Confronting History A Study Of Some Selected Novels Of Amitav Ghosh

Abstract

The doctoral thesis Confronting History: A Study of Selected Novels of Amitav Ghosh, aims to examine Ghosh s use of history with special reference to his selected fictional works. Ghosh s projection and treatment of history is viewed from two angles: firstly, Ghosh s unconventional reading of the past and secondly, his preference to understand history from the perspectives of the undocumented historical facts and material. History as an indispensable reality is an integral quality that defines his novels. The exploration and re-invention of historical perspective in his novels bring out Ghosh s intellectual brilliance as well as his ingenuity. newlineThe thesis has been organized into eight chapters: newlineChapter-1 and#8213;Introductionand#8214; provides detailed biographical information about Amitav Ghosh. A brief overview of Indian tradition of novel writing especially in English is taken for the contemplative study. Also attempts have been made to acknowledge the contribution of the writer using history as theme in his novels. The examination of the fictional and non-fictional works of Amitav Ghosh has been conducted to present the various facets of his writings. newlineChapter-2 and#8213;History As Backgroundand#8214; deals with the meaning and significance of the term and#8215;History. It also focuses on how history as a subject dealing with historical facts and history in literature is being used as material. Furthermore, a deep and intensive study has been done on the Indian novelists using history as materials in their novels. The main thrust in this chapter is to highlight the fact how Amitav Ghosh deals with history in his selected novels. newlineChapter-3 and#8213;The Shadow Linesand#8214; delineates the historical nature of discourse and tries to interpret history in the light of narration which incorporates the real and the unreal, the factual and the fictive. Attempts have been made to read/re-read newlinexii newlinethe history of the past through the historical events such as war devastated England, Civil Disturbances in the post-partition of Bengal and riots of Calcutta (now Kolkata) and