Dismantling Colonial Narratives
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Date
2025-03-11
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Publisher
UMT, Lahore
Abstract
This thesis offers insights on Representation, Silence, and Storytelling as means of resistance
against colonial and patriarchal structures by analyzing J.M. Coetzee’s Foe through the
theoretical lens of Trinh T. Minh-ha’s critique of Essentialism. Essentialism establishes rigid
traits for individuals which supports established power systems. In her work, Woman, Native,
Other, Trinh T. Minh-ha challenges Representational systems within Postcolonial Feminism
because they create more control than empowerment for marginalized voices. She confronts
mainstream narratives that pretend to grant voice while taking control of individual
experiences. Minh-ha advocates for “speaking nearby” as resistance against imposed
meanings while defining Silence as a choice for subversion rather than empty space. The
examination of Foe as a Postcolonial adaptation of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe builds
upon these concepts. The study applies Trinh T. Minh-ha’s critique of Essentialism and
Representation to analyze how Foe constructs narratives through three main elements
including Friday’s Silent resistance and Susan Barton’s narrative dominance and the novel’s
structural fragmentation which opposes fixed identities. Using Minh-ha’s “speaking nearby”
concept, this research analyzes how Foe resists identity reduction while questioning the
ethical implications of speaking on behalf of marginalized groups. The research investigates
how Friday’s deliberate Silence combats the application of representative narratives and
consequently dismantles colonial Storytelling. Through Trinh T. Minh-ha’s Essentialist
critique, the study investigates how Barton’s narrative control attempts create ethical
problems in speaking on behalf of others in relation to Friday’s story. The study aims to
demonstrate how Foe questions the authority of language and Representation, raising the
question of whether marginalized voices can ever be fully captured in narratives without
perpetuating power structures. By dismantling colonial structures and rethinking the
processes of power, words, and identity, the study seeks to understand how characterization in Foe challenges Essentialist beliefs. It uses comprehensive textual analysis of the work of
literature, anchored in Minh-ha’s ideas, to highlight how the text challenges conventional
Representation and promotes moral interaction with marginalized voices. While addressing
ethical issues in Representation politics and Storytelling, the study deepens the knowledge of
oppressed communities that oppose Essentialist methods of creating transformational
frameworks