A Study of R.K. Narayan's Novels A Cerebration of the Carnival

Sravani Biswas

ISBN 10: 8126913843 / ISBN 13: 9788126913848

Published by Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, 2010

Brand New. Soft Cover International Edition. Different ISBN and Cover Image. Priced lower than the standard editions which is usually intended to make them more affordable for students abroad. The core content of the book is generally the same as the standard edition. The country selling restrictions may be printed on the book but is no problem for the self-use. This Item maybe shipped from US or any other country as we have multiple locations worldwide. Seller Inventory # ABBB-42059

Synopsis:

The book A Study of R.K. Narayan s Novels : A Cerebration of the Carnival attempts to answer the debate on the view that critical theory is a self-sufficient entity, detached from literature. Its esoteric status renders it inaccessible and so the ethics of such an activity is suspected. The book seeks to show that theory would actually help the reader to be sensitive to the matter of the text and even provide an insight into the architectonics of literary creation. Above all, the book attempts to communicate the message that the integrated energy of creativity inherent in literature would modify theory, saving it from reification. The book applies Bakhtin s theories on selected fictions of R.K. Narayan to show that the relation between theory and literature is dialogic and promotes open-ended truths. Bakhtin s theory of the carnival in literature motivates a Copernican revolution in the approach to literature. Contrary to popular ideas, Narayan s novels are episodic rather than epistemological, serious rather than mere caricatures, and depict a different reality about India hitherto unsuspected. The book will be useful to both undergraduate and postgraduate students of English literature. It will be immensely beneficial to research scholars working on Indian writing in English as well as critical theory. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Aesthetics, Language and the Novel: An Overview of Bakhtin s Theory; 3. Novel and Society: Heteroglossia, Polyphony and Dialogic Imagination in the Novels of R.K. Narayan; 4. The Hero and the World: Double Consciousness and Narayan s Unusual Heroes; 5. Carnival and the Novel: Themes and Narrative Endings in the Novels of Narayan; Conclusion; Bibliography

About the Author: Sravani Biswas, is a faculty member in the Department of English in Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh. She did her postgraduation in English in 1986 from Visva Bharati, Santiniketan. She joined Karimganj College in Assam as a lecturer. Sravani did research on R.K. Narayan s writings and was awarded doctorate by North-East Hill University (NEHU), Shillong in 2003. She is a member of the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association (RMMLA), USA and a life member of the Forum on Contemporary Theory, Baroda. Her academic credentials include a number of published papers on R.K. Narayan s writings. She has also presented papers in international and national conferences and seminars.

Bibliographic Details

Title: A Study of R.K. Narayan's Novels A ...
Publisher: Atlantic Publishers and Distributors
Publication Date: 2010
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: New
Edition: International Edition