POST-COLONIAL LITERATURE, INTERACTION OF LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Abstract

Establishing basic laws of narrative formation and tracing certain trends in its development is always an interesting and fruitful subject of study. The purpose of this article is a detailed review of the main theoretical works related to the emergence and development of the theory of postcolonial literature. The problems related to the term “postcolonial” are highlighted, the vectors of interaction of English-speaking postcolonial literature are considered. In connection with the analysis of the political traditions of the functioning of colonies, the main trends in the development of Western postcolonial theories of literature are traced, in particular, the views and psychological theories of Franz Fanon. Apart from “three-level” theory by Fenon, the concept of nationalism and the views of the postcolonial literature theorist E. Said are covered in detail. Said introduces the concept of “orientalism” and reveals the mechanisms of false positioning of the hero — the original inhabitant of the colony. The works of G. Spivak and her feminist works are also considered, as well as the works of Homi Bhabha, who follows Lacan’s psycholinguistic theory. The result of the study is the identification of those common patterns that are formed in English-language post-colonial prose, including works by J. Rhys, Zadie Smith and S. Rushdie. This sort of literature largely breaks the rules of the English language tradition. A tendency is to develop a new kind of narrative regarding historical novel.