Chaotic identities and otherness in Jhumpa Lahiri's novel the Namesake

Master Of ArtsThe Chaotic Identities and Otherness in Jhumpa Lahiri?s Novel The NamesakeEbru DÖNMEZDokuz Eylul UniversityInstitute Of Social SciencesDepartment of American Culture and LiteratureJhumpa Lahiri elaborates on the lives, problems and inner conflicts ofAsian (Indian) Americans. She won the Pulitzer Prize with her collected shortstories Interpreter of Maladies and gained attention from literary authorities. Inher second novel, The Namesake, she portrays the main contradictions of themembers of an Indian American family with dual identities. Her characters,while struggling to maintain their dual identities, contemplate over the effects ofColonialism and Postcolonialism. Therefore this work depicts the portrayal ofAsian Americans in American society: their inbetween identities, the concept of?Other,? and the clash of cultures. With this study I also aim to introduce theworks of Jhumpa Lahiri to Turkish readers.In this thesis, all these themes are evaluated within the context ofPostcolonial theory. Tracing back to colonialism and its results, I am going toportray the approach of the Western world to the East, and the East?sreinvented and recreated identities in the West. Focusing on Edward Said?sOrientalism and the ideas of other prominent writers in Postcolonial theorysuch as Homi Bhabba, Bill Ashcroft Ania Loomba and many others, I intend toexamine the historical background of ethnic relations in the U.S.A., colonialismand its effects in the present. This will put into perspective the chaotic lives ofAsian (Indian) Americans, and their inbetween condition within Americansociety, in Jhumpa Lahiri?s novel The Namesake.Key Words: 1) Colonialism, 2) Postcolonialism 3) Asian (Indian) Americans4) Otherness 5) Chaotic identities