A Study Of The Construction Of National Identity In Patrick White’s Fiction

Patrick White(1912-1990)is the only Australian writer to have won the Nobel Prize for Literature to date.In 1973,the Nobel Prize jury awarded him the prize for his ’epic,psychological narrative art,which introduced a new continent to literature’.In terms of style,White was a bold innovator of traditional Australian literary forms,blending European and Australian culture in a masterful way.Mysticism,symbolism and stream-of-consciousness techniques are all very much a part of his work,and his unique artistic style has been much appreciated by critics and readers alike.Much of White’s fiction was written at a time when nationalist rhetoric was at its most intense in Australian society.Among the many themes of his work,therefore,the exploration of the construction of Australian national identity is prominent.This paper will analyse White’s efforts to construct national identity in his work,based on several of his full-length novels,focusing on the processes of colonial history,the landscape of the Australian land and the complex relationship between the indigenous population and the colonisers.Examining White through the lens of postcolonial theory,his postcolonial literary works are in fact a voice for the marginalised in society,constituting a ’counter-discourse’ to mainstream culture.Although White’s novels do not yet offer a solution to such a major problem of the nation-state that would be adopted by politicians and social reformers,we can still sense in White’s novels the author’s efforts to explore the harmonious relationship and cultural exchange between different races in Australia,as well as his efforts to explore how multiracial cultures can effectively communicate and how cultural equality and respect can be achieved in a modern immigrant country.We can also find in White’s novels a great contribution to the exploration of how multiracial cultures can communicate effectively and how cultural equality and respect can be achieved in modern immigrant countries.