Smart Moves Journal IJELLH (SMJI) is a peer-reviewed journal of English from India dedicated to publishing high-quality, original research in English Language, Literature, and Linguistics. Established in 2013, SMJI has earned recognition as one of India’s leading peer-reviewed academic journals in the field of English studies. The journal is indexed in the Modern Language Association (MLA) Directory of Periodicals, USA, underscoring its international credibility and scholarly standing within the global academic community. Peer-Reviewed and Recognized in India Smart Moves Journal IJELLH (SMJI) maintains a rigorous double-blind peer review process. It is listed as a refereed (peer-reviewed) publication in Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory, one of the world’s most authoritative databases for academic journals. Authors publishing in IJELLH are eligible to claim API scores in accordance with UGC (University Grants Commission, India) guidelines—affirming the journal’s alignment with academic quality and professional advancement. Aims and Scope Smart Moves Journal IJELLH welcomes original and unpublished research papers that advance knowledge and understanding in the following areas: English Language Grammar and Syntax, Stylistics, Sociolinguistics, Comparative Linguistics, English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL/EFL), Language Teaching Methodologies, Phonetics and Phonology, Language Acquisition, Language Assessment and Testing, Discourse Analysis, and Language Planning & Policy. English Literature British, American, Indian, and World Literature; Literary Theory and Criticism; Comparative Literature; Literary History and Movements; Postcolonial and Postmodern Studies; Literature and Gender Studies; Literature and Culture; and Literary Adaptations across Media. Linguistics Applied Linguistics, Philosophy of Language, Morphology and Syntax, Semantics and Pragmatics, Corpus Linguistics, Translation and Interpreting Studies, Writing Systems, and Language in Context. Digital Object Identifier (DOI) SMJI assigns a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) to all published manuscripts. A DOI provides a permanent and persistent link to every article. Even if the journal website, domain, or hosting platform changes, the DOI will always direct readers to the correct location of the manuscript. It serves as a unique and stable digital identity for each publication and remains valid indefinitely. In academic practice, DOI plays a crucial role in ensuring authenticity, traceability, and global accessibility of research. Assigning a DOI to each article is a standard practice in modern scholarly publishing and is followed by all recognized and credible journals worldwide. On the UGC Samarth (CU-Chayan) portal of the University Grants Commission (UGC) for Central University faculty recruitment, research publication entries require DOI details, and submissions may not proceed without them. Open Access and Copyright Policy SMJI follows a gold open-access model, ensuring that all published research is freely accessible worldwide. Authors retain copyright of their work and grant publication rights under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)license—allowing others to share and adapt the work with proper citation. ISSN and Publication Details Online ISSN: 2582-3574 Print ISSN: 2582-4406 The journal is published by Smart Moves Publications, headquartered in Bhopal, India, with a consistent commitment to academic excellence, ethical publishing, and global visibility.
God 's Wrath , Death, Two States of Love
God 's Wrath The Moon tells the Earth with frightening smile The Earth looks up the Sky with unwanted crime The Sun is singing threatening rime The Ocean is boiling in bloody time. Warn the humans Doom's Day The sinners relentlessly slay Evils of Hell raise their hands To call the offenders to cite the last bands Each crime experiences lancinating pain The wrath of God blooms in fierce flame Neither compassion nor mercy claim And the existence of human will end in vain.
Copyright (c) 2026 Arshad Khan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Exploring the Genesis of Climate Change in Amitav Ghosh’s The Nutmeg’s Curse
Amitav Ghosh’s nonfiction work, The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis (2021) offers a compelling account of the genesis of climate change by portraying an undeniable picture of horrific events that led to the mass massacre of tribes, causing irreversible destruction of pristine environments and habitats. The devastating effects of brutality and extractive capitalism of colonial powers lie at the core of today’s climate crisis. The war and compromise among various colonial powers to gain control and hegemony over indigenous people of Banda Island in Indonesia to monopolise the trade of nutmeg and mace spice, and bloodshed in the colonies in America during the Seventeenth century showcase that the practice of colonialism is inherently bestial and dehumanising. The chapter also focuses on how the European colonists’ rapaciousness disqualifies them from their self-proclaimed claims of being enlightened, civilised, and saviours. The theoretical frameworks of Ecocriticism and Postcolonialism are employed to analyse the book and surface the injustices inflicted on the environment and the natives.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr Yash Pal Singh https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Narrating Unreason: Madness as Method and Social Critique in Sandhya Mary's Maria, Just Maria
This paper examines madness as a narrative strategy and a mode of social critique in Sandhya Mary’s Maria, Just Maria. Through its non-linear narrative structure, the novel destabilizes conventional notions of reason, normalcy, and psychological coherence by interweaving memory, fantasy, reality, humour, and irony. The resulting dreamlike narrative landscape reflects the fragmented consciousness of Maria, tracing her trajectory from a troubled childhood to institutional confinement within a psychiatric hospital. Significantly, the novel resists a clinical understanding of madness; instead, it presents madness as a socially imposed category directed at individuals who fail or refuse to conform to dominant norms in their struggle for survival and selfhood. The paper locates the origins of Maria’s psychological distress in childhood trauma and explores its manifestations through Freudian formulations of loss, repression, and unresolved grief. It further draws on Michel Foucault’s theorization of madness as a socially constructed discourse, R. D. Laing’s conception of madness as a response to an intolerable social reality, and Phyllis Chesler’s critique of the gendered production of unreason. By interrogating the binary opposition between sanity and madness, the novel exposes the repressive structures of the family, the ideology of respectability, and the demands of a productivist social order. Ultimately, Maria, Just Maria reimagines madness not as pathology but as a mode of truth-telling, self-preservation, and feminine resistance. In doing so, it challenges dominant epistemologies of rationality and foregrounds unreason as a critical site from which social and gendered forms of power may be questioned and contested.
Copyright (c) 2026 Sangeetha G. Nair https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Urban Space as Battleground: Housing, Precarity and Class Warfare in Aravind Adiga's Last Man in Tower and Neel Mukherjee's A State of Freedom
This article examines the relationship between urban space, housing insecurity, and class conflict in Aravind Adiga's Last Man in Tower (2011) and Neel Mukherjee's A State of Freedom (2017). Both novels portray the contemporary Indian city as a contested site where neoliberal capitalism reshapes social relations, intensifies economic inequality, and transforms housing into a mechanism of exclusion and power. Drawing on theories of urban studies, Marxist literary criticism, and spatial politics, this study argues that housing in these novels functions not merely as shelter but as a symbolic and material arena of class struggle. Through comparative textual analysis, the article explores themes of dispossession, precarity, speculative urban development, and the erosion of collective ethics under neoliberalism. The study concludes that both authors expose the violence embedded within urban modernization while foregrounding the vulnerability of marginalized citizens in contemporary India.
Copyright (c) 2026 Ms. G. Kayalvizhi, Dr. N. Jayanthi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Multidimensional Assessment of Ageing Among Marine Fishermen: Evidence from Kanniyakumari District
Ageing is a gradual and multidimensional process that affects physical strength, emotional stability, social relationships, and economic security. In labour intensive occupations like marine fishing, the impact of ageing becomes more challenging because the work requires continuous physical effort and involves high occupational risk. As fishermen grow older, declining health, reduced work capacity, and irregular income begin to influence their overall quality of life. Unlike organised sectors, marine fishing lacks structured retirement systems and adequate social protection, making old age more vulnerable for fishermen. This study examines the multidimensional aspects of ageing among marine fishermen in Kanniyakumari District by analysing four major dimensions: physical, psychological, social, and economic. The physical dimension focuses on health conditions, occupational strain, and ability to continue fishing activities. The psychological dimension considers stress, insecurity, and life satisfaction in later years. The social dimension explores family support, community involvement, and access to welfare schemes. The economic dimension evaluates income stability, savings, debt burden, and financial dependency. The study highlights that economic insecurity and health-related limitations are the most serious challenges faced by ageing fishermen. Limited pension coverage, rising medical expenses, and unstable earnings increase their vulnerability. The paper emphasises the importance of targeted policy measures, improved social security coverage, and sustainable livelihood support to ensure a secure and dignified life for elderly marine fishermen.
Copyright (c) 2026 Mrs. Mary Sajani Selarbin .S, Dr. Y. Hemalatha https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Reconfiguring Postwar Somali Identity: A Critical Study of Violence, Memory, and Social Fragmentation in Links
This article critically examines the complex interplay of memory, identity, and political violence in Links authored by Nuruddin Farah. Set in post civil war Mogadishu, the novel portrays the fractured psychological states of individuals and the disintegrating social structures of Somalia. This study highlights how Farah uses narrative fragmentation, psycho social tension, and political disorder to articulate trauma and nationhood. Drawing on postcolonial theory, trauma studies, and the article positions Links as a significant intervention into discourses of African identity, governance collapse, and moral responsibility. The article also evaluates the protagonist’s psychological journey as a metaphorical mapping of contemporary Somali anxieties and collective suffering.
Copyright (c) 2026 Mrs. Soni Jeba Malar S , Dr. Mangaiyarkarasi S https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Imagining the Nation Through Madness and Borders: A Study of Manto's Toba Tek Singh and The Dog of Tetwal
Partition of India in 1947 is one of the most traumatic event in the history of South Asia in relation to mass displacement, communal violence and formation of new national identities. One of the most influential literary voices of the Partition era, Saadat Hasan Manto critically explores its repercussions in his short stories, The Dog of Tetwal and Toba Tek Singh. Both stories undermine the validity of state lines and reveal nationalistic ideas and the human factory that results from them. In the story of a free-spirited dog that roams with a military border, and Bishan Singh, a Sikh man who is locked in a mental hospital, Manto's disassociates from the logic of nation states and the arbitrary nature of borders between countries. This paper tries to see Manto's satire, allegory and irony are used to expose the harrowing consequences of Partition as they defined human identity, belonging and human relationship over the horizon of belief system. By referring to the notions of 'imagined communities' by Benedict Anderson and 'liminality' by Homi Bhabha, the paper considers Manto's representation of border areas as places of exclusion and displacement. Manto focuses on marginalized protagonists, existing outside the central/mainstream strands of power, uncovering the inconsistencies of nationalism, and he is a strong critique of political boundaries – the problems in the world. These themes abound in his stories, and continue to resonate today in the discussion of migration, citizenship, and national identity and the human consequences of exclusionary nationalist notions of nation. He is a believer of 'inclusive society'.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Dinesh Panwar https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Immigration, Identity, and Cultural Consciousness in Saul Bellow's Henderson the Rain King
The experience of immigration often involves a continuous negotiation between cultural heritage, personal identity, and the desire for belonging. In American literature, immigrant consciousness has emerged as a significant theme that explores issues of displacement, alienation, and self-discovery. This paper examines the concepts of immigration identity and cultural consciousness in Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellow. Although the novel does not directly portray the life of an immigrant, it reflects the psychological and cultural dimensions of immigrant experience through the protagonist Eugene Henderson’s spiritual and existential journey. Dissatisfied with the material comforts of American life, Henderson travels to Africa in search of meaning, self-understanding, and inner peace. His encounters with the Arnewi and Wariri tribes expose him to unfamiliar cultural values, traditions, and modes of thinking, leading to a profound transformation in his perception of self and society. Through these cross-cultural interactions, Bellow highlights the importance of cultural awareness, adaptability, and human interconnectedness in the formation of identity. The novel presents identity as a dynamic process shaped by cultural encounters rather than a fixed construct determined by nationality or social status. By analyzing Henderson’s quest for belonging and self-realization, this study argues that Henderson the Rain King embodies key aspects of immigrant consciousness, including alienation, cultural negotiation, and the search for meaningful existence. The paper concludes that Bellow’s novel offers a compelling exploration of cultural consciousness and identity formation in a multicultural world, thereby contributing significantly to the discourse on immigration and modern human experience.
Copyright (c) 2026 R. Manikandaraja, Dr. A. Ramasubbiah https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Muscles and Margins: Embodied Femininity and Athleticism in Indian Screen Culture
Indian sports cinema operates within a continuum of resistance and containment, where female athleticism is both celebrated and regulated. This paper investigates the representation of female athletic bodies in Indian sports cinema through a comparative analysis of the Hindi film Dangal (2016) and the Malayalam film Godha (2017). Situating these films within broader cultural and theoretical frameworks, the study explores how gender, discipline, and agency are negotiated through the cinematic portrayal of women athletes. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concept of the “docile body,” the paper argues that sports films construct the female body as a site of both control and empowerment, shaped by regimes of discipline, surveillance, and patriarchal authority. While Dangal presents a narrative where female empowerment emerges through coercive patriarchal discipline, Godha offers a contrasting model of self-motivated agency and autonomy. These films play a significant role in reshaping public perceptions of gender and sports, while also reflecting the persistent tensions between empowerment and ideological control.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Famina A https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
From Chariots to Local Trains: A Look at Characters and Stories Inspired by the Mahabharata and Ramayana in Animation Series and Video Games
The paper explores the reimagining of epic narratives from ancient India into the contemporary milieu in children’s animation series and mobile video games, be it Shiva fighting with guns or Chhota Bheem chasing thieves in a Mumbai local train. It can be said that through multiple interpolations, retellings and translations across languages and media, the Mahabharata and Ramayana have remained living epic traditions in India. These narratives have simultaneously been kept alive through oral and folk-theatre performances (Jatra, Ram Lila, Ras Lila etc), through televised versions like B. R. Chopra’s Mahabharata and parallelly, through literary retellings like Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas, Kamban Ramayana, Kaliprassana Sinha’s Mahabharata or more recently Ashok Banker’s Mahabharata Series and Amish Tripathi’s Shiva Trilogy among many others. Thus, re-telling or re-thinking the epic narratives is nothing new. The paper, however, preoccupies itself with the transformations that digitality and interactive systems can bring to the re-telling of these primary epics. The paper also questions how the games that summarily adapt popular runner game formats like Subway Surfers, infuse a distinct Indian-ness into the visuality of these narratives, even if not the gameplay format. When seen in the context of the sacrality of the texts, these gameplay forays seem transgressive and perhaps profane the paper argues that these Interactive Narratives have the potential to realise the interpolatory and oratory nature that these inherently multifarious epic narratives embody.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dipannita Ghosh https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Shattered Gazes and Steadfast Voices: Pecola and Claudia as Opposing Mirrors in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye
This paper examines Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye through the contrasting figures of Pecola Breedlove and Claudia MacTeer, interpreting them as symbolic opposites who represent divergent responses to racialized ideals of beauty. While Pecola internalizes the dominant cultural belief that whiteness defines beauty and value, Claudia develops a critical consciousness that resists such ideological impositions. Through this narrative juxtaposition, Morrison reveals the psychological violence inflicted by hegemonic aesthetic standards and the social structures that sustain them. Drawing on perspectives from Black feminist criticism and race theory, the study argues that Pecola’s tragic collapse reflects the destructive consequences of internalized racism, whereas Claudia’s narrative voice functions as an act of ethical witnessing and cultural resistance. Morrison’s fragmented narrative structure and polyphonic voices further illuminate the complex intersections of race, gender, and childhood within African American experience. Ultimately, the novel not only critiques oppressive beauty hierarchies but also foregrounds the transformative power of memory, voice, and storytelling in reclaiming identity and dignity.
Copyright (c) 2026 Satheesh N. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
An Anthropological Critique of The Santhal Tribe in Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar’s Novel The Mysterious Ailment of Rupi Baskey
In modern civilization, the analysis of isolated communities in provincial environments has become increasingly important. The Santhal tribe is one such group. They are officially recognized by the Indian government and live on the Chotanagpur plateau in states like Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam. The objective of this paper is to bring out the history and cultural tradition of the Santhal Tribe through the novel of Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar. According to the latest census, the Santhal tribes are estimated to be 6.5 million. The primary source of income for members of the Santhal culture is farming to survive. This paper highlights their struggles and how they faced the defeat of the British regime. They live an especially straightforward and unique life. Their superstitious beliefs are the primary reason for their subnormality. This paper discusses the belief systems, practices, and customs of the Santhal tribe. The findings aim to capture their cultural heritage and history of the Santhal Tribe.
Copyright (c) 2026 K.A. Sujitha, Dr. M. Rakesh Babu https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Immortality and Mortality: A Comparative Study of Ageing in Fae and Humans in A Court of Thorns and Roses
Ageing is a universal process affecting all living organisms, including humans, animals, and plants. In fantasy literature, immortality frequently shapes character development and narrative arcs. Immortality remains a perfect myth in the real world. Fantasy authors craft immortal characters such as gods, vampires, elves, faeries, and other supernatural beings to make the audience understand the contrast between human mortality and creative invention. This paper examines the divergent timeline of mortals and immortals in Sarah J Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses. By analysing the human and Fae characters, the study investigates the impact on each group across multiple dimensions. Physical, psychological, social, and cultural dimensions are the different dimensions of ageing.
Copyright (c) 2026 Flintoff S Wilson, Dr. Rakesh Babu . M https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Behind Closed Doors: A Study of Psychological Trauma in What Lies Between Us
This paper explores the psychological intricacies presented in the novel. It focus on the inner turmoil of the protagonist shaped by childhood trauma, migration and emotional isolation. The novel unfolds as a confession revealing the distributing truth behind a mother’s violent act. Through a psychological lens, this study examines how suppressed memories, abuse and undecided mental illness contribute to the protagonist’s disabled identity. It also highlights the themes of motherhood, silence and the long-term impact of trauma. The paper argues that the protagonist’s actions are not isolated but are deeply rooted in her past experiences, making the novel a powerful exploration of the human mind under extreme distress.This paper aims to analyze the psychological depth of the protagonist, focusing on how trauma, motherhood, and mental instability intertwine to reveal the “dark truth” behind her actions.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Christena T https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Time, Self, and Decay: A Comparative Study on Aging in the Poetry of Sylvia Plath and T. S. Eliot
Aging is not only a biological process but also a deeply psychological and emotional experience that has impact upon human life. In literature, it is explored through several themes like identity, time, memory and self-awareness. An attempt is made in this paper to examine the concept of aging presented in the poetry of Sylvia Plath and T. S. Eliot using comparative approach, focusing on how both poets represent the relationship between time, self and decay. Plath presents aging as an intense and immediate experience that affects identity and emotional stability of humans while Eliot approaches it in a more reflective and detached manner. Through comparative study of selected poems such as “Mirror”, “Lady Lazarus”, “Ariel” and “Edge” by Plath, and “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, “Gerontion”, and “Four Quartets” by Eliot, this paper explores how aging shapes self-perception. The study also uses ideas from critics such as Helen Vendler, Julia Kristeva, and Martin Heidegger to deepen the analysis. By comparing these two poets, the paper argues that aging is not a fixed experience but a complex process shaped by psychological, cultural, and existential factors.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. S. R. Benila https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Ferryman's Ledger: Logistical Comedy and Necro-Asset Failure in Lucian's Dialogues of the Dead
Scholarship on Lucian's Dialogues of the Dead has read the work as moral satire, a Cynic assault on wealth, vanity, and the pretensions of the powerful. This essay offers a different diagnosis. It argues that the comedy of the Dialogues is not moral but infrastructural. Hades, in Lucian, is a transport-and-accounting system. It has inputs, a ferry, a gate, processing nodes, and a judgement-seat, and it keeps breaking down. Charon cannot collect his fare. Hermes cannot settle his account. Wills misfire, poison is misdelivered, and the judge is argued into releasing a convicted pirate. Read through infrastructural inversion and through recent work on assetization, the Dialogues reveal a single recurring fault. The dead arrive encumbered with economic fictions that have no purchase below. Wealth, legacy, beauty, and the flatterer's hope are all assets, which is to say claims on a future, and death cancels the future. It is this cancellation that produces the joke, again and again. The essay names the mechanism necro-asset failure and traces it across the fee dialogues, the inheritance dialogues, and the judgement scene. It closes by proposing a genre label. Lucian's Dialogues of the Dead are best understood not simply as Menippean satire but as logistical comedy, a form in which laughter arises exactly where a system meets a case that it cannot process.
Copyright (c) 2026 Yash Kartik Sharma, Sounak Das https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
. A Dive into the Past through New Historicist Perspective: Reading Habib Tanvir’s Agra Bazaar
Habib Tanvir’s Agra Bazaar is a pioneer text that revolutionized Indian theatre, taking it towards People’s theatre, where commoners were given prominence. This paper aims to foreground the milieu of the text and compare the laymen image of the Mughal Agra bazaars to the marketplace conditions in the declining phase of the Mughal Empire, as presented by Tanvir. The corruption, poverty, lawlessness and an overall decaying social framework of the then society has been discussed. The reforms aimed at, are two-dimensional, the text’s content aims to reform the society, while the form of the play aims to reform Indian theatre.The linguistic transitions in society, as mentioned in the play, have also been discussed.The paper also attempts to re-read the text in the light of New Historicism, which aims at parallel reading of Literature and History and gives prominence to the context.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Brahmjot Kaur https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Successful Ageing, Love and Renewal in Love in the Time of Cholera and this Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism
Ageism refers to institutional and personal discrimination against people solely on the basis of their age. This is being done through language, media representations, workplace structures and even internalized self- perception. This paper attempts to examine the representation of ageing through the select works Ashton Applewhite’s This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto against Ageism and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera. Both these narratives challenge the internalized beliefs perpetuated about old age as a period of decline, dependency and diminished value. Socially constructed ideas regarding old age are being challenged through Ashton Applewhite’s This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto against Ageism. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez challenges the notion that love and passion are emotions that belong exclusively to youth. The works selected for discussion present ageing as a period of renewal and growth. Decline-based models of ageing are challenged through these narratives and they encourage readers to view ageing not as a period of erosion but as evolution. Transformative potential of old age is being highlighted through the narratives selected for discussion.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr Athulya Thankachy V R https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Amitav Ghosh's Oceanic Vision: The Ibis Trilogy as a Reimagining of History
This article examines how Amitav Ghosh's Ibis trilogy—Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke, and Flood of Fire—reimagines oceanic history through the narrative possibilities of the novel. It argues that the conventional realist novel, with its emphasis on linear chronology, localized settings, and sustained character development, often struggles to represent the expansive networks and movements that shape maritime history. Ghosh responds to this challenge by extending and reshaping the realist form to narrate the history of the nineteenth-century opium trade across the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Rather than following a single, linear trajectory, the trilogy adopts a broad, interconnected narrative structure that accommodates multiple locations, communities, and historical experiences. In doing so, it reconstructs the intertwined histories of colonialism, commerce, migration, and cultural exchange while revealing the tensions and contradictions embedded within imperial expansion. Although Ghosh's work has frequently been read through the lenses of radical politics and historiographic fiction, the trilogy resists such singular classifications. Instead, it presents a nuanced historical vision that balances large-scale historical processes with detailed representations of individual lives, places, and encounters. The article contends that Ghosh's reworking of the realist novel offers an alternative narrative model for writing oceanic history without sacrificing the richness of historical detail or literary realism.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. R. Amalan, Dr. P. Sakthivel https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Exploration of Racism in Darktown by Thomas Mullen
The paper explores the theme of racism in Thomas Mullen’s Darktown, focuses on the experiences of the first Black police officers in 1948 Atlanta. The novel presents the harsh realities of racial discrimination, police brutality, segregation, and institutional racism during the post-war period in America. Through the characters of Lucius Boggs and Tommy Smith, Mullen portrays the struggles faced by African Americans within a society controlled by white supremacy and Jim Crow laws. The paper examines how racism operates through social institutions, particularly the police department, and how it affects identity, justice, and human relationships. It also highlights themes of resistance, courage, and the gradual hope for social change. By combining historical realism with crime fiction, Dark Town serves as a powerful critique of racial injustice and reflects the continuing relevance of racism in modern society.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Mary Cisin Shemanayaki https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A Micro-Historical Analysis of the Ooruttambalam School Entry Struggles and State Responses (1915)
In early twentieth-century Travancore, the classroom became a fiercely contested frontier against caste-based agrarian servitude. Despite a progressive 1907 state mandate, officially released in 1910, allowing Dalit children to attend public schools, upper-caste officials sabotaged the policy’s local implementation through systemic interference. This administrative friction reached a boiling point at the Ooruttambalam Government UP School in 1914. Revolutionary Dalit leader Mahatma Ayyankali forcibly enrolled a five-year-old Dalit girl, Panchami, deliberately challenging the spatial boundaries of untouchability. This act provoked intense hostility from the upper caste, leading to retaliatory mobs burning the school and sparking widespread violent riots against the local Dalit community. Realising that moral appeals against state and police inaction were ineffective, Ayyankali initiated the “Kandala Lahala”, the first organised agricultural strike by oppressed labourers in Indian history. By collectively withdrawing their physical labour from upper-caste paddy fields, Pulaya farmhands weaponised their essential economic role, issuing a historic ultimatum that halted all farming activities. Faced with prolonged socio-economic disruption and the looming threat of severe agricultural collapse, the Travancore government was forced to intervene decisively. The state conceded to the labourers’ demands, strictly enforcing the removal of schooling restrictions for marginalised communities. Ultimately, the Ooruttambalam micro-history demonstrates how subaltern assertion dismantled administrative complicity. By transforming a localised educational dispute into a macroeconomic siege, marginalised communities demonstrated that securing civil rights in a feudal state required both legislative manoeuvring and the strategic disruption of captive labour.
Copyright (c) 2026 Reynold T. Isaiah, Dr R. Edwin Sam https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Geopsychic Hyphen: Spectral Homeland Pull in Brixton Beach by Roma Tearne
Roma Tearne's novel Brixton Beach explores the “Geopsychic Hyphen”, which is a mental pull of the diasporic people towards their lost homeland, even amid its harsh realities. The Sri Lankan Tamils displaced by the Sri Lankan civil war had no other option but to settle in foreign lands. This paper examines how the characters in the novel who fled Sri Lanka because of the conflict live with haunting memories of their homeland in Brixton. While acknowledging Vijay Mishra's theory of diasporic memory, this paper prioritises the geopsychic hyphen as its core analytical lens. The study highlights the invisible pull of homeland memories and the physical exile into a mental trauma and connection. It further traces gendered trauma as it passes across generations, highlighting intergenerational transmission. It shows the women's quiet endurance and creative outburst, revealing the intensity of the homeland pull. It also portrays how art is being used as a tool to portray the geopsychic hyphen, offering self-expression amidst parental breakdown and cultural loss. On the whole, the study takes diasporic research into a new platform by focusing on geopsychic hyphen, revealing how literature showcases the spectral pull towards the homeland and personal identity.
Copyright (c) 2026 Ashmi K. Raj, Dr. Tibi Thomas R.S https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Temporal Gaps and Quiet Bonds: “Ma” and the Making of Intimacy in Strange Weather in Tokyo
This thesis transverses the artistry and narrative functions of silence in Hiromi Kawakami’s Strange Weather in Tokyo. Hiromi Kawakami is a Japanese author where he implores minimalistic narrative style. He does not use the traditional conversational intimacy; he enhances the unspoken dialogue into something more meaningful and shows its deep hidden emotional intimacies. This paper applies the Japanese concept of Ma and Ernest Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory to argue that silence is not an empty thing but a conscious thing that shows the ‘slow intimacy’ between the protagonists, Tsukiko and Sensei. Through the rituals of Izakaya, the representation of Sensei’s briefcase and the consumption of alcohol acts as a supportive language. By analyzing these immersed narratives, the paper concludes that Kawakami’s work serves as a mediator of urban alienation and the transience of time, proving that silence is the sincerest medium for bridging generational and emotional divides.
Copyright (c) 2026 V.G. Shomia, Dr. J. Giftlin Iyadurai https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Void of Meaning: An Existential Inquiry into Paul Auster’s The New York Trilogy
The existential philosophies of Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, and Søren Kierkegaard find powerful literary expression in Paul Auster’s The New York Trilogy. In it, the modern person faces freedom, absurdity, and despair in their most disturbing forms. The trilogy illustrates Sartre's idea of nothingness, Camus' idea of the absurd, and Kierkegaard's idea of anxiety by showing characters who have trouble finding meaning in a world that is quiet and uncertain. This paper offers a straight forward existential analysis of The New York Trilogy. Identity, isolation and the quest for meaning in a contemporary life are the central themes the trilogy focuses. The key figures adopt various identities as they struggle with their sense of self and they follow others or tries to experience life from someone else’s perspective, which leads them to lose their own identity. Their journey illustrate the fragile and unstable essence of who they are. The analysis indicates that the novels embody significant existential themes. Although individuals have the right to make their own decisions, this autonomy brings along feelings of stress, doubt, and responsibility. The characters often try to escape these responsibilities by pretending to be someone else or depending excessively on those around them. Yet, their efforts to uncover straightforward answers often prove fruitless, resulting in feelings of isolation and doubt. Through these narratives, the trilogy illustrates that existence does not always offer clear meanings or assurances. Rather, individuals must embrace their freedom and take ownership of their decisions. This paper contends that the novels imply that genuine understanding arises not from avoiding confusion, but from bravely confronting it and crafting one’s own significance.
Copyright (c) 2026 Abina. R, Dr. L.M. Samuel Nayagam https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Hidden Scriptures and Intertextual Allusions in Githa Hariharan’s The Thousand Faces of Night and When Dreams Travel
Julia Kristeva’s concept of “a mosaic of quotations” is at the core of “intertextuality” and intertextuality has become a powerful literary strategy in Githa Hariharan’s novels The Thousand Faces of Night and When Dreams Travel. Allusion is an indirect reference to some event, person or thing, or an artistic work, whose relevance is not explained by the author, but it relies on the readers’ familiarity with what is thus mentioned. Hariharan has skilfully woven the novels with allusions and anecdotes from great Indian epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana, and the famous The Thousand and One Nights or Arabian Nights. However, a close reading reveals several hidden allusions to Christian themes. They are not merely decorative references but interpretive frameworks that deepen the psychological and moral dimensions of her works. Her female protagonists parallel both mythological and Biblical women, thereby bridging cultures and belief systems and enriching feminist discourse. This paper “Hidden Scriptures and Intertextual Allusions in Githa Hariharan’s The Thousand Faces of Night and When Dreams Travel” examines the hidden scriptural references and intertextual allusions in the two chosen novels. In these novels, sacred texts and secular experiences intersect, and an intertextual reading brings to light the narrative craftsmanship of this contemporary Indian English writer.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. N. Prasheeba https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Pen and the Crown: The Practice of English Literature in the Royal Court of Cooch Behar
The wave of writing in English reached the state of Cooch Behar when British modernity and cultural imperialism touched this princely state. Westernization started in Cooch Behar with the introduction of British Commissioner in the state in 1789. Education was the most important area in which the company intervened and dominated in Cooch Behar. Despite the Maharani's opposition, Narendra Narayan was sent to Krishnanagar and admitted to the college in 1853. The royal members of Cooch Behar educated in English education, and enlightened by European thought accelerated the Indian renaissance with new enthusiasm. It is against this backdrop that they started writing literature and other writings in English. When discussing the English literary practice of Cooch Behar, the names that come in the forefront is Suniti Devi, Nripendra Narayan, Gayatri Devi and so on.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Joylal Das https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Flowing Identities: Water, Ecofeminism, and Environmental Consciousness in the Novels of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
This article examines the symbolic, ecological, and political significance of water in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novels Purple Hibiscus (2003), Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), and Americanah (2013) through the interdisciplinary perspectives of ecofeminism, postcolonial ecocriticism, Blue Humanities, and hydrofeminism. While Adichie's fiction has been widely studied in relation to gender, migration, nationalism, and postcolonial identity, relatively little attention has been given to water as a central ecological metaphor. This study argues that rivers, rainfall, wells, and oceans function not merely as physical settings but as dynamic narrative forces that shape identity, memory, environmental consciousness, and social relationships. Through close textual analysis, the article demonstrates that water symbolizes silence, healing, and resistance in Purple Hibiscus; ecological destruction, scarcity, and collective trauma in Half of a Yellow Sun; and migration, cultural displacement, and fluid identity in Americanah. Drawing on the theories of Vandana Shiva, Maria Mies, Val Plumwood, Greta Gaard, Astrida Neimanis, and postcolonial ecocriticism, the study reveals how Adichie links environmental degradation with patriarchal power, colonial legacies, and global inequality. It concludes that water operates as a unifying ecological symbol that connects gender justice with environmental sustainability, contributing a new perspective to African literary studies, environmental humanities, and contemporary ecofeminist criticism.
Copyright (c) 2026 M. Karthikeyan, X. Disalva https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Formation of a Tormented Self: Trauma and Identity Construction of Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights
This paper offers a psychoanalytic study of Heathclif in Wuthering Heights through the lens of Sigmund Freud’s structural model of the psyche. Traditionally perceived as a vindictive and morally deficient character, Heathcliff is re-examined as a product of childhood trauma, social exclusion and emotional deprivation. Drawing upon Freud’s concept of the id, ego and superego the study argues that Heathcliff’s apparent moral deficiencies stem not from inherent evil,but from the distortion of psychological development caused by a hostile environment. His traumatic childhood, marked by abandonment, humiliation and the denial of affection inhibits the healthy formation of the superego, allowing unconscious desires, repressed emotions and aggressive impulses associated with the id to dominate his personality. The ego, rather than mediating effectively between instinct and morality, becomes increasingly shaped by resentment and a desire for revenge. Through a close examination of Heathcliff’s actions and motivations this paper demonstrates how repression, psychological conflict and environmental circumstances contribute to the construction of his identity. By challenging conventional notions of villainy, the study proposes that Heathcliff should be understood as a tragic figure whose destructive behaviour emerges from unresolved trauma and unconscious suffering. Ultimately, the paper contributes to a broader understanding of literary antagonists by suggesting that individuals commonly labelled as villains are often products of circumstance, psychological injury and developmental conflict rather than embodiments of innate moral corruption.
Copyright (c) 2026 Rekha. V. G https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Exploring Language Practices and Thematic Patterns in Social Media Interaction
Social media platforms have changed the structure of communication on a global scale. New communication practices have been introduced. They have changed the way people conceptualize, develop, and share information with one another over the Internet. Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms have created new opportunities for people to share ideas and socialize. Sex, race, and class are used as tools of social media engagement to criticize and raise awareness of social issues. This research examines the possibility and limitations of Internet communication practices. It seeks to understand how social media shapes and affects modern communication and the ways people think and express themselves. A qualitative methodology was adopted and content gathered from the most popular social media platforms was subjected to thematic analysis by UCL analysts. The analysis framework of Braun and Clarke was used as the structure of the study. The analysis demonstrated that social media engagement is highly simplified and multimodal. The study shows how social media creates new ways to develop identities. Personal social media pages may influence and inspire public discourse and critique community issues. This study indicates that a social media page is a highly adaptable tool that people mold and change based on the a multitude of factors, including the audience and intent, reflective of a modern integrated society. This study shows the adaptability of social media once new technology is implemented. This study provides a foundation for future research on Multilingualism.
Copyright (c) 2026 Ms .S. Sharmila, Dr. SP. M. Kanimozhi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Colonial Gaze in Pico Iyer’s Falling off the Map: A Postcolonial Critique
Pico Iyer’s Falling off the Map: Some Lonely Places of the World (1993) is an account his journeys to Bhutan, Cuba, Iceland, Vietnam, Argentina, North Korea, Australia, and Paraguay, places that are, in his terms, politically, geographically, or culturally marginalised within dominant global narratives. His transnational background, extensive mobility, and apparent sensitivity to cultural difference distinguish his work from the overtly imperial travel narratives of the past. This article, however, examines the ways in which colonial modes of representation continue to operate within his accounts of these “lonely places.” Drawing on Edward Said’s concept of Orientalism, Mary Louise Pratt’s theories of the contact zone and anti-conquest, and Graham Huggan’s critique of the postcolonial exotic, the study argues that Iyer’s representations frequently transform cultural difference, remoteness, political isolation, and material inadequacy into objects of literary and aesthetic interest. The traveller’s authority to classify places as “lonely” reveals the persistence of unequal relations between the observer and the observed. Thus, Iyer’s work demonstrates how colonial habits of seeing can survive in contemporary travel writing in subtle and transformed ways.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Sneha Elcy Jacob https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Caste, Culture, and the Crisis of Masculinity: Re-evaluating Unoka and Lakha
This study undertakes a comparative exploration of the paternal figures in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Mulk Raj Anand’s Untouchable, specifically Unoka and Lakha, as cultural symbols deeply embedded in postcolonial and caste-based narratives of masculine identity. Far from being mere failed fathers in the traditional or domestic sense, Unoka and Lakha represent ruptured masculinities—figures shaped, constrained, and ultimately undone by the historical forces of colonial subjugation and caste-based marginalization. Through a critical postcolonial lens, the research interrogates how masculinity, trauma, and authority are negotiated within these literary spaces, exposing the quiet violence that pervades not only political structures but also the most intimate familial relationships.
Copyright (c) 2026 Mr Nalluri Babu Rao, Professor Dr Y Ashok Kumar https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Recounting Kavita Kane’s Novel Lanka’s Princess Under the Prism of Object Relation Theory
This research paper examines Kavita Kane’s renowned work Lanka’s Princess under the lens of object relation theory. Object relation theory, a branch of psychoanalysis, originates from the work of Sigmund Freud’s drive theory. It explores the concept of ‘objects’ as representation of people. It is a psychodynamic approach, which emphasises how early childhood experiences particularly their interactions with their parents or caregiver shape an individual self and their relationships in future. It posits that early childhood experiences and interaction are crucial for the development of one’s character. Psychoanalysts specify that caregivers and other figures in the infant’s life are termed as ‘objects’. Meenakshi internalises her father as a good object and her mother Kaikesi as a bad object. Further her ego splits into Surpanakha due to severe, chronic emotional neglect from her own mother and by the domination of her elder brother Ravan. Meenakshi has been reduced to the state of victim by Ravan who uses his dictatorial dominance as power tool to oppress her dreams. All her life Meenakshi battles and retaliates against her abuser Ravan that leads to depersonalisation and self-inflicted death.
Copyright (c) 2026 S. Aishwarya, Dr.P. Lalitha https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0