| dc.description.abstract | Shyam Selvadurai`s novels have contributed
significantly to Sri Lankan English literature. The author
highlights sensitive areas such as gender, economic classes
and racial issues as well as subjects considered as taboo
in Sri Lanka, such as sexuality. The author`s portrayal of
characters and issues in Funny Boy (1994) and Cinnamon
Gardens (1998) are therefore essential in the analysis of his
subject matter. Set against the ethnic riots of 1983 and the
pre-independent Ceylon respectively, the texts highlight
gender, sexual, racial and class issues of the times. Existing
research presents gender and sexuality of Funny Boy and
Cinnamon Gardens in the light of power structures and
networks of power. Moreover, critics argue that these
power structures are constructed as binary oppositions.
However, these binaries highlight the power structures in
antagonistic perspectives. Nevertheless, reading closely,
the two texts exemplify the interdependencies of these
binaries in their exercise of power. Therefore, this study
focuses on the interdependence of the binary power
structures according to the portrayal of gender, sexuality,
ethnicity and class of the two texts and the two eras in
concern. A variety of literary theories have been used to
expose the binaries and to show how certain aspects of
these theories will be challenged as the binaries are viewed
in the light of diversity and interdependence. | en_US |
