A Postcolonial Perspective On The Evolution Of National Identity In The Novels Of Margaret Atwood

The question of national identity is one of the most contradictory ones in postcolonial era and postcolonial literature.It can be considered the most important issue due to the existence of the identity crisis in all postcolonial communities.The process of decolonization of the countries subjected to colonial rule triggered a remarkable movement towards restoration of the national identities of the newly freed people.Canada wasn't an exception.This phenomenon is explored in most of Margaret Atwood's novels,yet it has never so far become the subject of a full-scale analysis throughout the author's entire fictional output.This study examines the process of Canadian national identity's evolution and transformation,reflected in the novels of M.Atwood,through the prism of postcolonial critical theory.The primary material consists of seven novels:The Edible Woman(1969),Surfacing(1972),Lady Oracle(1976),Life Before Man(1979),Cat's Eye(1988),The Robber Bride(1993)and The Blind Assassin(2000).Grounding arguments in the works of theorists in the sphere of national identity including Benedict Anderson's study on national identity's construction,Northrop Frye's study on Canadian identity crisis,Edward Said's Orientalism,H.Bhabha's research on the production of discriminatory identities the researcher attempts to conduct a deeper analysis of M.Atwood's views on the problem of national identity's acquisition by Canadians.This thesis's methodological basis lies in postcolonial literary criticism and new historical literary criticism.Both of these approaches are necessary in order to reach an adequate understanding of the author's philosophical and ideological position,that is,the influence of the question of the national identity's recreation in a postcolonial society on Atwood's literary works.The study also examines the reverse process,i.e.the influence of M.Atwood's novels on the process of strengthening the national identity of the Canadian society.The thesis is divided into six chapters.Chapter I provides the theoretical framework which will serve as the foundation for the analysis of the selected Margaret Atwood's novels.It gives a brief sketch of Margaret Atwood's view on the question.Notions detailing national identity's construction are discussed.National identity issues are also addressed within the frame of the Postcolonial school of criticism.Chapters ?,? and ? analyze the process of national identity transformation in Atwood's novels within the context of Canada's postcolonial history and its former colonial status.Chapter? analyses the effects British colonization imprinted on the Canadian national identity.Canadian people experienced an Identity Crisis and were trying to reconstruct their national identity.Chapter ? analyses the way in which the Canadian Identity Construction was influenced by the American Cultural Colonization.The minds of the Canadians started to be occupied by the ideas of nationalism as a result of the clash of cultural values.People managed to gain self-awareness while comparing themselves to the opposing American culture.Chapter IV examines how the policy of Multiculturalism reshaped the Identity of Canadian people.Two types of identity alternations were discovered.That is Hybrid identity and Fragmented identity.Chapter V examines the tendency of the Canadian identity changes and conditions needed to be observed in order to fully regain one's national identity.The features comprising the unique personality of Canadians are discussed as well.That includes an emotional attachment to the northern land,awe of nature and respect for peace and order.The conclusion retrieves the key issues that were debated bringing them to an ending and links the specific characteristics of the Canadian identity in attempt to make a complete picture of the Canadian national identity in its current state.