Narratology and History in Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke
Journal Title: International Journal of Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies (IJIMS) - Year 2014, Vol 1, Issue 9
Abstract
Amitav Ghosh‟s novel River of Smoke belongs to the genere of the historical novel. With the help of different narrative strategies, Amitav Ghosh in this novel has re-written history that covers the period of opium trade in Canton, in 1838. The story is about the struggle of Manchu Empire against the British Empire who made war on China in the name of free trade. Ghosh has re-inventing past through using different narratological devices while presenting the personal history with nation‟s history. He uses memory, interior monologue, stream of consciousness, authentic and official voices of historical personals , original documentation ,edicts, Canton journals, Hukamnamas , proclamations, translators, letters, painting and drawings etc. to present opium war period in Canton . The novel moves in flash back in non- chronological order. There are analeptic movements, embedded stories, characterized by fragmented sequences, ellipsis, digression and jumbled chronology. The narrative is presented through third person omnipresent narrator along with first person character narrator. The point of views from which the story is told keeps on changing. Different perspectives of the colonized, the downtrodden, the oppressed, the sufferers, the marginals, of the colonizers and real historical persona present vivid account of the period. This shifting focalization also helps to present vividly the history of opium war period in Canton.
Authors and Affiliations
Rozy Gupta, Tanu Gupta
Keywords
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