Revisiting the Violence of Sri Lanka’s Civil War: A Study of Apocalypse as Portrayed in Shyam Selvadurai's Funny Boy

Abstract

This study analyses the ethnic conflict and civil war in Sri Lanka after gaining independence as portrayed in Shyam Selvadurai’s Funny Boy. The aim is to determine if the violent acts committed against the minority group can amount to apocalypse. This research examines the concept of ethnic conflict and the apocalypse depicted in "Funny Boy" by Shyam Selvadurai. The analysis focuses on how ethnic conflict is portrayed in the novel. This study explores the thematic elements described in Shyam Selvadurai's novel Funny Boy, which provides a narrative account of the 1983 July riot in Sri Lanka. The novel vividly illustrates the anti-Tamil pogrom during the 1983 Black July riot. It also explores the Struggles and violence of Sri Lankans during the war. Furthermore, it analyses the remnants of violence and the apocalypse destruction of the Jaffna library in 1981. This study addresses the civil war between the Sinhalese government and Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka.