Food, identity, power and multicultural solidarity in Preeta Samarasan’s Tale of a Dreamer’s Son
The role of food from a sociocultural perspective is one that has been increasingly explored in cultural narratives and academic inquiry in the past few decades. In literature, food is used as a tool to evoke the senses and convey meaning about identity, culture, relationships and emotions. Fo...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2025
|
| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25962/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25962/1/Gema_25_1_11.pdf |
| Summary: | The role of food from a sociocultural perspective is one that has been increasingly explored in
cultural narratives and academic inquiry in the past few decades. In literature, food is used as a
tool to evoke the senses and convey meaning about identity, culture, relationships and emotions.
Food can be instrumental in shaping personal and cultural identities, community dynamics and
embedding ideologies, particularly in culturally diverse societies. This article explores the
intersections of food and identity in multicultural Malaysia as depicted in Preeta Samarasan's novel
Tale of the Dreamer's Son. Through critical literary analysis of the novel, the article examines how
food shapes identities and functions as a tool for manifesting belief systems, cultural practices and
power as well as how it fosters the Malaysian concept of Muhibbah (the spirit of multicultural
solidarity and mutual respect) within the multicultural landscape of Malaysia. Anderson’s (2006)
theory of Imagined Communities and the concept of muhibbah as framed by Haslina Ibrahim
(2013) is applied to understand how identity, power and solidarity are at work through food
consumption practices, as well as the restrictions and regulations surrounding food, within the
context of multicultural Malaysia, as depicted in the novel. The analysis reveals that food is used
as a marker of personal and communal identity and relationship dynamics in the novel. Food also
serves as an ideological tool to impart and manifest values and belief systems as well as power in
a diverse society. This study contributes to the broader discourse on food, identity, and gastronativism in literature and highlights the unique interplay between culinary practices and
sociocultural dynamics in multicultural contexts. |
|---|