A STRUGGLE OF SILENCE: SEARCHING FOR HOME AND REALITY BEYOND BORDERS IN AMITAV GHOSH’S THE SHADOW LINES

Abstract

In recent years, a sense of belonging has become a critical issue that provokes intense discussion among diasporic authors. Struggling for a sense of belonging, closely associated with issues of history, memory, and borders, reflects the colonized people’s current dilemma. In Amitav Ghosh’s The Shadow Lines, borders considered to be “shadow lines”, influence the individual and community. Some individuals revere the borders and feel that they can have a sense of belonging only if they are in their original homeland, while other individuals believe that one can create a sense of home wherever they are. This paper discusses the way in which Ghosh evokes the border in relation to personal and public identity in The Shadow Lines and also shows how, by using the imagination with precision, it is possible to create a sense of home and identity.