The Identity of Metropolitan Imperialism as Paradigmatic Stereotypes of Ideology, Racial Ethnicity, and Otherness in the Postcolonial Novel

Abstract

This paper examines the dichotomy between humanism and the ideological construction of Englishness in the light of post-colonialism. The study mainly relies on imperialism as the hegemonic “center,” which inherently affects the “margin.” That is, the dominant Western imperial hegemony imposes its culture and identity upon the colonized nations. Therefore, it will unravel Western domination as the “center” and the colonized nations as the “margin.” In this sense, it will highlight this dichotomy by applying Edward Said’s concept of the self-other relationship, whereby the Western hegemony will be identified as the dominant “self,” which leaves its apparent social and cultural impact upon the identity of the colonized “other” nations. As such, the study’s methodology follows a textual analysis of some literary works that depict the dichotomy between humanism and the ideological construction of Englishness. It will demonstrate how the imperial “self” drastically projects its cultural influence upon the colonized “other,” which is the recipient of Englishness per se.