Hegemony and Its Impacts on Identities and Diasporic Experiences in Amitav Ghosh’s The Glass Palace

Abstract

Drawing on Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony and his conceptualizations of ‘common sense’, ‘good sense’ and ‘organic intellectual’, this thesis offers a Gramscian reading of the The Glass Palace by Amitav Gosh, a prominent Indian author. Central to the exploration of the thesis is the novel’s depiction of the impacts of British colonization in India and Burma as well as the plight of the Indian and the Burmese in the diasporas. The investigation is set around outstanding characters whose lives are profoundly affected by colonization and its legacies. Some of these characters experience permanent displacement and are trapped in a state of forced exile, alienation, and humiliation. There are, however, characters who are able to reconstruct their identities through their diasporic experiences and successfully climb the social and economic ladder. This thesis also examines how a traditional form of hegemony can be undermined or destroyed by a more powerful hegemony established by British colonizers, and how dominant hegemonies exert their control over the consciousness, worldviews, and behaviors of the colonized. Furthermore, the thesis draws attention to the fact that dominant hegemonies can be undermined and challenged, and to the vital role of ‘organic intellectuals' in initiating and organizing a counter-hegemonic force.