The Unstable Nature of Dominant-Subordinate Relation: Postcolonial Study Towards Thomas King’s 'The Colour of Walls'

Alireza Sardari

doi:10.15294/rainbow.v10i1.46261

Abstract

Aboriginal/Indigenous peoples, cultures and works of literature (in the broadest sense) play a crucial role in the continuous growth of world literary and cultural studies. Indigenous writers advocate indigenous rights and address their concerns in works of fiction and non-fiction. Focusing on the correlation between the dominant (center) and the subordinate (margin) in Thomas King’s The Colour of Walls (2013), the present paper aims to specifically investigate the dominant-subordinate interplay in the colonial discourse. So as to elucidate this labyrinthine network of relationships, Homi Bhabha’s critical concept of hybridity is employed throughout the analysis process. The results indicate the unstable nature of dominant-subordinate dichotomy in the story, where power-based relationships are subject to constant change. Accordingly, this process of cultural struggle provides a site for the subordinate to change their marginal position and to resist the dominant’s influence; ultimately, this process assists the subordinate to reclaim their own independent identity.

Highlights

IntroductionIndigenous Peoples have uninterruptedly remained the target of assimilation attempts
The colonial discourse has tried hard to relegate indigenous peoples to the margin by making them deny their local beliefs, values, and ideas; that is how colonizer's assimilation attempts disrupt the indigenous ways of life
With the application of Bhabha’s critical concept of hybridity, the present article investigated the interplay between the dominant and the subordinate in Thomas King’s The Colour of Walls (2013)

Summary

Introduction

Indigenous Peoples have uninterruptedly remained the target of assimilation attempts. The colonial discourse has tried hard to relegate indigenous peoples to the margin by making them deny their local beliefs, values, and ideas; that is how colonizer's assimilation attempts disrupt the indigenous ways of life. When we talk about "colonies" and colonialism, we are usually talking about the lands settled by Europeans following the arrival of Columbus in 1492. They include Canada and its Indigenous peoples, the United States and Indians, Indigenous Australia, Maori Aotearoa (New Zealand), the native Pacific Islands, Indian Latin America, and Indigenous Africa. They include Canada and its Indigenous peoples, the United States and Indians, Indigenous Australia, Maori Aotearoa (New Zealand), the native Pacific Islands, Indian Latin America, and Indigenous Africa. (Yazzie, 2000, p. 39)

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Conclusion