Abstract:
James Gordon Farrell is frequently regarded as one of the most important authors of
colonial British literature. In this thesis, examines Farrell’s position as a postcolonial
writer and his connection to the issues of imperialism and colonialism. The thesis seeks
to explore the many aspects of postcolonial literature present in the trilogy by analysing
the master/subaltern relationship through the use of humour and the silence of native
characters in the three novels. Farrell uses humour in the Empire Trilogy to visualize the
other in two ways: as an Oriental inferior other to maintain his conventional traditional
image, and as a Western superior other who makes fun of and undervalues the
indigenous. The main argument of this thesis is that Farrell’ Empire Trilogy defies all
kinds of restrictive classification. To call Farrell and his works either colonial or
anticolonial is to fix him in one category and thus to half-read him. Due to his mixed
background, both his works and his life represent a hybrid identity. The theoretical
framework is based on Homi K Bhabha’s analysis of the intricate relationship between
the identities of the colonizer and the colonized. A thematic reading of The Empire
Trilogy shows that though the three novels differ in setting, they all discusses how
postcolonial points of view are opposed when British characters are living in a colony,
and debates the question of how such colony is perceived and represented. Finally, it is
argued that a postcolonial approach which focuses on the issue of diversity and
hybridity of the colonial subject contributes in enriching our understanding of Farrell’s
complex situation and his relationship with Imperialism.
