Misrepresentation of East in Jhabvala's Heat and Dust

Abstract

Colonial discourses have created various images to represent the Eastern countries and people as mysterious, uncivilized, unscientific, and so on. It establishes a created form of reality in the readers' mind. It functions as a power to dominate, educate and govern over the non-western countries. Behind every misrepresentation, there lies the motive of colonization and dominate the Orient. Colonial discourses have functioned as power to create hierarchy between east and west. To complete this study, I have derived the concept of Orientalism by Edward Said. The truth of Orient people is often exaggerated and distort by western writer.

Jhabvala's novel Heat and Dust, depicting the pictures of India of different period misrepresents the nation. Sometimes the novel paradoxically presents the nation and presents the jumbled, stirred culture from everywhere. Supremacy of Englishness is celebrated to maintain the status quo. Jhabvala is hyped up with Indian culture and gives space for English people to control it but cultural transformation as resulted from colonialism is occurred from everywhere. The narrator, Olivia sometimes feels comfortable in Indian cultures and tradition and Chid adopts Hindu religion voluntarily. While assimilating into different views about India, she creates gap between reality and expressed views. India, of course has lots of brighter sides which is hidden and misrepresented by the novelist.