| Arundhati Roy's novel The God of Small Things was published in 1997,and it has attracted the attention of the academia.From post-colonial perspective,scholars mainly focus on the marginalized characters in the novel to criticize the impact of colonialism,patriarchy and caste system in India.However,the Indian elite who are the intermediaries between colonialism and traditional institutions have not been fully studied.Therefore,this thesis selects the character of Chacko in the novel to explore the origin,manifestations and impact of mimicry of Indian elites by using Homi Bhabha's mimicry theory in order to reveal the subversion of colonial discourse by mimicry.First,the thesis explores the origin of mimicry of Indian elites through Anglicization of the Ipe family.The well-educated elites are the intermediaries between the British and India culture by hovering between the metropolitan and the colony.Because of their hybrid identity,they become the derivative of the colonial heritage.Afterwards,this thesis analyzes Chacko's learning experiences in Britain and his British-style reforms in India,which jointly reveal the ambivalence of the authority of colonial discourse.After that,the thesis probes into the phenomenon that the colonial discourse may produce a split and subvert its own authority.As an intermediary between the colonizer and the colonized,the elite Chacko has lost his high social status and can only escape to the third space for survival.The thesis reveals that Indian society is still affected by colonization,patriarchy and caste system by analyzing the character of Chacko,who is the representative of Indian elites.They should not only maintain their status but make efforts to transform and develop their country by making use of the advantages of Western heritages.Therefore,the thesis is conducive to a better understanding of the elites' social function in post-colonial societies that they can promote the process of decolonization and establish a modern country. |
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