Surviving Disownment: Deictic Shift and Embodied Emotions in Sanghera's Shame (2007)

Abstract

Testimonial writing is a narrative told in the first person by a narrator who isalso the real protagonist or witness of the events she or he recounts (Beverly,1993, p. 70). The unit of narration is usually a significant life experience wherethe main focus is not on the 'problematic hero' but rather on the protagonist /narrator as a representative…of a large social class or group… (Beverly,1993, p. 74). The present study aims at identifying the stylistic featuresaffecting the intensity and authenticity of Sanghera's ‘Shame’ (2007). The mainquestion here is what triggers the emotional affect towards the text. I attempt toanalyze the text in the light of different theories from different disciplines. Theemployed frameworks include Speech & Thought Presentation from stylistics,Deictic Shift Theories from cognitive linguistics, and Embodiment & Emotionsfrom psychology.Sanghera’s unique styleis proven to draw the reader into hertragic experience and this guarantees the readers’ sympathy with her cause.She invites the readers to relive her traumatic experience with her rather thanread about which creates a sense of authenticity and immediacy.