Caryl Phillips’s novels: a reminder of a forgotten issue

Throughout history, colonization and the competition for power among the European races triggered the mass migration of many races in the world. However, it cannot be denied that the most affected race were the Blacks who were forced into slavery. The establishment of slavery is the biggest injustic...

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Main Authors: Mani, Manimangai, Jujar Singh, Hardev Kaur
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universiti Putra Malaysia Press 2013
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40740/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40740/1/14%20Page%20187-200%20%28JSSH-0915-2013%29.pdf
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author Mani, Manimangai
Jujar Singh, Hardev Kaur
author_facet Mani, Manimangai
Jujar Singh, Hardev Kaur
author_sort Mani, Manimangai
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Throughout history, colonization and the competition for power among the European races triggered the mass migration of many races in the world. However, it cannot be denied that the most affected race were the Blacks who were forced into slavery. The establishment of slavery is the biggest injustice of colonisation, where the Blacks were treated as commercial objects. Slavery turned into a lucrative business where it involved licensing and diplomatic controls between many European powers. Therefore, this phenomenon has borne many writings on human migrations and assimilation in their new homes. Most of these writings are the works of writers who themselves were affected by this movement across continents. Caryl Phillips is one of the writers who made this issue as a persistent theme in all his works. Phillips’s works were never a mere narration on migrants and migrations. More than that, it is an attempt to retell an unfortunate incident in the chapters of the world history about the mass displacement of a particular race. Phillips, who was born in the Caribbean Islands and raised in England, often depicts the feelings of rootlessness and the nostalgia for a homeland in the characters in his novels. However, what seems like an affinity to lurk around a rich story material has a potent and hidden agenda. This paper will show that Phillips, a descendent of slaves, often harps on these long forgotten issues with a deliberate and definitive motive. A scrutinised study on his novels will show that it is indeed his wish to remind the world and the descendents of the Black slaves not to forget the past.
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spelling upm-407402015-10-08T06:08:38Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40740/ Caryl Phillips’s novels: a reminder of a forgotten issue Mani, Manimangai Jujar Singh, Hardev Kaur Throughout history, colonization and the competition for power among the European races triggered the mass migration of many races in the world. However, it cannot be denied that the most affected race were the Blacks who were forced into slavery. The establishment of slavery is the biggest injustice of colonisation, where the Blacks were treated as commercial objects. Slavery turned into a lucrative business where it involved licensing and diplomatic controls between many European powers. Therefore, this phenomenon has borne many writings on human migrations and assimilation in their new homes. Most of these writings are the works of writers who themselves were affected by this movement across continents. Caryl Phillips is one of the writers who made this issue as a persistent theme in all his works. Phillips’s works were never a mere narration on migrants and migrations. More than that, it is an attempt to retell an unfortunate incident in the chapters of the world history about the mass displacement of a particular race. Phillips, who was born in the Caribbean Islands and raised in England, often depicts the feelings of rootlessness and the nostalgia for a homeland in the characters in his novels. However, what seems like an affinity to lurk around a rich story material has a potent and hidden agenda. This paper will show that Phillips, a descendent of slaves, often harps on these long forgotten issues with a deliberate and definitive motive. A scrutinised study on his novels will show that it is indeed his wish to remind the world and the descendents of the Black slaves not to forget the past. Universiti Putra Malaysia Press 2013-11 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40740/1/14%20Page%20187-200%20%28JSSH-0915-2013%29.pdf Mani, Manimangai and Jujar Singh, Hardev Kaur (2013) Caryl Phillips’s novels: a reminder of a forgotten issue. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 21 (spec. Nov.). pp. 187-200. ISSN 0128-7702; ESSN: 2231-8534 http://www.pertanika.upm.edu.my/Pertanika%20PAPERS/JSSH%20Vol.%2021%20%28S%29%20Nov.%202013/14%20Page%20187-200%20%28JSSH-0915-2013%29.pdf
spellingShingle Mani, Manimangai
Jujar Singh, Hardev Kaur
Caryl Phillips’s novels: a reminder of a forgotten issue
title Caryl Phillips’s novels: a reminder of a forgotten issue
title_full Caryl Phillips’s novels: a reminder of a forgotten issue
title_fullStr Caryl Phillips’s novels: a reminder of a forgotten issue
title_full_unstemmed Caryl Phillips’s novels: a reminder of a forgotten issue
title_short Caryl Phillips’s novels: a reminder of a forgotten issue
title_sort caryl phillips’s novels: a reminder of a forgotten issue
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40740/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40740/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/40740/1/14%20Page%20187-200%20%28JSSH-0915-2013%29.pdf