Rosli Talif

“Virtual Fictional/Factual Positioning”: Mediating dialogical concepts in psychological and literary studies

At the intersection of psychological and literary studies and acknowledging dialogical aspects of the self in Herman’s Dialogical Self Theory (DST), we coined the concept of “Virtual Fictional/Factual Positioning” (VFP), which is also guided by Bakhtin’s discussion on the author-hero relation. VFP evaluates the possible dialogical coalition of the author’s positions as “I-as-artist/novelist” and “I-as-the-hero-of-my-story,” amongst other positions in literary narratives. Evaluation of the existing literature on DST and the few adaptations of this theory for literary purposes highlights the insufficient consideration paid to the dialogical possibilities of the self in literary studies. To develop our argument based on our new model, we present a textual analysis of Paul Auster’s Man in the Dark and examine the protagonist’s narratives and his relation with his hero in the story within the story. Furthermore, we address the question of whether this protagonist/author’s self consists of polyphonized dialogical voices or merely a cacophony of various thoughts with fewer logical and no dialogical qualities.

The butterfly effect hits Complicité: a chaotic reading of Mnemonic and A Disappearing Number

The middle ground chaos theory secures among other gigantic scientific theories to describe the world has brought it to the fore lately. It neither declines the Newtonian clockwork model completely nor promotes the quantum indeterministic model entirely. It preaches that the world is both ordered and disordered, and man is both bound and free. Unlike relativity and quantum physics, it is neither busy with massive objects nor preoccupied with tiny ones, the atoms. It simply works in between, our world. Thus, it spreads and is widely utilised in a variety of disciplines, including literary and cultural domains. Conversely, Theatre de Complicite promotes nonlinearity and fragmentation for structure, and physicality and visual imagery for performance. It does not prefer pre-written texts rather favours devising its own through a lengthy process of improvising and rehearsing. It believes that the world is no longer a world of a single story. It cannot be encompassed within one philosophy or viewpoint. Mnemonic and A Disappearing Number suggest human body within the context of origin as a collective identity, and math within the context of infinity as a path for eternity. Hence, chaos theory is deemed to be the appropriate choice for analysis as it can provide an avenue of escape from the soul-crushing mechanical view of the world dominated most critical approaches for decades and can also furnish an alternative language and scope for literary interpretation. Keywords : chaos theory; butterfly effect; strange attractors; recursive symmetry; nonlinearity and fragmentation

The Exploration of Political Conflicts and Personal Relationships in Ian McEwan’s The Innocent

Political conflicts have historically affected the relationships of nations. Ian McEwan’s The Innocent is an excellent example of a story set within the web of such a conflict—the Cold War—that was brought about by U.S. and Soviet confrontation over spheres of influence after the Second World War. This article aims to show how Ian McEwan pictures Americanization as a form of cultural politics aimed at spreading American influence throughout the occupied countries such as Germany for political domination. Max Weber’s theory of political power along with semiotics as a tool is the framework of the article. Signs that refer to the Americanization process, including inferences in the dialogues, gestures, choice of food, and even clothing, are scrutinized and interpreted within the socio-political context the of Cold War. The analysis of The Innocent provides an example of the ways in which fiction represents political conflicts permeating personal and intimate relationships, and how such conflicts may result in a sense of mistrust and intrigue among both people and nations.

Individual Mobility and the Sense of “Deadlock”

Individual mobility is an outcome of the rapid changes in life; it is revealed in particular literary works within the end of the 19th century. Mobility is clearer in modern time as the individual has become physically freer in his movement. But the individual’s freedom is often conditioned by restrictions. Usually, change stimulates individuals to obtain new structure of feeling; the individual mocks or rages against institutions, or he would comply, suffering rapid personal deterioration as he faces effective stability or institutions. There is a continuous sense of “deadlock.” Sylvia Plath’s novel reflects the depression of an intellectual young woman who fails to find her right path muddled by an inconsistent, confusing world around. The opposing ideas and standards imposed on women depress and alienate the protagonist from the world leading her to an eventual attempt at suicide. The variable values the character has to adjust, the protagonist’s reaction toward these values, and her sense of “dead lock” are the subject of the present article.

Chaotic Politics, Chaotic Relationships

Political conflicts have great potentiality for social conflicts in society. Reviewing history shows that political collisions have affected significantly the relationships between nations. Ian McEwan’s contemporary fiction is in fact demonstration of conflicts in the twentieth century, and this papers aims to introduce a novel picture of politics presented in contemporary fiction. This is achieved by observing the period when the stories take place, to identify the major political conflicts and then pinpointing major conflicts in relationships. Findings show how literature, as an influential factor on society, can highlight the almost invisible relation between world politics and nations’ relationships. The psychological effects of political conflicts can be long and protracted. They could emerge in diverse ways to prove the domination of victor over the vanquished.

Sex Complexity and Politics in Black Dogs by Ian McEwan

Ian McEwan’s Black Dogs (BD) is a story of socio-political conflict during the critical era of the Cold War. Black Dogs is riddled with party (political) domination and its outcomes in society. Europe is still suffering the consequences of the Second World War, perhaps the biggest war of the twentieth century. In the aftermath of such worldwide upheaval, the conflicts that were in tandem with the scramble for political domination emerged in diverse ways, affecting nations and their human populations. Systematic sexual assault during the war years showed that sex was used both for intimidation and humiliation. This study attempts to picture the multidimensional aspects of politics which are practically related to the most intimate human relationship, that is, sex. It pictures how personal is equated with the political and vice versa. The theory of sexual politics is the theoretical framework used to scrutinize power-structure relationship. By reviewing the major conflicts in such a scenario, as the Cold War, and societal restriction, this study concludes that conflict in the macrocosm (world and society) affects the microcosm (individual) in McEwan’s Black Dogs. It provides a rather broad picture of politics and sexuality and highlights the stresses of wider society on human dysfunctional relationships. Rape as a tactic of war for a political goal demonstrates another aspect of sex. Reviewing the period in which the story takes place and relating it to the conflicts in society, the study goes beyond simple cause and effect problems among individuals and portrays a holistic view of sexuality and society.