Cultural Synthesis in Turmoil: Material Forces Shaping the Hybrid Identity of Salman Rushdie’s Victory City

Jothi V; Nandhakumari R

Cultural Synthesis in Turmoil: Material Forces Shaping the Hybrid Identity of Salman Rushdie’s Victory City

Authors: Jothi V, Nandhakumari R

Unique Paper ID: 174022
Volume: 11
Issue: 10
PageNo: 2579-2584

Keywords: Cultural Hybridization Cultural Materialism Postcolonial Identity Hybridity Colonialism Indigenous Resistance.

Abstract:
Salman Rushdie’s Victory City (2023) intricately examines the intersection of cultural identity, political power, and historical transformation through the dual lenses of cultural hybridization and Raymond Williams’ cultural materialism. The novel unfolds the story of Pampa Kampana, a visionary woman who establishes the city of Victory, a microcosm of both indigenous cultural resilience and colonial dominance. Set within a context of ongoing postcolonial dynamics, Victory City interrogates the formation of identity and the material forces that shape this process. Through the characters’ cultural negotiations and transformations, the novel becomes a site for exploring the tension between cultural assimilation and resistance, highlighting the profound complexities of the postcolonial condition. The theoretical framework of cultural hybridization, particularly as articulated by Homi K. Bhabha (1994), plays a pivotal role in understanding Rushdie’s portrayal of cultural identities in flux. According to Bhabha, hybridization is not a simple fusion of two cultures but a complex negotiation that creates a third, liminal space where identities evolve through interaction, resistance, and adaptation. In Victory City, the city itself becomes a representation of this "third space," where colonial and indigenous elements collide, giving rise to hybrid identities that emerge in response to external domination and internal struggles. Through the city’s emergence and transformation, Rushdie vividly illustrates how cultural identities are continually shaped by the interaction of disparate, often contradictory, cultural forces. Raymond Williams' theory of “cultural materialism” complements Bhabha’s hybridization theory by providing an essential framework for understanding the material conditions that underpin cultural forms. Williams argues that culture cannot be divorced from its social, political, and economic contexts. The practical aspects of colonialism, including, social hierarchies, economic inequalities, and exploitation, influence how cultural identities are developed in Victory City. The political and economic conditions of colonial subjugation influence the creation and representation of cultural practices, imbuing the city’s hybrid identity with layers of resistance and accommodation. The city’s eventual downfall underscores the fragility of hybrid identities in the face of unresolved contradictions between cultural forces and material conditions. Rushdie’s novel navigates the tension between the cultural autonomy Pampa attempts to create and the underlying forces of colonial oppression and material exploitation. Pampa’s efforts to forge a space for indigenous cultural practices within a colonial framework illustrate the dialectical relationship between identity formation and the material conditions that shape it. The city of Victory is not merely a symbolic construct but a reflection of the complex and often contradictory nature of postcolonial identity, where power struggles, economic exploitation, and cultural resistance intersect. Ultimately, Victory City provides a nuanced commentary on the ongoing struggles for identity and autonomy in postcolonial contexts. By synthesizing the theories of Bhabha and Williams, the novel demonstrates how hybrid cultural identities are not static but continuously evolving through negotiation, resistance, and transformation. Rushdie’s depiction of Victory City as a space of cultural hybridity and material tension allows for a deeper understanding of the complex forces that define postcolonial societies.

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ISSN: 2349-6002
Volume: 11
Issue: 10
PageNo: 2579-2584

Cultural Synthesis in Turmoil: Material Forces Shaping the Hybrid Identity of Salman Rushdie’s Victory City

Available:https://ijirt.org/Article?manuscript=174022

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