The Liminality of a Hybrid Existence: The Relationship Between Colonizer and Colonized in Edwidge Danticat's Krik?Krak!
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Authors
Faulk, Texanna Marie
Issue Date
2019-04
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Academic theses , Danticat, Edwidge, 1969- , Liminality , Liminality in literature , Postcolonialism , Postcolonialism in literature , Colonization
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Abstract
Colonization of other countries has spawned a dualistic identity among those that have identified as the colonized. Out of this experience came postcolonialism, which deals with the consciousness and the consequences of colonization. In postcolonial literature a prevailing theme appears to be a search for an identity in relationship to others, whether they are categorized as the colonizer or the colonized. Edwidge Danticat's Krik? Krak! Delves into the relationships and power struggle between colonized and colonizer. Homi Bhabha's theories of hybridity showcase this in-between space that the hybrid must exist in order to prosper. These characters live in a hybrid existence because of the influences of the colonizer. As a result, the characters live in a liminal space that does not allow for an existence in or claim to either identity. The characters find solace in hybrid spaces because they allow the hybrid to claim an identity that is outside of the binaries presented by society. This liminal existence is also shown through the philosophies of Friedrich Hegel. The Hegelian Dialectic shows how two opposing forces, such as the colonizer and colonized, come together to create a new entity, such as the hybrid. Through the philosophies of Hegel and the theories of Homi Bhaba, the hybrid in postcolonial short story cycles becomes and exists in his or her own
liminal space. The text explores relationships as a liminal space within a hybrid culture.
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This dissertation is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, revised in 1976). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of the materials for financial gain with the author's expressed written permissions is not allowed.