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@article{190731,
        author = {A shalbin Anto and Linju M},
        title = {Unhomely Identities: Power, Ethics, and Minority Perspective in Nadine Gordimer’s July’s People},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {8},
        pages = {3130-3140},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=190731},
        abstract = {Nadine Gordimer, a seminal white South African writer, occupies a unique position in the nation’s literary landscape, negotiating the tensions of minority status, ethical responsibility, and socio-political engagement. Her oeuvre interrogates identity as a dynamic, relational, and historically situated construct, foregrounding the intersections of race, class, gender, and power in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa. In July’s People, Gordimer explores identity formation through the experiences of both the white Smales family and their black servant, July, along with his wife, Martha, highlighting the contingencies of social hierarchy and the ethical imperatives of interdependence. White characters, such as Maureen and Bam Smales, confront vulnerability, dependency, and the fragility of privilege, while black characters negotiate authority, cultural competence, and moral agency within historically oppressive structures. Employing postcolonial theory and Homi Bhabha’s concept of the “unhomely,” this study examines the liminal spaces in which identity is destabilized, reconstructed, and ethically mediated. Gordimer’s nuanced portrayal of relational power dynamics and minority perspective underscores the moral, psychological, and socio-political complexities of selfhood in transitional societies. By foregrounding both empowerment and constraint, her narratives offer a critical exploration of postcolonial identity, the negotiation of power, and the ethical responsibilities of witnessing and participating in societal transformation.},
        keywords = {Nadine Gordimer, July’s People, Postcolonial Identity, Unhomely, Power Dynamics.},
        month = {January},
        }