Cultural Deconstruction in Abdulrazak Gurnahs Refugee Narratives: A Postcolonial Reading

Abstract

This study explores the intricate process of cultural deconstruction in the refugee-centered narratives of Abdulrazak Gurnah, specifically focusing on By the Sea, Desertion, and Afterlives. Through a postcolonial lens, the paper examines how Gurnah dismantles fixed notions of cultural identity by portraying characters caught between memory, migration, and historical erasure. His refugee protagonists challenge the binaries of homeland versus exile, tradition versus modernity, and self-versus other. The paper argues that Gurnah’s fiction presents culture as a fluid and contested terrain, shaped by colonial histories and diasporic realities. By employing fragmented narrative techniques and hybridized language, Gurnah reclaims marginalized voices and reconstructs the cultural self in exile. This research contributes to broader conversations in postcolonial and refugee studies by highlighting how literature can become a site of cultural resistance and transformation.

Introduction

Abdulrazak Gurnah’s literary work, especially his refugee-centered novels By the Sea, Desertion, and Afterlives, critically explores themes of displacement, exile, and identity within the postcolonial migration context. As a Tanzanian-born British Nobel laureate, Gurnah challenges dominant colonial and historical narratives by portraying cultural fragmentation and the complex realities of refugee lives. His narratives emphasize hybridity, liminality, and fluid identities rather than fixed cultural essences, engaging deeply with postcolonial theories of cultural deconstruction by thinkers like Homi Bhabha, Edward Said, and Jacques Derrida.

Gurnah’s characters often inhabit “in-between” spaces—geographically, culturally, and psychologically—reflecting fragmented memories and histories shaped by colonial legacies and forced migration. He uses narrative techniques such as nonlinear storytelling, multilingual language, and symbolism (notably the sea) to represent the instability of identity and the challenges of belonging. His novels resist simplistic portrayals of refugees by giving them emotional depth, moral ambiguity, and agency.

Central to Gurnah’s project is dismantling Eurocentric historiography and cultural essentialism, instead emphasizing the ongoing, dynamic process of identity formation influenced by memory, trauma, and negotiation. His works reveal how culture is constructed and reconstructed amid colonial power dynamics, highlighting silenced voices and alternative epistemologies.

Conclusion

Gurnah’s refugee narratives serve as acts of cultural deconstruction that expose the fractures and contradictions within postcolonial identities, advocating for a plural, fluid understanding of culture and belonging in the contemporary global landscape.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Mr. P. Kavinkumar , Dr. M. Selvam . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.