence of a narrative centre. But, such a ‘blurring’
between the speaker and the listener is the starting point of interpretation and
analysis. Through her style, Bronte challenges the norms of narratology that
existed during her time.
Defamiliarization is a concept that has been used by Viktor Shklovsky in his ‘Art as Technique’, ... more Defamiliarization is a concept that has been used by Viktor Shklovsky in his ‘Art as Technique’, which intends to present a concept in a strange way in order to enhance one’s conception of that which is familiar. This article attempts to use the concept of Defamiliarization as a technique that studies the acquisition of a new mode of perception by jolting of one’s pre-conceived notions about the world, wherein one’s mundane perception is rescued from the plague of monotony, which consequently leads to the re-construction of one’s vision. This transformation that takes place during the process of ‘Defamiliarization’ is well reviewed in the novel One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Nine passengers belonging to different ethnic backgrounds are caught in the rubble after an earthquake reduces the visa office to a heap of debris. In this situation of life and death, the aspect of storytelling becomes an essential device for the characters in this novel, as they encounter, evaluate and eschew the previous perspectives in their life, in order to bring about a transformation in their vision. The earthquake which destroys the edifice of the visa office itself becomes symbolic of the aspect of Defamiliarization, ushering in the need to transform one’s perspectives in order to do away with the ‘narrow domestic walls’ of the mind. Therefore, the aspect of Defamiliarization jolts one’s cognizance and opens up new vistas of apprehension.
Contemporary Contemplations on New Literatures in English, Authorspress, New Delhi, 2020, ISBN: 9789389615616, 2020
Children's literature down the ages has been clouded with biased perspectives regarding gender. N... more Children's literature down the ages has been clouded with biased perspectives regarding gender. Notions of identity is often characterised by the performance of the traditional ideals of gender-specific activities. As a result, narratives depicted in children's literature often form the basis of latent ideologies that manifests itself in the form of 'gender-appropriate' roles. In turn, water tight compartments that suggests what it means to be a 'male' or a 'female' in the society, are formed. They contain within them layers of discourses regarding the 'accepted' behavioural norms which the respective genders have to adhere to, which ultimately leads to the typecasting of the gender roles. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch is often considered as a revisionist work that heralded the birth of feminist children's literature in general and Canadian feminist children's literature in particular. Published in 1980, it subverts the discourses regarding gender-roles depicted in the traditional tales by investigating the ‘damsel in distress’ and the ‘knight in shining armour’ stereotypes. Hence, his perspective embraces the view that the contemporary world has expanded far beyond the quest to marry the prince paramount in children's tales and has opened innumerable possibilities for thinking beyond it.
Contemporary Contemplations on Indian Writing in English , 2017
Incisive Insights Vol 1 Issue 1 (pg 75 - 104), Dec 2013
The uniqueness of the narrative of Wuthering Heights has been the centre of argument for litera... more The uniqueness of the narrative of Wuthering Heights has been the
centre of argument for literary critics, for over a century and it enables one to
study it from different angles. This assignment argues that the narrative
structure of Wuthering Heights is ‘layered’ rather than ‘linear’ because the
story reaches the readers after a rigorous session of editing and rephrasing, by
several narrators. This renders it a ‘folkloric’ attribute because there is no
authentic authorial voice to make the readers think in a particular way. The
main narrators of the story are two peripheral characters – Nelly and
Lockwood. Lockwood becomes the ‘frame’ narrator and Nelly becomes the
‘interpolated’ narrator who could also be considered as ‘fallible’ or
‘unreliable’ (thus rendering Lockwood’s version also unreliable). Lockwood’s
intellectual and pedantic perception and Nelly’s sentimental and ‘Victorian’
perception of the events and situations in Wuthering Heights render them
virtually unstable or incapacitated to fathom the psychological depth and
character of the protagonists. By transferring a given narrative from teller to
teller the novel creates a disjunction of voices which results in the
‘dispossession’ of the narrative. This leads to the loss of the source of the story
thereby inscribing the absence of a narrative centre. But, such a ‘blurring’
between the speaker and the listener is the starting point of interpretation and
analysis. Through her style, Bronte challenges the norms of narratology that
existed during her time.