Symbiosis and exchange in multicultural spaces: A study of Nadine Gordimer and Joy Harjo (South Africa)

Multicultural literature opens up unique “worlds” that allow readers to experience multicultural spaces; these works are not only representations of real-world conditions, as many critics posit, but also “possible worlds” artfully constructed that transport readers to unfamiliar places. This thesis presents an analysis of the unique symbiosis and exchange that occurs between reader and author in multicultural literature through the use of possible-worlds theory. This study shows how such texts support a complex relationship between the real and the fictional through a process I deem “multicultural symbiosis.” Two strategically chosen texts are considered, each representing a different socio-political-cultural context as well as a different literary genre: Nadine Gordimer's My Son's Story, a realist novel set in South Africa; and Joy Harjo's A Map to the Next World, a historical-mystical cycle of poems and tales that draw on Native-American heritage.