Depicting Cultural Clash and Quest for Identity in Hari Kunzru's The Impressionist

Abstract

The paper interrogates race, identity, and hybridity in The Impressionist as legacies of colonialism. It uses the post-colonial approach to discuss these related topics. It deals with the cultural clash between the colonizer and the colonized and the quest for identity in the postcolonial era. It shows how hybridity and diasporic experiences affect the protagonist's attempt to construct his identity. It argues how the protagonist's attempts to construct his identity are hampered by the incongruous cultural values crammed in his mind by the colonizer's indoctrination. It argues that through depicting the cultural clash between the colonizer and colonized, dismantles the racist indoctrination that prompts Indians to ape the colonizers' culture and internalize the British values. Through portraying the protagonist's predicaments and the horrendous incidents the protagonist has undergone, Kunzru challenges the oppressive power structures inherited in Indian society. He also attempts to expunge the nefarious impact of colonialism that maims Indian identity in the post-independence era and entangles Indians in its snare. Kunzru has denuded his protagonist, Pran Nathan, of the definite boundary of society, home, nation, and individuality and provoked him to embrace fake identities. Through, Kunzru stresses the importance of blurring and intermingling identities and boundaries into a single identity and boundary but he himself has encountered some challenges that have impeded achieving his dream in the foreign countries.