OTHERNESS IN IRVINE WELSH’S NOVEL “TRAINSPOTTING”

Abstract

Irvine Welsh, being one of the most prominent writers belonging to the postmodernist movement of the end of the 20th century, still retains his popularity in youth culture. Due to deep social insight of his works, they are being studied not only by literary scholars, but also by socio-humanitarian researchers. In this article the study of his work is mainly based on literary analysis, but also includes concepts of philosophy, cultural and social studies. Otherness, primarily a socio-philosophical concept, in “Trainspotting” reveals its new shades, which require a multidisciplinary research approach. In our analysis we consider the historical situation in Britain at the end of 20th century closely connected with the elimination and deconstruction of traditional class, ethnical and gender identities. For the Scottish society of that time identity and otherness issues become highly relevant: along with the reforms of economic and social policies, individualistic mindset is being shaped and the freedom of self-identification is enhanced. Irvine Welsh’s main creative intention is to reflect on these processes. The analysis of the image system of the novel reveals the most important aspects of otherness illustrated in “Trainspotting”: ethnical, gender and existential.