SEARCH ARTICLE

10 Pages : 91-98

http://dx.doi.org/10.31703/gssr.2020(V-III).10      10.31703/gssr.2020(V-III).10      Published : Sep 2020

Towards Harmonizing the Mythic and The Modern in Erdrichs Tracks: A Magical Realist Perspective

    This article is an endeavor to provide an insight into Native American novelist Louise Erdrich's use of the magical-realist technique in an attempt to harmonize the mythic and modern conceptions of reality represented by the Native American and Euro American subjects, respectively. The article demonstrates that in an attempt to seek a way possible to intertwine the two cultures, to wed the Native and the European ideologies of the world into accommodative space and to strike out the all-pervasive differences between the two people inhabiting the same land, Erdrich delves into the structuring principles of each culture's conceptualizing and internalizing the reality and the faith in it, and presents them as simultaneous albeit contrary versions of the same events, suggesting the possibility of simultaneous and harmonious co-existence of the two views, each retaining its essential outlook and yet respecting and accommodating the other. Employing Bower and Paula Gunn Allen's theoretical postulations of magical realism as a particular discourse embedded in the mythic and cultural beliefs of the Native American subjects, the article explores the mythic and modern formulations of female identity in Native American magical-realist fiction Tracks.

    Magical Realism, Myth, Native American Woman, Oral Tradition, Storytelling
    (1) Mumtaz Ahmad
    Assistant Professor, Department of English, Government Guru Nanak Postgraduate College, Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan.
    (2) Asma Haseeb Qazi
    Assistant Professor, Department of English, National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, Pakistan.
    (3) Sahar Javaid
    Lecturer, Department of English, Government College University, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.

06 Pages : 50-62

http://dx.doi.org/10.31703/gssr.2024(IX-III).06      10.31703/gssr.2024(IX-III).06      Published : Sep 2024

Malady of the Mind: Mapping Dimensions of Mental Disorder through Narratological Lens in Jonathan Rosen’s The Best Minds

    This paper proffers mapping Mental Disorders by employing a narratological lens in Jonathan Rosen's The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions focusing on the volatility of emotions, malady of mental disorder through the spectrum of narratology and positing conundrum to the mind. It emphasizes how the mechanism of storytelling mirrors the intricacies of mental disorders in myriad ways. The study involves interdisciplinary techniques combining the psychological theories of Marsha Linehan and Otto Kernberg with relation to literary analysis embodying narratological elements. A narratology is an imperative tool in Literature for shaping psychological representations. It analyzes how the mental disorder is intertwined into the narrative depicting the thematic undertones, structure of plot development, and shaping the identities of the characters. The research encompasses a broader discourse to bridge the gap between the psychological underpinnings of mental disorders and their literary insights.

    Narratology, Mental Disorders, Storytelling, Paranoia, Narrative Techniques
    (1) Nida Amjad Chuhan
    MPhil, English Literature, Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, GIFT (Gujranwala Institute of Future Technologies) University, Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan.
    (2) Sidra Nasir Qureshi
    Lecturer, Faculty of Psychology, University of Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan.
    (3) Abdul Bari Khan
    Faculty of Education, Language and Communication, University Malaysia Sarawak.