Sense Of Belonging And Identity Of The Weak Female Colonizer

Doris Lessing's semi-autobiographical novel The Grass Is Singing is acclaimed as a masterpiece, which has always been favored by world-wide readers and probed by critics. Up until now, it has been analyzed from the perspectives of realism, ecofeminism, psychoanalytical criticism, and so on. However, the thesis attempts to approach the novel from the perspective of post-colonial study to appreciate the sense of belonging and identity of the weak female colonizer, which has barely been applied to the text at both home and abroad.As a kind of literary criticism emerging in the 20th century, post-colonial study concentrates on the survival state of human beings in colonial and post-colonial contexts, and also focuses on the issue of people's sense of belonging and identity. Similarly, in The Grass Is Singing, Lessing not only thoroughly explores the people living in African colonial environment but also reflects the issue of sense of belonging and identity of the weak female colonizer in that specific environment. Therefore, the post-colonial tendency in The Grass Is Singing will be argued to a large extent, which shows Lessing's post-colonial vision in her literary creation.The study consists of three chapters. The first chapter analyses the influence of familial context involving mother and father on the protagonist Mary. In the second chapter, the paper mainly discusses the influence of social context from two aspects: Mary's experiences in the town and the country. Chapter three reveals the relevance of sense of belonging and identity of the weak female colonizer Mary and the man-made and nature environment.Through the post-colonial study of The Grass Is Singing, the thesis aims to make people have a deeper and broader understanding of Lessing's thoughts and the survival of the weak female colonizer in Africa. More importantly, it can trigger our serious contemplation over sense of belonging and identity of the disadvantaged in modern society.