Cultural identity in Our Trusty and Well-Beloved, and its relevance to contemporary readers in Singapore
Lok Yu Xin Anette
A0101095U
EN3263 Singapore Literature Assignment 1
Tutorial Group D3
A0101095@nus.edu.sg
EN3263 Assignment 1
Produce an analysis of any ONE of these short stories that argues for its ongoing relevance to a contemporary reader in Singapore.
Cultural identity in Our Trusty and Well-Beloved, and its relevance to contemporary readers in Singapore
This essay wishes to argue how Clifford’s Our Trusty and Well-Beloved still carries a vital relevance to contemporary readers in Singapore today, through the problematization of a fixed cultural identity. This is brought out by Clifford’s dramatization of the tension between the self and the other within the European protagonist (Sir Philip Hanbury Erskine). He is drawn in to the Asiatic other and yet, sees that he cannot escape his European self (and more so, his duties). Thus, it is this “amphibious” (Clifford 65) push-pull dynamic in Philips cultural identity that makes Clifford’s text relevant to us (contemporary readers) as we face the same problematization of a fixed identity in the age of globalization.
In order to demonstrate the argument, the essay shall first discuss how the tension between the self and other is formed through the material markers and metaphors that they are contrasted against, which then problematizes the idea of a single fixed identity.
Firstly, Philip’s European self is characterized by colonial conventions with an emphasis on one’s name and designation. This is already depicted in the opening paragraph of the text, where Clifford immediately introduces the protagonist as: Sir Philip Hanbury Erskine, G.C.B., G.C.M.G. – whose other titles, in the liberal type of the Royal commission … filled up many lines of print. (62)
Here, Clifford forces the readers to form their first impression of Philip based on his social position in the colonial hierarchy. By doing so, Clifford thus highlights the colonial superficiality of the European identity, as he draws
A0101095U
EN3263 Singapore Literature Assignment 1
Tutorial Group D3
A0101095@nus.edu.sg
EN3263 Assignment 1
Produce an analysis of any ONE of these short stories that argues for its ongoing relevance to a contemporary reader in Singapore.
Cultural identity in Our Trusty and Well-Beloved, and its relevance to contemporary readers in Singapore
This essay wishes to argue how Clifford’s Our Trusty and Well-Beloved still carries a vital relevance to contemporary readers in Singapore today, through the problematization of a fixed cultural identity. This is brought out by Clifford’s dramatization of the tension between the self and the other within the European protagonist (Sir Philip Hanbury Erskine). He is drawn in to the Asiatic other and yet, sees that he cannot escape his European self (and more so, his duties). Thus, it is this “amphibious” (Clifford 65) push-pull dynamic in Philips cultural identity that makes Clifford’s text relevant to us (contemporary readers) as we face the same problematization of a fixed identity in the age of globalization.
In order to demonstrate the argument, the essay shall first discuss how the tension between the self and other is formed through the material markers and metaphors that they are contrasted against, which then problematizes the idea of a single fixed identity.
Firstly, Philip’s European self is characterized by colonial conventions with an emphasis on one’s name and designation. This is already depicted in the opening paragraph of the text, where Clifford immediately introduces the protagonist as: Sir Philip Hanbury Erskine, G.C.B., G.C.M.G. – whose other titles, in the liberal type of the Royal commission … filled up many lines of print. (62)
Here, Clifford forces the readers to form their first impression of Philip based on his social position in the colonial hierarchy. By doing so, Clifford thus highlights the colonial superficiality of the European identity, as he draws
Cited: Clifford, Hugh. “Our Trusty and Well-Beloved.” Writing Singapore: An Historical Anthology of Singapore Literature. Eds. Angelia Poon, Philip Holden and Shirley Geok-lin Lim . Singapore: NUS Press Singapore and National Arts Council of Singapore , 2009. 62-70. Print. Sengupta, Chandan. "Conceptualising Globalisation: Issues and Implications." Economic and Political Weekly (2001): 3137-143. JSTOR. Web. 14 Sept. 2014