Between Borders and Nations
In Amitav Ghosh’s The Shadow Lines, British imperialism influences the way of
life in Calcutta, India. Ila, the narrator, and the grandmother all have different stances
towards the way Brit
...
Between Borders and Nations
In Amitav Ghosh’s The Shadow Lines, British imperialism influences the way of
life in Calcutta, India. Ila, the narrator, and the grandmother all have different stances
towards the way British imperialism affected them. As for Ila, she seems to look
positively towards the British. By attempting to become a cosmopolitan, she tries to make
British culture part of her own. The grandmother is the polar opposite side of Ila’s
position; she strongly rejects British imperialism and wants it out of India. Every change
makes her cringe. Meanwhile, the narrator seems to be indifferent about the situation; he
can live mutually with both English and Indian cultures. In each person’s life,
imperialism affected the character’s cultural identity in one way or another, whether
greatly or in small portions.
Unlike most of her relatives from Calcutta, Ila embraced the British culture. Ever
since she was a child she had dreamed of being like the other white kids in her classes at
school. She despised herself especially because Nick, the English boy she fell in love
with, would go home early from school to avoid being seen with an Indian. Because of
this animosity, she began to hate her culture and moved to England as soon as she was
old enough. In doing so, she hoped to gain an English identity. When re-visiting Calcutta,
Ila still seemed to have trouble with her Indian background. When Robi refused to let her
dance with a gentleman at a club one night, Ila snapped. “Do you see now why I’ve
chosen to live in London?” Ila exclaimed to Robi. “It’s only because I want to be free…
Free of your bloody culture and free of all of you” (Ghosh 87)
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