“The Reasons are Not Clear”: Traumatic Experiences and Dialectical Relations in George Orwell’s <i>Burmese Days</i> (1934)
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- KITAOKA Kazuhiro
- 京都大学非常勤講師
Bibliographic Information
- Other Title
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- The Reasons are Not Clear : Traumatic Experiences and Dialectical Relations in George Orwell's Burmese Days (1934)
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Abstract
<p>Many critics in the field of literature have discussed the traumatic experiences of George Orwell (1903–1950), focusing on Orwell’s experiences at school or in Colonial Burma when he was engaged as a colonial officer. This essay, in contrast, looks into his colonial texts, namely, “A Hanging” (1931), “Shooting an Elephant” (1936), and his non-fictional essay “The Road to Wigan Pier” (1937), and lastly, one novel, Burmese Days (1934), and attempts to find his unvoiced messages of his own guilt, that is to say, trauma from his works. Finally, this essay argues that his novel successfully lightens the burden of trauma that derived from his abusive acts in Burma and serves as a catharsis for the “immense weight of guilt” he felt. Finally, this essay suggests that Orwell’s Burmese Days can be read as an expatiation of Orwell’s acts and as a neutralizer of his traumatic experience in Burma.</p>
Journal
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- Eibeibunka: Studies in English Language, Literature and Culture
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Eibeibunka: Studies in English Language, Literature and Culture 50 (0), 71-85, 2020-03-31
The Society of English Studies
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Details 詳細情報について
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- CRID
- 1390003825186445952
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- NII Article ID
- 130007853648
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- NII Book ID
- AN1038003X
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- ISSN
- 24242381
- 09173536
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- NDL BIB ID
- 030478495
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- Text Lang
- ja
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- Data Source
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- JaLC
- NDL
- CiNii Articles
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- Abstract License Flag
- Disallowed