Mobility, Identity and Racism in Caryl Phillips’ "A Distant Shore and Foreigners: Three English Lives"

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part One: Mobility in A Distant Shore and Foreigners: Three English Lives

1. Meanings of Mobility

2. Power and Mobility: Mobilization and Immobilization of Characters

3. The Outcomes of the Characters’ Mobility: Liminality, Alienation, Disillusionment and Temporal Confusion

Part 2: Identity in Caryl Phillips’ A Distant Shore and Foreigners: Three English Lives

1. Identity as a Mobile Entity

2. The Hybrid Nature of Identity

3. Identity Crisis

Part Three; Racism in Caryl Phillips’ A Distant Shore and Foreigners: Three English Lives

1. Manifestations of Racism: Interpersonal and Systemic Racism

2. Antagonisms Igniting Racism

3. The Repercussions of Racism

Conclusion

Research Objectives and Core Themes

This master's dissertation explores the intersection of mobility, identity, and racism within Caryl Phillips' literary works A Distant Shore and Foreigners: Three English Lives, analyzing how spatial transition impacts the characters' psychological stability and social positioning.

• The relationship between literal spatial mobility and metaphorical social transition.
• The role of power structures in the mobilization and immobilization of immigrant characters.
• The construction of hybrid identities as a contestation of cultural purity.
• The systemic and interpersonal manifestations of racism faced by immigrants in the West.
• The psychological repercussions of migration, specifically trauma, alienation, and identity crisis.

Excerpt from the Book

Chapter Summaries

Introduction: Provides the biographical context of Caryl Phillips and outlines the dissertation's focus on mobility, identity, and racism in his selected literary works.

Part One: Mobility in A Distant Shore and Foreigners: Three English Lives: Examines how literal and metaphorical mobility are conditioned by structures of power and their subsequent impact on character stability.

Part 2: Identity in Caryl Phillips’ A Distant Shore and Foreigners: Three English Lives: Analyzes identity as a mobile, hybrid entity, exploring how traumatic experiences and social interactions lead to identity crises.

Part Three; Racism in Caryl Phillips’ A Distant Shore and Foreigners: Three English Lives: Investigates interpersonal and systemic racism as fundamental tools for the oppression and dehumanization of immigrants in the host environment.

Conclusion: Synthesizes the core findings, emphasizing the inevitable connection between geographic transition, identity fragmentation, and exposure to racism.

Keywords

Mobility, Identity, Racism, Caryl Phillips, A Distant Shore, Foreigners, Hybridity, Systemic Racism, Liminality, Alienation, Disillusionment, Postmodernism, Migration, Identity Crisis, Orientalism

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the primary focus of this dissertation?

This work examines the interconnectedness of mobility, identity, and racism in the selected novels A Distant Shore and Foreigners: Three English Lives by Caryl Phillips.

What core themes are explored in these literary works?

The study centers on spatial transition, cultural hybridity, systemic oppression, and the psychological impact of being a marginalized foreigner in Britain.

What is the main research question or objective?

The aim is to analyze how the mobility of characters—from the margin to the metropolitan center—precipitates changes in their identity and exposes them to various forms of interpersonal and systemic racism.

Which scientific methods are utilized in the analysis?

The research adopts a critical approach, utilizing literary analysis supported by theories of mobility, identity, hybridity (Homi Bhabha), and social constructivism/racial formation theory.

What is covered in the main body of the work?

The body is divided into three parts: the nature of mobility and power, the shifting/hybrid nature of identity, and the manifestations and repercussions of racism.

How do keywords characterize this study?

The keywords highlight the focus on the migratory experience, the conceptualization of race and selfhood, and the analytical framework rooted in postcolonial and sociological theory.

How does the concept of 'liminality' apply to the characters?

Liminality is used to describe the "in-between" status of immigrants who are physically in the host country but socially and psychologically excluded, leaving them in a state of suspended belonging.

In what way does the author challenge the "Manichean Allegory"?

Phillips contests the traditional binary oppositions (e.g., civilised vs. uncivilised) by re-associating these traits to invert the colonial narrative, exposing the "darkness" of the host society and the "humanity" of the oppressed.