Fantasy and the Real

Patron‐in‐Chief Maj. Gen. (R) Masood Hassan HI (M)

Rector, National University of Modern Languages

Patron Brig. Azam Jamal

DG, National University of Modern Languages

Editor Dr. Farheen Ahmed Hashmi

Assistant Professor, Quality Enhancement Cell, National University of Modern Languages

Editorial Board

Dr. Robin Truth Goodman Professor The English Department, Florida State University, USA

Dr. Masood Ashraf Raja Associate Professor Department of English, College of Arts & Sciences, University of North Texas, USA

Dr. Ryan Skinnell Assistant Professor Department of English, College of Arts & Sciences, University of North Texas, USA

Dr. Samina Qadir Vice Chancellor Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Dr. Saeeda Assadullah Khan Former Vice Chancellor Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Dr. Riaz Hassan Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, AIR University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Dr. Nelofer Halai Professor Institute for Educational Development, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan

Dr. Shahid Siddiqui Vice Chancellor Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Dr. Carl Leggo Professor Department of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Dr. Dawn Langley Dean, General Education & Development Studies, Piedmont Community College, Roxboro, NC, USA

Dr. John Gibbons Adjunct Professor School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, Monash University, Malbourne, Australia

Dr. Phyllis Chew Ghim‐Lian Associate Professor (Tenure) Department of English Language and Literature, National Institute of Education, Singapore

Dr. Bernhard Kelle Professor of Linguistics University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

Dr. Steven Talmy Associate Professor Department of Language & Literacy Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Dr. James Giles Professor Emeritus Department of English, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, USA

Dr. Haj Ross Professor Department of Linguistics and Technical Communication, College of Arts & Sciences, University of North Texas, USA

Technical AssistanceMr. Muhammad Nawaz

Computer Assistant, Quality Enhancement Cell, NUML

I

Vol 12 (I), June, 2014 ISSN 2222‐5706

CONTENTS

Contents

Editorial Board

Contributors

Research Papers

Ayesha Bashiruddin & Rabail Qayyum 1

Teachers of English in Pakistan: Profile and Recommendations

Munazza Yaqoob & Amal Sayyid 20

Mingling the Real and the Magical: Deconstructive Epistemology

in Contemporary Fantasy Literature/Fiction

Mudassar Mahmood Ahmad 41

Understanding Hypertextual Modalities Using Meaning Making

Strategies

Mirza Muhammad Zubair Baig 65

The Suitor’s Treasure Trove: Un/Re‐Inscribing of Homer’s

Penelope in Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad

Copyright Statement 85

Disclaimer 86

Call for Papers 87

Subscription Form 88

II

Editorial Board

Patron‐in‐Chief Maj. Gen. (R) Masood Hassan HI (M) Rector, National University of Modern Languages

Patron Brig. Azam Jamal DG, National University of Modern Languages

Editor Dr. Farheen Ahmed Hashmi Assistant Professor, Quality Enhancement Cell, National University of Modern Languages

Editorial Board Dr. Carl Leggo Professor Department of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Dr. Dawn Langley Dean General Education & Development Studies, Piedmont Community College, Roxboro, NC, USA

Dr. John Gibbons Adjunct Professor School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, Monash University, Malbourne, Australia

Dr. Phyllis Chew Ghim‐Lian Associate Professor (Tenure) Department of English Language and Literature, National Institute of Education, Singapore

Dr. Bernhard Kelle Professor of Linguistics University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

Dr. Steven Talmy Associate Professor Department of Language & Literacy Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

III

Dr. James Giles Professor Emeritus Department of English, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, USA

Dr. Haj Ross Professor Department of Linguistics and Technical Communication, College of Arts & Science, University of North Texas, USA

Dr. Robin Truth Goodman Professor The English Department, Florida State University, USA

Dr. Masood Ashraf Raja Associate Professor Department of English, College of Arts & Sciences, University of North Texas, USA

Dr. Ryan Skinnell Assistant Professor Department of English, College of Arts & Sciences, University of North Texas, USA

Dr. Samina Qadir Vice Chancellor Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Dr. Saeeda Assadullah Khan Former Vice Chancellor Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Dr. Riaz Hassan Dean Faculty of Social Sciences, AIR University, Islamabad, Pakistan

IV

Dr. Nelofer Halai Professor Institute for Educational Development, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan

Dr. Shahid Siddiqui Vice Chancellor Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan

V

Contributors


Dr. Ayesha Bashiruddin (Main Author) is an Associate Professor and Head,

Research and Policy Studies at the Aga Khan University, Institute for

Educational Development (AKU‐IED) with a wide experience of teaching

ESL to adult learners. She has a Master in English from the University of

Peshawar and a Master in Applied Linguistics from the University of

Durhum, UK. She obtained her Ph.D. from Ontario Institute for Studies in

Education, University of Toronto, Canada. In her current capacity, she is

actively engaged in conceptualizing, developing and teaching different

courses offered in M.Ed., PhD. and other professional development

programs at the university. She has been awarded the Aga Khan University

award of Outstanding Teacher for sustained excellence in scholarship of

discovery in 2009, and the Aga Khan University award of Outstanding

Teacher for sustained excellence in scholarship of application in 2011. Her

research interests are English Language Education and Teacher Learning.

Email: [email protected]

Rabail Qayyum (Co‐Author) is a Lecturer in the Department of Social

Sciences and Liberal Arts at the Institute of Business Administration,

Karachi. She has a Master in Linguistics from the University of Karachi. She

also holds Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA). She

has recently completed her M.Ed. with specialization in English Teacher

Education from the Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational

Development, Karachi. Her research interests lie in the areas of Teacher

Development and English for Academic Purposes (EAP).


Mingling the Real and the Magical: Deconstructive Epistemology in Contemporary Fantasy Literature/Fiction

Dr. Munazza Yaqoob (Main Author) is an Assistant Professor and

Chairperson of the Department of English, Female Campus, International

Islamic University, Islamabad. She is a member of the International

Comparative Literature Association, the incharge of Critical Thinking Forum

and Faculty Advisor of Human Rights Forum and IIUI Media Society. She

VI

has organized a number of seminars, international conferences and

discussion forums in order to build useful bridge between students’

community and civil society. She has presented at national and

international conferences, seminar and colloquium and has also published

papers in national and international journals of interdisciplinary nature.

Her areas of research interest include Peace Studies, Comparative

Literature, Literary Theory, Ideology and Literature, Cultural Studies,

Feminism, South Asian Fiction in English, Critical and Feminist Pedagogy,

Environmentalism, and Literature and Postmodernism.


Amal Sayyid (Co‐Author) is a Research Associate in the Department of

English (F.C.) at International Islamic University, Islamabad. She is a PhD

scholar. Her PhD research is a comparative study of discursive constructs

of Islam and terrorism in the post‐9/11 fictional works of selected Western

and Muslim authors. Her research interests include post‐9/11 literature,

representation of Islam in contemporary cultural discourses, and

postmodern epistemologies and ethics.



Strategies

Dr. Mudassar Mahmood Ahmad is working as an Assistant Professor at

COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore, Pakistan. His

research work explores the intricate relationship between cognition and

the fluidity of multimodal digital hypertexts. He is intrigued by the

evocative emerging ergodic textualities that are in vogue for meaning

making in/outside of academic environments. His areas of interest are

Psycholinguistics, Qualitative Research Methodologies and Multimodal

Comprehension Assessment.


The Suitor’s Treasure Trove: Un/Re‐Inscribing of Homer’s Penelope in Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad

Dr. Mirza Muhammad Zubair Baig is an Assistant Professor in English at

the Department of Humanities, COMSATS Institute of Information

Technology, Lahore, Pakistan. His research work centers on the liminal

VII

and relational space between the popular and minor literatures and

cultures. Areas of his research interest include discourses and praxises of

Postcolonialism, Third World Feminism, Diasporic Literature,

Multiculturalism, Transnationalism, Ecofeminism, Critical Theory, Critical

Pedagogy, Post‐Structuralism and Postmodernism.


1


Ayesha Bashiruddin (Main Author)

Rabail Qayyum (Co‐Author)

Abstract

This paper answers a pertinent question: Who are the teachers of English in Pakistan? By answering this question, the current profile of teachers of English is highlighted. We were inclined to do this study because there was no data available in Pakistan. Data for this paper was generated through a survey questionnaire, which was filled out by 100 teachers of English over three years. Out of these 100 teachers, 53 teachers were from public sector schools, 29 teachers from community‐based English‐medium schools, and 18 teachers from private English‐medium schools. These teachers belonged to various regions of Pakistan, which included Sindh, Baluchistan, Gilgit‐Baltistan and Chitral. The analysis of the data shows gaps in the form of issues and challenges of teachers’ careers as teachers of English. The results showed that majority of the teachers teaching in the three categories of schools came from the same stream themselves. In terms of academic qualifications, in majority of the cases, the teachers had Master’s degree in disciplines other than English. The lowest percentage was reserved for Master’s degree in the field of English. Therefore, in most of the cases, teachers did not hold relevant academic qualifications to be regarded as competent English language teachers. Secondly, both in public and community‐based English‐medium schools, a significant majority of the teachers were given the English subject to teach by the administration. However, our findings illustrate a striking difference in case of private English‐medium schools in this respect where most of the teachers were self‐motivated to teach English. Based on the findings of the data, recommendations are made for policy makers which are: pre‐service and in‐service training is needed, and the hiring practices of teachers need to be rectified. Overall, it appears that there is little variation in terms of the issues and challenges across the three categories.

Keywords: English language teachers, school systems, Pakistan

Introduction

Our vast and varied experience of working with teachers of English from diverse backgrounds within Pakistan in particular and the developing

NUML Journal of Critical Inquiry Vol 12 (1), June, 2014 ISSN 2222‐5706

2

countries in general has given rise to an issue which we have been facing for a long time as teachers and teacher educators. The issue is to explore the profile of the teachers of English. The reason for this is that in the context of Pakistan, people frequently assume that anyone who speaks English fluently can also teach it. However, the reality is quite contrary. In many cases, teachers themselves hardly know how to speak English, but are given the responsibility to teach it (Shamim, 2008). This is because in many contexts teaching is equated to translation of English into mother tongue, which is usually Urdu. Coleman (2010), for instance, writes that “English teachers – especially in government schools – tend to teach the language through the medium of Urdu or a local language because their own competence in English is poor or because they have so little confidence in their own competence” (p. 17). A report found that 62% of the private school teachers and 56% of government school teachers registered scores in the lowest possible bands in Aptis test (PEELI Report, British Council, 2013). The teachers of English concentrate more on translation and grammatical aspects of language as compared to oral competency of students (Ghafoor, 1998). However, some are of the view that teaching English is rather a set of activities involving well‐developed teaching methods and creative teaching aids.

Unfortunately, in Pakistan, the educational background of most of the teachers is not relevant to teaching English. Based on retrospective data of past five years provided by the Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development (AKU‐IED) about the in‐service teachers entering both Advanced Diploma in Education and M.Ed. courses (specialization in Education), as well as the first author’s longstanding teaching experience, it is evident that merely 20% are to some extent qualified to teach English because they are equipped with some professional qualifications. The rest of the 80% do not have qualifications to teach English. Hence, teachers with degrees in disciplines other than English such as Islamic Studies, Science, Social Studies and Pakistan Studies are teaching English.

This is not to say that merely gaining a qualification in English equips one to teach English. Nevertheless, holding a degree in English is an important indicator of possessing relevant subject knowledge because it can enhance professional confidence and motivation levels of the teachers.

The way English is taught in schools is also problematic. In a study investigating English language instruction in the context of Chitral, Nawab (2012) concluded that the teaching of English was not much different from other subjects like Social Studies or History. Lack of relevant academic qualifications of teachers could be one of the reasons why teaching of English is not considered any different from other subjects.

3

The quality of English language instruction chiefly depends on the type of school system. Shamim (2008) states that “schools in Pakistan differ not only in the extent to which English is used in the classroom but more importantly in the quantity and quality of resources, including human resources, allocated for teaching and learning” (p. 244). Broadly speaking, there are three main school systems in Pakistan, namely public, community‐based and private. Public schools are state‐owned schools, where typically students from low‐income groups study. These schools are found in both rural and urban areas and mostly have Urdu or the local regional language as their medium of instruction. Community‐based schools are non‐profit schools that are privately‐owned by individuals. Most of these schools primarily cater to a particular religious community. Generally, these are English‐medium schools. Private schools, on the other hand, are relatively expensive and less in number as compared to the other two categories; hence they provide education to a small section of the population. Nonetheless, in recent years, the number of private schools has increased dramatically (Andrabi, Das, Khwaja, Vishwanath, & Zajonc, 2007). They are attractive because of their claims to offer “English‐medium” education, even though in reality these claims may not be fulfilled.

Looking at all the aspects discussed above and considering the education system, school system, relevant educational background of the teachers, etc., there is a need to explore the profile of teachers of English. Presently, there is a paucity of research on the profile of school teachers of English. There are reports available on the profile of teachers generally (of all subjects), but we are not aware of any study that deals particularly with English language teachers. Hence, the present study was designed with the purpose of filling this gap and discovering the background of school teachers of English.

Literature Review

A global survey of primary English language teachers from 89 countries found that in 21% of the cases the teachers mentioned that they were not qualified specifically to teach English (Emery, 2012). This shows that the issue of English teachers not holding relevant qualifications is not just the issue in our country.

It is necessary to know why teachers opt for this profession in the first place. Oplatka (2007) and Barrs (2005) reported that family played a key role in the career choice of female Pakistani teachers, whose parents encouraged them to attend teacher training programs. Unfortunately, lack of other occupational opportunities remains the chief reason why people join the teaching profession. Hedges (2002) noted that those who became

4

teachers due to a lack of other opportunities were likely to have a lower level of commitment to teaching than those who gave other reasons. Therefore, most of the teachers have economic reasons for joining this profession. Under such circumstances, it is likely that the motivation levels of teachers will be low.

There is a clear lack of data on the backgrounds of English language teachers in Pakistan. Recently a pilot study was conducted in Karachi, which, in Phase one, attempted to investigate the question: Who are the teachers of English? The study looked into the backgrounds and qualification of teachers who were teaching English in both private and public sectors (Malik, 2008). A qualitative questionnaire was administered to 11 public school teachers and nine private school teachers. The data regarding educational background and academic qualification of 11 teachers of English from public schools showed that all the teachers had B.Ed. degree, which is the basic requirement for teaching at secondary level in public schools. It was found that 36% teachers had Master’s in subjects other than English such as Islamic Studies, Urdu and Economics. There were 18% teachers who were Science graduates, while the remaining 82% teachers had graduated in Social Sciences or Humanities. Only 27% teachers had completed their CT. An overwhelming majority 82% of the teachers were teaching at lower secondary level, whereas 9% at primary, and 9% at upper secondary level. Moreover, the findings showed that there were 73% teachers who joined this profession by chance because they had no other option for jobs. However, only 9% teachers attributed their joining of the teaching profession to their personal interest, while 18% explained that they had developed personal liking for the profession with the passage of time. Majority (82%) of the teachers were unaware of any policy for hiring the teachers of English. The rest of the 18% stated different hiring criteria: one stated that a teacher should be B.Ed. or M.Ed., and the other stated that he/she should have the ability to teach and speak English.

Bashiruddin (2009) explored the classroom practices of two teachers of English. One teacher belonged to the private sector, while the other was from the public sector. The public school teacher had a Master’s degree in Political Science, but was interested in learning English, therefore opted to teach English when she joined as a teacher. The teacher from the private school had Master’s in English, but was not really interested in teaching in general. This teacher became a teacher by chance and felt that her Master’s degree was not helping her in classroom instruction.

This brief analysis of the situation and research reveals that there are a number of issues and challenges in determining the profiles of

5

teachers of English, which piqued our interest. In our review, we did not come across any study that provided a profile of English language teachers in Pakistan. This study is an initial attempt to accumulate knowledge about English language teachers and respond to the current informational void. It must be noted that this is not a systematic study and mainly developed out of our personal interest and curiosity. Nevertheless, it offers useful data for policymakers, especially in the implementation of language policy.

Methodology

Instrument

This study used a qualitative questionnaire, which was developed by the first author with Malik (2008). This questionnaire was piloted before it was utilized for data generation.

The survey had five questions in all (see Appendix). The first question was to identify the school system/ institution where the teachers of English were teaching currently. The second question focused on the school that the teachers had attended as students. The third question was about the medium of instruction in the school that they had attended. The fourth question was about their qualifications (both educational and professional). The next question was about their reasons for choosing English as a subject to teach. The last question inquired about the policy or practice for hiring EL teachers in their respective school systems and institutions.

Participants

Convenient sampling was used to select the participants. There were 100 teachers of English who filled out the qualitative survey at different times. Some of these participants were enrolled in different programs at AKU‐IED. These programs included M.Ed. (specialization in English Teacher Education) and various other certificate programs and short courses on teaching of English offered under the auspices of donor‐funded projects at AKU‐IED. The rest of the participants were part of a workshop arranged by Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers (SPELT).

Out of these 100 participants, 18 were from private English‐medium schools, 29 from community‐based English‐medium schools, and 53 from public sector schools. These participants belonged to various regions of Pakistan, which included Sindh, Baluchistan, Gilgit‐Baltistan and Chitral.

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11

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12

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13

5. Policy for Hiring Teachers of English

A majority 44 % of the teachers said that there was no policy for hiring teachers of English. There were 39% who responded that there were some procedures in place such as interviews, test of teachers’ proficiency and demo lessons. Only 11% said that there was a policy in their schools according to which teachers of English should have Master’s in English and be proficient speakers of English. Few teachers (6%) did not respond to this question.

Discussion

To summarize the above findings, it was noted that an overwhelming majority of public school teachers went to public schools themselves as students. In all of these schools Urdu or a local language was the medium of instruction. A majority of these teachers held a Master’s degree in a discipline other than English. A significant majority of these teachers were told by the administration to teach English.

A majority of the teachers teaching in community‐based schools had community‐based schooling themselves. In 95% of these schools, English was the medium of instruction. A majority of these teachers held a Master’s degree in a discipline other than English. A significant majority of these teachers were also told by the administration to teach English.

A significant number of teachers teaching in private English‐medium schools had private English‐medium schooling themselves. In all of these schools, English was the medium of instruction. This could explain the better quality of English instruction imparted in these schools. Moreover, a majority of these teachers decided to become teachers of English because of their own choice, which makes them better positioned to teach English. Further an analysis of the findings reveals:

Majority of the teachers teaching in the three categories of schools themselves come from the same stream. This finding contributes to the perspective that teachers’ knowledge remains embedded in their contexts. However, the survey also showed that 13% of the teachers who studied in private English‐medium schools were now working as public school teachers. This is an indication that, albeit to a very little extent, the gap between the two streams of education might bridge in some cases. It will be interesting to explore why this is so.

The teachers shared their background in terms of their academic qualification, irrespective of the school systems they belonged to. In majority of the cases, the teachers have Master’s degrees, but in other disciplines. The lowest percentage is reserved for Master’s degrees in the field of English. Therefore, in most of the cases, teachers do not hold

14

relevant subject knowledge to be regarded as effective English language teachers. This finding calls for some remedial measures for it may be a contributing factor towards poor education standards.

Lack of trained teachers proficient in the English language has consistently emerged as a significant challenge in Pakistan (Nawab, 2012). In Pakistan, continuing professional development opportunities are simply not available for most of the teachers. There is a wide gulf between teachers working in urban and rural areas. Further training may be more easily available if a teacher works in a major city, whereas rural teachers may go a whole lifetime without attending a single training course. In such a scenario, the lack of relevant academic qualifications becomes an issue of priority.

The Policy and Planning Wing of the Ministry of Education in Pakistan in collaboration with UNESCO and with financial assistance from USAID has implemented the STEP project. Under the STEP project, professional standards for teachers have been developed. The 10th Standard of this document deals with ESL/EFL teachers. It reports standards on three main criteria: knowledge and understanding, dispositions, and performance and skills.

However, these standards are basically for primary teachers. Also, after the 18th amendment, the education system in the country has decentralized and now provinces have the authority over educational matters. Nonetheless, these standards can provide the foundation to build professional standards for secondary school teachers of English. The findings of the current study lay out the ground realities and underscore the challenges facing the government in implementing these standards.

Both in public and community‐based English‐medium schools, a significant majority of the teachers were given the English subject to teach by the administration. This is a major shortcoming and appears to indicate poor motivation levels of the teachers, which is a cause for concern since teachers’ motivation has a profound impact on students’ learning. In any case, the status of teachers is thus compromised making them under‐perform and earn low respect.

From administration’s perspective, this might be their way of meeting the acute shortage of language teachers. In order to address the high demand for English, created by the government’s emphasis on using English as the medium of instruction, they may have little choice but to compromise on the qualification of teachers. The poor pupil‐teacher ratio in Pakistan is also characteristic of this chronic shortage. Furthermore, this could also explain why most of the teachers do not hold a relevant academic qualification. Such administrative coercion could explain low

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morale and motivation levels of teachers, which in turn, runs the risk of causing overall deterioration in the quality of education. Unless teachers themselves choose to teach the subject, they are unlikely to perform this job satisfactorily.

In this respect, however, the findings illustrate a disparity for private English‐medium school teachers, since most of these teachers were self‐motivated to teach English. It seems that the profile of teachers in private English‐medium schools might be more positive as compared to their counterparts in public or community‐based English‐medium schools. Hence, the findings of the study show grounds for optimism where private schools are concerned. This could also explain why private school students outperform their counterparts in public schools (LEAPS report).

It is generally believed that public school teachers’ own English proficiency is considerably poor. Our findings might offer one possible explanation of why this is so. Majority of the public school teachers went to public schools themselves, where Urdu or a local language is the medium of instruction. In only 9% of the cases (i.e., those who went to private English‐medium schools) did the teachers have exposure to English as the medium of instruction. While, this is not to say that medium of instruction is the only indicator of language proficiency, there is certainly a strong connection between medium of instruction and quality of instruction.

In terms of school policy for hiring English teachers, the findings reveal amazing similarities among all the teachers surveyed. In majority of the cases, the teachers reported that there was no written policy in this regard. This hints at the sad state of affairs where there is no formal mechanism for hiring teachers.

These findings should also be seen in the light of the contentious medium of instruction debate. How will the government be able to enforce English as the medium of instruction when majority of the teachers do not hold relevant qualifications? This question needs to be answered by the policy makers.

Recommendations and Way Forward

This independent study provides critical information about the profile of English teachers in Pakistan, which includes information about the schools the teachers themselves attended as students, the medium of instruction in these schools, their educational and professional qualifications, their reasons for teaching English, and the policy or practice for hiring EL teachers in their school systems and institutions. The findings have several implications for policy‐makers. Since most of the teachers do

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not hold relevant qualifications, attention needs to be paid to promoting pre‐service teacher education and on in‐service teacher development.

There are various ways of fostering continuous professional development of teachers. Still, in Pakistan the trainings model seems to be the prevalent one. There are other models that have emerged such as establishing professional learning communities (Kennedy, 2005) and reflective conversations (Ashraf & Rarieya, 2008) that should also be explored. These models differ from traditional models in several ways. For instance, they cater to group instead of individual development that could better serve the shortage of trained teachers in the developing context.

This training should particularly focus on the teaching of English. This finding should be a source of concern for the policy makers and implementers who are responsible for quality assurance of education.

The study also sheds light on how teacher appointments are made in our schools. Our findings indicate that in majority of the cases, teachers are simply given the English subject to teach by the school administration. The percentage for this is higher in public and community‐based English‐medium schools, but drops down significantly when it comes to private English‐medium schools. This also reflects poor level of teacher autonomy exercised in our schools. Additionally, there are inherent inconsistencies between the provinces when it comes to hiring teachers. To sum up, policy initiatives must also focus on the hiring process of language instructors, with particular focus on public and community‐based English‐medium schools. This could also explain why the quality of education imparted in these schools is generally considered to be poor.

If the government wants to improve the standards which have been underlined in the national standards document (2009), then it will have to provide relevant qualifications to the teachers of English and will also have to emphasize on pre‐service teacher education.

In future, a large‐scale systematic study may be carried out to get a better understanding of the teachers’ backgrounds and understand what provisions can be made for teachers so as to prepare them to teach English. Likewise, it will be interesting to examine teachers’ self‐efficacy and job satisfaction. The profession needs to get to grips with the issues highlighted if high quality English teaching is to be offered to all learners.

Limitations

The present study focused primarily on the general education of the teachers. A comprehensive profile of teachers may include many other factors as well. For example, the training received, years of teaching experience, etc.

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Conclusion

This study was the first of its kind to illustrate a broad profile of English language school teachers in Pakistan. Broadly speaking, majority of the teachers a) taught in the same stream in which they studied, b) did not have a specialization in English, c) were given the English subject to teach by the administration, and d) came from schools where no written policy for hiring of teachers existed. Hence, majority of the teachers may not be regarded as subject‐specialists. The findings give insight into the challenges that need to be addressed if English language teaching is to be improved. The authors of this study put forward two main recommendations for the policy makers. Under such circumstances, where teachers do not hold relevant qualifications, pre‐service and in‐service training mechanisms should be strengthened to address the lack of availability of competent teachers. Besides, the hiring practices of the teachers need to be rectified.

Notes

1 Aptis is a flexible English assessment test that aims to benchmark the English proficiency of its users. 2 AKU‐IED is a private teacher education institute that caters to in‐service teachers and educational leaders through its M. Ed. program and other courses. 3 Certificate of Teaching 4 SPELT is a professional body of ESL/EFL teachers that aims to improve the standards of English teaching in Pakistan (Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers, 2013). It organizes monthly academic sessions and annual international conferences and also publishes a quarterly journal. It is also affiliated to IATEFL and to TESOL.

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References

Andrabi, T., Das, J., Khwaja, A. I., Vishwanath, T., & Zajonc, T. (2007). Learning and Educational Achievements in Punjab Schools (LEAPS): Insights to inform the education policy debate. Washington DC: World Bank.

Ashraf, H., & Rarieya, J. F. A. (2008). Teacher development through reflective conversations–possibilities and tensions: A Pakistan case. Reflective Practice, 9(3), 269‐279.

Barrs, J. (2005). Factors contributed by community organizations to the motivation of teachers in rural Punjab, Pakistan, and implications for the quality of teaching. International Journal of Educational Development, 25(3), 333‐48.

Bashiruddin, A. (2009). Learning English and learning to teach English: The case of two teachers of English in Pakistan. In S. Mansoor, A. Sikandar, N. Hussain & N. Ahsan (Eds.), Emerging Issues in TEFL: Challenges for South Asia. Karachi: Oxford University Press.

Coleman, H. (2010). Teaching and learning in Pakistan: The role of language in education. Leeds: British Council.

Emery, H. (2012). A global study of primary English teachers’ qualifications, training and career development. British Council, 69, 12‐08.

Ghafoor, A. (1998). Promoting oral communication in a Pakistani (EFL) primary classroom (Unpublished master’s thesis). The Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development, Karachi.

Government of Pakistan. (2009). National professional standards for teachers in Pakistan. Policy and Planning Wing, Ministry of Education, Islamabad.

Hedges, J. (2002). The importance of posting and interaction with the education bureaucracy in becoming a teacher in Ghana. International Journal of Educational Development, 22, 353‐66.

Kennedy, A. (2005). Models of continuing professional development: A framework for analysis. Journal of In‐service Education, 31(2), 235‐250.

Malik, Z. A. (2008). Discovering identities of teachers of English in Pakistan (Unpublished master’s thesis). The Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development, Karachi.

Nawab, A. (2012). Is it the way to teach language the way we teach

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language? English language teaching in rural Pakistan. Academic Research International, 2(2), 696‐705.

Oplatka, I. (2007). The context and profile of teachers in developing countries in the last decade: A revealing discussion for further investigation. International Journal of Educational Management, 21(6), 476‐490.

PEELI Report, British Council. (2013). Can English medium education work in Pakistan: Lessons from Punjab. Lahore.

Shamim, F. (2008). Trends, issues and challenges in English language education in Pakistan. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 28(3), 235‐249.

Appendix 1

Who are the teachers of English in Pakistan?

Qualitative Survey

Name: ……………………………………………………………………………

1. School system/institution where teaching currently:

2. Which school did you attend?

3. What was the medium of instruction?

4. What are your qualifications? (Please write educational and professional qualifications)

5. Why did you choose to teach English?

6. What are the policy and practices of hiring EL teachers in your school systems and institutions? Is there any written policy or criteria that you are aware of? If yes, what is it?

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Mingling the Real and the Magical: Deconstructive Epistemology in Contemporary Fantasy Fiction

Munazza Yaqoob (Main Author) Amal Sayyid (Co‐Author)

Abstract

The poststructuralist philosophy of Deconstruction proposed by Derrida gives rise to a poetics of disruption and transgression through dismantling of the traditional bases of Western epistemology, i.e., the idea of logocentrism, presence, transcendental signifiers and dyadic pairs which support the notion of fixed meanings and give rise to distinct and isolated categories. The current study argues that the erosion of absolute centers and distinct identities resulting from deconstructive relativism has led to the collapse of the binary opposition between the real and the magical in contemporary fantasy literature. Selected works of postmodern fantasy literature are analyzed to assess how in keeping with the principles of différance, supplement and trace these works represent a decentered universe in which the categories of magic and the real are fluid and subject to constant slippage. Consequently, the real world moves parallel to and not distinct from the world of magic and there is a constant overlapping of categories of real and magical. The present study argues that this dissolution of the boundaries between real and magical enables these postmodern texts to interrogate, subvert and dismantle logocentric thought manifested in ethnocentrism and racism and support a liberatory politics in which the voice of the marginalized alterity is recovered. For this purpose the current study is delimited to an analysis of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and J. R. R. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Key Words: deconstruction, liberatory, marginalization, alterity

Introduction

The current paper attempts to explore how the selected postmodern fantasy novels of J. R. R. Tolkien and J. K. Rowling function as a critique of logocentric, ethnocentric and racist thought which is manifested in the texts through the construction of Manichean structures of immitigable alterity between the real and the magical. An analysis of the texts under study reveals that the real and the magical are delineated as communities with apparently distinct cultural and racial characteristics.


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These communities are shown as forming their identities using a logocentric binary logic and the positing of irreconcilable difference and superiority of the self over the other. It is argued that a pluralist deconstructive space characterized by the free play of différance, supplement and trace deconstructs logocentric attempts to foreclose meanings and to elide the voice of the marginalized other through a breakdown of the binary opposition between the magical and the real and the intermingling and overlapping of these two categories. Consequently, the real and the magical, arranged in a hierarchical binary which privileges the self over the other, become porous and amorphous categories which permeate and seep into each other and become the very conditions of possibility and existence of one another. This study thus seeks to highlight the existence of a deconstructive liberatory space in the selected texts of Tolkien and Rowling which repositions and resituates the binary opposition between the real and the magical as a nested opposition in which the metaphysical hierarchy is decentered by showing that the marginalized other is necessary for the self to exist.

Theoretical Framework of the Study

The current paper draws its theoretical framework from Derrida’s philosophical project of deconstruction which was aimed at exposing and deconstructing the binary hierarchies and dualistic oppositions in which Western logocentrism or metaphysics of presence was grounded. Dismantling of centers and destabilization of the binary logic governing the entire tradition of Western epistemology from Plato onwards formed the primary focus of Derrida’s major works some of which include Speech and Phenomena (1973), Dissemination (1981), Margins of Philosophy (1982), Writing and Difference (1990), Of Grammatology (1998). Derrida’s seminal work Of Grammatology (1998) inaugurated this project of deconstruction of logocentric binary categories through an interrogation of the privileging of phonocentrism and the marginalization of writing in Western philosophers including Jean‐Jacques Rousseau and Ferdinand de Saussure. In the essay “Différance” (1982), Derrida characterized deconstruction as a radical critique of onto‐theological binary categories and distinctions such as presence/absence, plenitude/lack, sign/referent, appearance/truth, body/spirit. A number of critics analyzing Derrida describe deconstruction as a strategy aimed at the dismantling of binary oppositions. Wortham (2010) defines deconstruction as “a radical questioning of binary‐oppositional thought” (p. 33). Similarly, Berry (2004) also observes that “the vital contribution of deconstruction or poststructuralism to postmodern theory [is] . . . their repeated interrogation of the centrality to

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Western thought of polarized categories such a light/dark, good/evil, atheism/belief . . . ” (p. 177).

Derrida’s critique of binary oppositions shaped by logocentric thought and metaphysics of presence centered on how these dualistic patterns installed violent totalitarian hierarchies and hence supported structures of domination. In Of Grammatology (1998), Derrida characterizes logocentrism as “the most original and powerful ethnocentrism” (p. 3) and as giving rise to an ethnocentric way of understanding the world which frames and defines “world culture.” Ethnocentrism thus becomes the lens through which we make sense of people, places and concepts (p. 4) and results in a valorization of self and denigration of the other. In this regard Derrida is particularly concerned with how this ethnocentric conception of the world, arising from logocentrism and giving rise to a binary of self and other, is interconnected with structures of power and control. Derrida thus highlights how these onto‐theological categories, structured by logocentric thought, give rise to a relationship of subordination in which the privileged central term is viewed as a transcendental signifier imbued with presence and meaning, while the marginalized term representing difference and absence is portrayed in pejorative terms as an inessential appendage or a potentially dangerous supplement which could corrupt the central term (1981, p. 389; 1982, p. 195; 1998, p. 151). Thus Western logocentric thought and metaphysics of presence is seen by Derrida as generating structures of marginality, exclusion and oppression (Anderson, 2006, 2003; Barker, 1995; Royle, 2003; Tyson, 2006; Zima, 2002). In an interview Derrida notes,

. . . all of history being a conflictual field of forces in which it is a matter of making unreadable, excluding, of positing by excluding, of imposing a dominant force by excluding, that is to say, not only by marginalizing, by setting aside the victims, but also by doing so in such a way that no trace remains of the victims . . . (1995, p. 389)

Thus logocentric structures are viewed as violently positing a binary relationship of self and other in which inferiority and absolute alterity of the other is objectified as an essential truth (Derrida, 1982).

An analysis of Derrida’s theoretical conceptions reveals that deconstruction is a liberatory philosophy and reading practice which gives rise to a transgressive poetics aimed at dismantling hierarchical binary oppositions and recovering the voice of the marginalized. The need to dismantle structures of domination and oppression and to recover the voices of the marginalized and suppressed is a central theme in several of

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Derrida’s works including Speech and Phenomena (1973, p. 77), “Plato’s Pharmacy” in Dissemination (1981, pp. 168), “White Mythology” in Margins of Philosophy (1982, p. 270), Of Grammatology (1998, pp. 19‐20). In this regard, Barker highlights how Derrida interrogates the metaphysics of presence and critiques the structures of marginality it generates and in the process supports an “aesthetic of disruption” (1995, p. 5). Likewise the critics Begam (1992) and Aycock (1993) show how the deconstructive strategies proposed by Derrida help to deconstruct the structures of otherness informing Western culture and give voice to the marginalized and silenced. Expanding on the subversive nature of deconstruction, Bertens (1999), Tyson (2006) and Wortham (2010) outline how Derrida’s theoretical conceptions enables the readers to critically evaluate and dismantle the binary opposites posited by various ideologies through language. This radical nature of deconstruction is summed up by Goodspeed‐Chadwick (2006) who observes, “Derrida’s deconstruction enables exposure of the mechanisms, such as binary constructions, that exert a dominant and domineering‐influence over marginalized people, places, and concepts” (p. 1). A similar observation is made by the theorist Johnson (1980) who notes that deconstruction is a critical enterprise aimed at the identification and dismantling of the sources of textual power. Derridean deconstruction thus adopts a non‐metaphysical posture (Brogan, 1988) and seeks to dismantle hegemonic metaphysical discourses in order to emancipate structures of alterity (Reynolds, 2001) and to emphasize plurality (Goodspeak‐Chadwick, 2006, p. 3). In Writing and Difference (1990), Derrida highlights how critique of ethnocentrism and its related binaries is central to the project of destroying the history of metaphysics (p. 356).

Derridean deconstruction rehabilitates marginalized voices through a revision of the dialectical concept of alterity, difference and otherness (Derrida, 1982, p. 78; Llewelyn, 1988, p. 57). Derrida rejects the absolute alterity of the other and undermines the notion that difference is absolute, immitigable and unbridgeable. Instead, for Derrida, otherness becomes an expression of mutually interdependent differences (Reynolds, 2001). In Writing and Difference Derrida questions “whether history itself does not begin with [some] relationship with the other” (1990, p. 94). Thus the other is viewed as inhabiting the self and without this interdependency alterity and identity could not be established in the first place. Derrida notes, “Just as . . . simple internal consciousness could not provide itself with time and with the absolute alterity of every instant without the irruption of the totally‐other, so the ego cannot engender alterity within itself without encountering the other” (1990, p. 94).

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This revised concept of alterity is rooted in Derrida’s concept of différance which operates in a chain of trace, supplement and iteration and results in an “infinite redoubling,” reinscription, “combination” and “dissociation” of “signs, representations, words, concepts . . .” (Ormiston, 1988, p. 42). Thus in Speech and Phenomena (1973) Derrida highlights how the very term “différance” represents a structure of difference which is predicated on a sameness which is not identical (pp. 129‐30). This paradox is used by Derrida to postulate a concept of alterity which does not correspond to a fixed identity as other. Instead différance labels an economy and movement of differing and delay or deferral which generates a free play or dissemination of differences as redoubling and duplicity that cannot be arrested or fixed in metaphysical logocentric structures and generates traces of signs within other signs, and in this way breaches the ideology of identity (Ormiston, 1988). In an interview in Positions, Derrida argues that différance ensures that no sign is ever simply “present in and of itself . . . Nothing, neither among the elements nor within the system, is anywhere ever simply present or absent. There are only, everywhere, differences and traces of traces” (1981, p. 26). Begam (1992) highlights how for Derrida, différance is simultaneously both the common ground which joins opposing terms and is also the irreducible difference that separates them (p. 873). Anderson (2006) notes that in Derridean epistemology, the other is present within the sign through the movement of différance as deferral.

The Derridean economy of différance, trace and supplementarity is the principle which fissures, fractures and subverts the boundaries and order of Manichean metaphysical logocentric structures through the logic of contamination, dissemination and reinscription (Derrida 1981, 1982, 1998). Differences, in this context, are produced in a contradictory double movement which while apparently upholding distinction also collapses it into similarity. This redoubling of difference is made possible through the play and function of trace and supplement. In the essay “Différance” in Margins of Philosophy (1982), Derrida contends that closure of metaphysics can be resisted through the notion of trace. Trace is viewed as the irreducible imprint or mark of the repressed other within the self. In his essay “Violence and Metaphysics” in Writing and Difference (1990), Derrida characterizes the trace as the impossible, the unthinkable, the incomprehensible or the unsayable within the self which undermines logocentric structures of presence. In Of Grammatology, Derrida defines trace as that which “cannot be thought without thinking the retention of difference within a structure of reference where difference appears as such and thus permits a certain liberty of variations among the full terms”

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(1998, pp. 46‐47). Thus trace involves a form of conceptual or historical dependence between the present and absent concepts leading to the dismantling of logocentric binary categories, distinct identities and irreducible alterity and the recuperation of voices that have been silenced and excluded in metaphysical thought (Balkin, 1990; Bernasconi, 1998; Royle, 2003). Goodspeak‐Chadwick also observes that for Derrida différance constitutes meaning and identities through an interplay of “difference (differ) and distinction (deferral)” (2006, p. 6) with the result that trace and absence become part of the sign and part of presence (Anderson, 2006, p. 410).

Under the influence of the deconstructive concepts of différance and trace, the supplement is thus no longer viewed as a marginal and inessential term or an auxiliary and useless appendage which in fact impedes access to presence and full meaning. Instead for Derrida, the supplement is indispensible to the center and forms its very condition of possibility. The supplement or the marginalized term is in fact seen as exposing and compensating for a lack at the very origin of the central term. Similarly, in Margins of Philosophy (1982), Derrida highlights that deconstruction critiques and displaces binary oppositions by showing how the central term in the hierarchy cannot be explained except with reference to the non‐privileged marginal term (p. 329). Royle (2003) elaborates that deconstruction alters, transforms, destabilizes and contaminates conceptual categories through the logic of parasitism whereby the original is shown to be haunted by the supplement (p. 50). The logic of supplement corrupts the dichotomies themselves by showing how the secondary term leaves its trace without being totally present or absent. In Of Grammatology (1998), Derrida characterizes supplement as an element of substitution and addition which infiltrates presence and results in “the splitting of the self” (p. 163). As a matter of fact, the supplement is at the very origin of presence and generates ambiguity, undecidability and plenitude in relation to the originary term and supplementarity becomes a disruptive site (1998, p. 144). The concepts of supplement and trace dominate Derrida’s discussion of the pharmakon, i.e., the ambivalent and shifting status of marginalized entities in conceptual oppositions such as speech/writing, remedy/poison and good/bad that destabilizes the Western metaphysics of presence by highlighting an incongruity or a rupture (1998).

The concepts of différance, trace and supplement enable Derrida to highlight how the other is never completely erased. Rather it is only deferred and put under erasure and can always erupt to subvert and destabilize conceptual categories. Wortham (2010) observes that Derrida

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sees the supplement and the trace as the heterogeneous repressed other and “non‐present remainder which exceeds all structures and systems while making them possible” (p. 32). Reynolds (2001) highlights how in the Derridean conception of alterity, the other is always already within the self and the self encroaches upon the other. Otherness thus becomes an expression of mutually interdependent differences.

Based on Derrida’s conceptual chain of différance, trace and supplement and on his radical revision of the concept of alterity, Balkin (1990) repositions and reinterprets binary oppositions as nested oppositions to highlight that the terms in the conceptual relationship are connected not only in a relationship of difference and distinction, but also in a relationship of similarity and dependence. He observes, “A nested opposition is a conceptual opposition each of whose term contains the other, or each of whose terms shares something with the other” (p. 8). He argues that deconstructive argument reveals “similarities where before we saw only differentiation” (p. 8). He further highlights how the deconstructive concepts of différance and trace help to describe the mutual dependence and differentiation of concepts. Thus redefinition of the notion of alterity under the effects of supplementarity, trace and différance enables deconstructionists to show how the terms in the binary are in fact inseparable and how each signifier carries a mark of its other which completes its identity and value. In this way deconstruction seeks not merely to invert, rather to corrupt and contaminate the hierarchy in which the two terms operate in a continuous movement which is a multi‐dimensional movement and not a dialectical interaction (Derrida, 2002; Reynolds, 2001). This enables deconstructive readings to challenge dualistic thinking and to show how identities as shaped in structures of interdependencies and overlapping. In a similar vein Anderson (2006) terms différance as the “middle voice” or “the between of all oppositions” which opens a space for alterity, difference and otherness, which has been suppressed by logocentric culture and morality, to operate (p. 417).

Textual Analysis

The current research aims to explore and identify a space of différance, trace and supplementarity in the selected works of contemporary postmodern fantasy literature which functions to undermine logocentric ethnocentric and racist thought and its attending hierarchical binary structures and prejudices. For this purpose, the focus of analysis will be on highlighting how the real and magical, which view each other in terms of a dialectical conception of alterity and as distinct communities with different cultural and ethnic traditions and even

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separate racial origins, are in fact co‐dependent, permeate one another and carry a trace of the other. The analysis will attempt to foreground how real and magical can be viewed as forming a nested opposition in which both categories share a relationship of distinction as well as dependence and in which the trace of the other is not merely an inessential extra. Rather supplementarity in this case forms the very condition of possibility of each category. It will be argued that this pluralistic space of dissemination, contamination and overlapping shaped by the forces of différance, supplement and trace enable these postmodern texts to interrogate and deconstruct logocentric thought, to subvert and dismantle the Manichean dialectic of self and other which materializes in the form of ethnocentric and racist prejudices, and to support a liberatory politics in which the voice of the marginalized is recovered.

An analysis of the The Fellowship of the Ring and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone shows that the real and magical are portrayed as distinct communities with their own cultural customs and traditions and histories. In Tolkien’s text, hobbits, elves, dwarves and men are present as separate distinctive racial communities. The hobbits are shown as an agrarian community, fond of a leisurely existence of eating and merry making, with no interest in scholarly pursuits or learning. On the whole, the hobbits are presented as a somewhat uncouth, childish, simple and care‐free community. The elves, on the other hand, are depicted as a refined and wise community with a long tradition of learning. They are presented as imposing and awe‐inspiring figures and are termed as the “elders” in the text. While the hobbits are diminutive and ruddy creatures, the elves are tall, elegant and beautiful. In Rowling’s text, the community of wizards is distinguished from non‐magical people, first and foremost, through their dress. The wizards and witches are shown as wearing bright colored cloaks, coats and top hats which set them apart from the non‐magical community. Furthermore, the wizards and non‐magical community have their own distinctive monetary currencies, schools, ministries, sports and historical traditions and myths. In both the texts, the figures representing the real and the magical communities are shown to be ignorant of the traditions of the other community and rely on reductive stereotypes to characterize the other.

A close reading of the two texts reveals that the characters belonging to both the real and the magical communities are conditioned by logocentric metaphysical epistemology and a Manichean dialectic of self and other in which the alterity of the other is viewed as irreducible and absolute. This is reflected in the ethnocentric and racist prejudices prevalent in both communities. An analysis of The Fellowship of the Ring

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(2011) and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (1998) shows prejudice, suspicion and distrust harbored by the human society against magic which is considered to be a dangerous detractor from reality and normality and hence truth and authenticity. Thus the characters existing in the non‐magical real world view their cultural norms and way of life as normal, rational and acceptable. Magic, on the other hand, is associated with deviance, the unexpected and dangerous. This is reflected in the hostility directed towards Bilbo in The Fellowship of the Rings (2011) who undertakes mysterious adventures, consorts with “outlandish folks” of different races such as elves, dwarves and wizards and fails to conform to the familiar patterns of behavior of the hobbit’s society (p. 24). Consequently, he is viewed as “queer” (p. 24), “mad” (p. 31) and “peculiar” (p. 21). Likewise, the hobbits regard Gandalf as “a nuisance and a disturber of the peace” (p. 41). A similar distrust of other communities and an ethnocentric prejudice is reflected in Frodo’s comments to Gandalf, “I didn’t know that any of the Big people were like that. I thought, well, that they were just big, and rather stupid: kind and stupid like Butterbur; or stupid and wicked like Bill Ferny” (p. 220). The author also comments on how the hobbits regarded anyone who lived outside the borders of Shire as “outsiders” and considered them as “dull and uncouth” (p. 150).

Similarly in Rowling’s text, the Dursleys also view the world of the wizards and witches, which is different from their own “normal” existence, with hostility and suspicion and consider them “strange,” “mysterious” and “peculiar” (1998, pp. 7, 8). The Dursleys had disowned their relations with the Potters on account of the fact that the Potters were wizards and their hostility towards the wizarding community at large is reflected in Uncle Vernon’s remark, “The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind” (p. 61). As a matter of fact, the Dursleys view magic as a dangerous supplement or an inessential extra which detracts from the essential purity and truth of reality and is to be stamped out and gotten rid of. Mr. Dursley terms magic as “dangerous nonsense” (p. 49) and tells Hagrid that “We swore when we took him [Harry] in we’d put a stop to that rubbish . . . swore we’d stamp it out of him” (p. 47).

A similar metaphysical hierarchy of us and them governs the thinking of the wizards and other magical folk present in both the texts which results in racial and ethnic prejudice. In The Fellowship of the Ring (2011), hobbits are viewed as ineffectual diminutive creatures that are overlooked by all the bigger and more powerful races of elves, wizards and men. The wizards and elves are regarded as wise and powerful masters of lore and learning. Even men, in the form of Aragon and Boromir, who are

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mighty lords and kings, are viewed as inferior to elves and wizards on account of their mortality. The indifferent and condescending attitude of the elves towards the hobbits is reflected in Gildor’s statement to Frodo, “But we have no need of other company, and hobbits are so dull” (p. 80). Even Gandalf, the wizard who specializes in hobbit lore, talks of them in patronizing terms and terms them as “charming, absurd, helpless . . . kind, jolly and stupid” (p. 49).

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (1998) a similar sense of superiority shapes the consciousness of the wizards belonging to the magical world who view Muggles or non‐magic individuals as “stupid” and dumb (p. 13). This translates into a dangerous racist prejudice against the non‐magical community with wizards such as the Malfoys deriding the Muggles and people of mixed racial origin as inferior and impure. An attitude of racist and ethnocentric prejudice is reflected in Malfoys’ query from Harry about his parents, “But they were our kind, weren’t they?” (p. 66). Logocentric essentialist and purist thinking is reflected in Malfoy’s remark when he says about Muggles, “I really don’t think they should let the other sort in, do you? They’re just not the same, they’ve never been brought up to know our ways . . . I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families” (p. 66). Hence metaphysical logocentric thought governed by dualistic patterns engenders intolerance and contempt for the other that results in a vile atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust. Otherness is thus viewed through the lens of logocentrism and is marked as irreconcilable alterity and inferiority.

Ethnocentric and racist prejudices arising from logocentric thought and structures of alterity result in an estrangement and enmity between the communities of magic and real in both the texts. In The Fellowship of the Ring (2011) this can be seen in the hostility between the race of elves and dwarfs and the gradual distancing between elves and men of the West at the start of the text. It is revealed that the last alliance between men and elves had been formed several ages ago to counter the threat from the dark overlord Sauron. However, the death of Gil‐galad and Elendil in the war against Sauron and the consequent murder of Isildur and the dwindling of his line resulted in the distance between the realm of elves and men to grow. A similar hostility is shown to exist between dwarfs and elves. Likewise, there is little interaction between hobbits and elves with the exception of Bilbo and to a lesser extent with Frodo. As a matter of fact, the places of habitation of these different races can be said to function as relatively self‐contained and stable signifiers insulated from the contamination of the outside world and other signifiers. Thus the Shire has clearly defined borders which are seldom crossed by outsiders and

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inhabitants alike. Likewise, Rivendell and Lothlorien are presented as insulated timeless unchanging islands unaffected by the events and concerns of other inhabitants of Middle Earth. Similarly, in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (1998) Voldermort is shown as having initiated a battle and raised an army to kill all Muggles and to create a domain of a pure race of wizards. Tthe wizards supporting Voldemort’s cause, such as the Malfoys, are shown as harboring deep resentment towards non‐magical humans. Furthermore, there is an attempt to keep the world of magic concealed from outsiders. The wizards make use of a number of charms and spells to conceal their existence from the common people. According to Hagrid the “main job” of the ministry of magic “is to keep it from the Muggles that there’s still witches and wizards up an’ down the country” (p. 57).

A close reading of the two fictional texts reveals the existence of a space of différance, supplementarity and trace which reveals cracks and fissures in the metaphysical structures that produce estrangement between the two communities. Instead real and magical are shown to be present in each other as an irreducible trace and supplement and the play of différance reproduces and generates differences through a double movement of similarity and distinction. In this way, the real and magical are recast as a nested opposition based on interdependence, mingling and overlapping.

The world of magic presented by Tolkien and Rowling bears a close resemblance and affinity with the real non‐magical world. As a matter of fact, the magical realm imagined by the writers is firmly grounded in reality and several parallels with the real world can be traced in all of its structural aspects. Thus in keeping with the economy of différance, a relationship of difference and sameness is discernible between these two conceptual realms which renders them indistinguishable in many ways. The chain of signifiers and signifieds of real and magical in the two texts constantly differ as well as refer to each other and resists closure which is necessary for metaphysical binary hierarchies to emerge.

Tolkien’s Middle‐Earth is inhabited by both magical and non‐magical people. Wizards, elves, orcs, balrogs, dragons and anthropomorphic animals represent the magical realm and dwarfs, hobbits and men represent the non‐magical realm associated with the commonplace and the real. The world of all inhabitants of Middle‐Earth, both magical and non‐magical, is based on a similar agrarian existence. Furthermore, the communal life of the elves with their loyalty to their lord and lady mirrors the tribal and feudal structure found in the society of

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men, hobbits and dwarfs. The bonds of kinship, loyalty and friendship, deeds of heroism and valor, tales of romance, the love of feasting and music, presented in relation to the elves are elements that bind them with men, hobbits and dwarfs. Permeability and impermanence of borders erected to keep out other species is a recurrent theme in the text. Thus Gildor says to Frodo

But it is not your own Shire . . . Others dwelt here before hobbits were; and others will dwell here again when hobbits are no more. The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot forever fence it out. (p. 83)

Likewise the magical world of Hogwarts, which Rowling delineates in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (1998), is also unrecognizable without reference to the non‐magical British world and society portrayed in the text. As a matter of fact it exists only in relation to the real world and mirrors the institutional structures, cultural norms and linguistic patterns of the non‐magical real world. The real as a trace in the magic or as its supplement thus becomes its defining quality and its very condition of possibility and existence. Hogwarts, the location where most of the novel’s action, is modeled and structured on the pattern of English public boarding schools found in the Dursleys’ mundane world of reality. The pattern of the curriculum, instruction and classes, examinations, the division into houses, appointment of prefects, detentions and punishments are common occurrences and commonly recognizable patterns in the everyday life of non‐magical English public school students. Similarly, in Hogwarts we have bullies such as Crabbe and Goyle who prey on and abuse weaker students such as Neville. Even the sport of Quidditch played by the wizards draws its structure on the basis of common sports including football or soccer, basketball and rugby. Although it is played in the air while flying on brooms, it nevertheless has clearly marked defensive and offensive positions involving the manipulation of different balls. It is played using balls and involves goal keeping, scoring and penalties. Harry characterizes Quidditch as, “that’s sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops” (p. 137). Likewise, the bank at Gringotts, while being run by goblins and while having underground vaults protected by dragons, is still run on the same principles of security and deposit as ordinary banks. This portrayal of the magical realm as a world similar to the world associated with real but not identical to it is analogous to the structure of différance and makes the real and magical as a nested opposition instead of a hierarchical metaphysical binary division.

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In The Fellowship of the Ring (2011), in keeping with the logic of différance and nested opposition, the permeation of the real by the magical is shown in the case of wizards such as Gandalf, Saruman and Radgast who are both human and also possess magic. The permeation of the real and the magical can also be seen in the case of the dark riders, nine mortal kings who were given rings of power which not only bestowed upon them immortal life and supernatural powers, but also turned them into shadowy wraiths with no form or shape. The fate of humans, hobbits and dwarfs is shown as being controlled by the power of the one ring shaped by the evil necromancer, Sauron. As a matter of fact, the relative peace in their lands is attributed to the protective magical powers of the elves and wizards who oppose the evil dark lord. In this way, the binary of real and magical is rendered unstable and is shown to be a false construction.

The deconstruction of logocentric structures and the trace of the magical in the real can also be seen at a number of places in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (1998). Here magic is anchored in reality. As a matter of fact the magical world exists within the real or the Muggle world and constantly intervenes in the real world. At the very start of the text, it is reported that people in strange looking clothes appear in the middle of broad daylight in the neighborhood where Uncle Vernon lives and works. Similarly, strange sightings of a shower of comets and meteors and owls flying by day are also reported on the British news channel. Likewise Diagon Alley, which is the wizard marketplace where Harry and Hagrid go to purchase his things, is in the middle of a common London street. Gringotts, the Wizard bank is revealed to be found under London. Similarly, platform 9 ¾ where the children board the train to Hogwarts in also found between platforms 9 and 10 in Victoria Station. Hagrid’s tapping of the wall in Diagon Alley and the consequent dissolution of the wall to reveal the entrance into the magical marketplace and Harry’s running through the wall between the platforms 9 and 10 to enter the magical platform shows the weak and impermanent borders and boundaries between the two categories which are easily penetrable and dissolve without difficulty. Magic is mixed with modern technology in the case of the flying motorbike of Sirius Black.

In a similar manner, magic exists as an indelible trace and supplement in the real world of the Dursleys. The Dursleys define their normality with reference to and in contrast to Potter’s strangeness. Their identity as normal individuals is based on a distinction from the magical world represented by the Potters. As a matter of fact, the Dursleys are shown to be similar to Malfoys in their prejudiced outlook on life and their

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hatred of those who are different from themselves. This affinity is very ironic in the light of the fact that both are shown to be completely against the other world and disavow the very existence of the “other.” The Dursleys are shown as being allergic to any hint of the existence of magic. They completely disown the Potters and when they take in Harry after he is orphaned and left in their care, no mention is made of his parents’ connection with the world of wizards. Likewise the Malfoys, too, consider non‐magical people as being impure and tainted that can be treated as inferior vermin. Their identity cannot be dissociated from the identity of those they wish to disavow. Furthermore, the Dursleys’ obsession with normality and their flight to a remote island in the wake of the letters sent from Hogwarts illustrate the fragility of the boundary they have erected and is an example of the way magic constantly intrudes and overlaps with the real. As a matter of fact, when Uncle Vernon attempts to block the delivery of the letters from Hogwarts to Harry, they keep on multiplying in number. An attempt to contain and suppress the other only results in further dissemination and multiplication of that which is being forbidden and all attempts at maintaining distinct identities are undermined by an inevitable contamination of the self through a mark of the other.

Logocentric attitudes and Manichean binary structures of self and other are closely connected with the desire of domination in both the novels. In The Fellowship of the Rings (2011), Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor, is shown as the primary manifestation of metaphysical supremacist attitude. In his quest for total domination, Sauron forges one ring as the ruling ring to bring all of the free people of the Middle Earth under his control. Likewise, in Rowling’s novel, Lord Voldemort is also shown to be obsessed with power. Quirrell tells Harry, “Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it . . .” (p. 235). In keeping with the logic of deconstruction, it is the marginalized, those who exist as a trace or the supplement in the central or dominant term, that act as a disruptive force to overturn the metaphysical hierarchy.

In both texts, the formation of inter‐communal alliances and friendships represents the pluralist space of différance, trace and supplementarity, which recasts alterity as difference with a similarity, enables deconstruction and dismantling of ethnocentric and racist ideologies of domination, development of inter‐racial and inter‐ethnic understanding, harmony and cooperation and the recovery of the voices of the oppressed and the marginalized. It makes possible the emergence of a pluralistic ethos in which it is impossible to privilege one over the other.

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Furthermore, the texts do not substitute the dismantled metaphysical structures with a new hierarchy.

Thus in The Fellowship of the Ring (2011), Tolkien highlights how the fear of a common enemy, the evil wizard Sauron, who threatens both the magical and non‐magical inhabitants of Middle Earth with enslavement and destruction, forces the Elves, dwarfs, men and hobbits to overcome their differences and prejudices and to unite resulting in the erosion of the division between real and magical. Under the threat of the power of the master ring wielded by the evil wizard Sauron, these different cultural and racial communities, overlook their differences in favor of similarities and form a fellowship and alliance. This fellowship with its eclectic mix of men, wizards, hobbits, elves and dwarfs can be viewed as a hybrid space of différance emerging from a nested opposition where real and magical intermingle to generate a relationship of interdependence and co‐habitation and better understanding. Thus Sam who starts out with a naïve conception of elvish magic as something dangerous and awe‐inspiring, develops a more nuanced understanding of the magical community during the course of his journey. Likewise, the other members of the party develop a deeper appreciation of the courage and resilience of the hobbits. Hence the consciousness of all members of the fellowship, previously governed by logocentric prejudices, undergoes a gradual alteration and they develop enduring friendships in the course of their perilous journey. The dismantling of differences and forging of alliances is reflected in Lady Galadriel’s decision to allow humans, dwarves and hobbits into the secret elvish realm of Lothlorien and in her recognition of the common bonds that tied all the communities together. By recasting alterity as a nested opposition, Tolkien enables the deconstruction of metaphysical hierarchies of ethnocentric and racial prejudice.

Furthermore, by placing the fate of Middle‐Earth in the hands of the hobbits, a diminutive race completely overlooked by the other bigger and more powerful races and cultural communities, Tolkien’s text can be read as a destabilization of power centers and as the recovery of the voice of the marginalized. Thus unlike the ring‐wraiths, powerful kings, who fade away and become enslaved to the will of Sauron under the influence of the magical ring, Gollum, Bilbo and Frodo resist the influence of the ring and prove to be the main hurdle in Sauron’s quest for total domination. As a matter of fact, the quest to destroy the ring proves to be a leveling force and according to the Elven Lord Elrond, “This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong. Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere” (p. 269). Elrond’s

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tribute to Frodo, Bilbo and the hobbits portrays the deconstruction of hierarchies and liberation and celebration of the voice of the weak when he observes

This is the hour of the Shire‐folk, when they arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the Great. Who of all the Wise could have foreseen it? Or, if they are wise, why should they expect to know it, until the hour has struck? (p. 270)

Also in Rowling’s text the characters, who are marginalized and oppressed by racism, class and ethnic hatred and prejudices, spearhead the struggle against Voldemort’s logocentric quest for total domination and erasure of dissent. Consequently Harry, who is a poor orphan without any connections and has a half wizard and a half muggle background, spearheads the resistance against Lord Voldemort and helps to recover the Sorcerer’s stone. As a matter of fact, Harry’s character, who through his lineage and upbringing has a connection with and experience of both the real and magical communities, enables the opening of a plural space of a nested opposition in the text where these prejudices and structures of dialectical alterity can be contested and dismantled. The protagonist Harry, serves as the connection or the vehicle, that enables Rowling to highlight the inevitable overlapping and interconnection between the two worlds of magic and real which are apparently opposed to one another. Rowling makes it clear that Harry would have been unable to succeed in saving the Sorcerer’s stone from Voldemort without the help of his friends Ron, from a poor wizarding family and Hermione who hails from a muggle family. In fact the hurdles that Harry and his friends have to clear in order to reach the philosopher’s stone require both the use of magic as well as reason and intellect. Furthermore, it is the characters, who are on the margins of the magical world and face prejudice and discrimination, like Hagrid, the half‐giant and half‐wizard, and Firenze, the half‐human and half‐horse centaur, who aid Harry in his struggle against the evil Lord Voldemort and emerge as heroic figures. Harry is also protected by the reviled Professor Snape, the head of Gryffindor’s rival house, Slytherin, who counters Quirrell’s spell to throw him off his broom during the Quidditch match. This fellowship or alliance of marginalized figures enables the breakdown of prejudices and normative Manichean categories and structures of alterity and the development of solidarity across ethnic, cultural and class divisions. In the same way Hogwarts, as a place where children from both muggle and non muggle families, and magical species such as centaurs, three headed dogs, unicorns, etc., exist together also functions as a space where some of these prejudices and boundaries

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between the real and the magical, center and margin, superior and inferior, pure and impure, can be broken down. Thus the marginal or the supplementary in the text becomes the site of transgression which undermines metaphysical logocentric structures of domination and estrangement.

Findings and Conclusion

The current study attempted to highlight how the selected postmodern fantasy works of Tolkien and Rowling developed a space in which the play of différance, trace and supplementarity dismantled metaphysical logocentric thought manifested in the form of ethnocentrism and racism through the positing of the real and magic as a nested opposition in which alterity is defined in terms of a double movement of resemblance and difference. A deconstructive reading of the selected texts revealed that by highlighting how magic exists as an essential trace in the real and vice versa and the way in which the supplement becomes the very condition of existence of the self, the two authors revealed that Manichean structures of dialectical alterity, which insist on the absolute otherness of the other, are fictitious and are based on a false opposition. Instead, in the postmodern fantasy novels included in the study, otherness becomes an expression of mutually interdependent differences. Thus the world of the elves and wizards and their destiny and struggles overlap with that of the hobbits, dwarfs and men in The Fellowship of the Rings (2011). Likewise Hogwarts and Diagon Alley are geographically as well as structurally synonymous with the real world of the Dursleys’ and Voldemort’s fight is against both the dissenters within the wizarding world and against non‐magical people. Hence these authors expose the false binary hierarchical relationships between magical and real and dismantle an ethnocentric conception of the cultures which fosters a totalitarian worldview is which alterity is denigrated and marked as inferior and dangerous. This study thus sheds light on the way these postmodern fantasy novels undermine the grammar of logocentrism and open a space for an anti‐racist and anti‐ethnocentric worldview which dismantles the Manichean binary structures that generate exclusion and marginalization. In the process, these texts rehabilitate and recover racial, ethnic and class differences which had been silenced in the essentialist, reductive and normative worldview generated by metaphysical thought and culture.

A close reading of these texts also reveals the way in which these postmodern fantasy works promulgate a pluralist ethos in which multiple voices are permitted and recognized. Thus both Frodo, in The Fellowship of the Ring, and Harry Potter, the protagonist of Rowling’s novel, stand

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against the rigid purist Manichean worldview of Sauron and Voldemort, which creates rigid distinctions and divisions. Frodo becomes the binding figure who holds together members of the various magical and real ethnic and racial communities in a fellowship in which oppositions and differences are transcended in pursuit of the common cause of defeating the evil necromancer Sauron. Similarly, Harry Potter is a descendent of a muggle mother hailing from a non‐magical family, and a pure‐blooded father belonging to a line of wizards. He is familiar with both the real and the magical worlds having been raised by non‐magical relatives and schooled at Hogwarts, an institution in the magical world and having formed a band of friends including wizards, Muggles, half‐giants and centaurs. Consequently, Harry opens a space of redoubling, slippage and supplementarity in which otherness and alterity is constantly reinscribed through structures of trace and supplement and hegemonic binary structures are dismantled.

This space of différance and supplementarity brings to the fore marginalized and excluded voices suppressed by ethnocentric and racist structures. Thus in The Fellowship of the Ring, the unlikely hero is a diminutive hobbit and his friends and in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone the struggle is led by an orphaned boy and his socially stigmatized friends including a boy belonging to a poor family, a girl of non‐magical descent who is derided as inferior and a half‐giant viewed as an oaf and a buffoon. This liberatory space is made possible by the writers’ delineation of a world in which the real and magic is intermingled and interconnected. The economy of the marginal and the supplementarity thus becomes transgressive and a site of disruption which dismantles logocentric structures in the selected texts.

This paper is being written at a time of intercivilizational conflict and the revival of Manichean logocentric metaphysical ethnocentric structures in the wake of 9/11. In the context of the war on terror, discourses of clash of civilizations have attained renewed currency and underpin a global consciousness in which the world is viewed in terms of binary divisions of self and other. In this contemporary climate of suspicion, mistrust and hatred, the self is being valorized and the other is demonized and objectified as dangerous, inferior and irreconcilable, resulting in its stereotyping, essentialization, marginalization and exclusion. In this environment of heroic ethnocentrism, discourses of war are accorded justification through logocentric structures that privilege certain ethnicities and in this way undermine chances of peace and harmony. In the face of a growing atmosphere of hatred and prejudice, postmodern fantasy novels can help develop a grammar of peace,

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understanding and harmony through the opening of counter‐discursive spaces of pluralism where binary structures are dismantled, alterity is embraced, and hegemonic structures of ethnocentrism are deconstructed.

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Understanding Hypertextual Modalities Using Meaning Making Strategies

Mudassar Mahmood Ahmad

Abstract

This qualitative study attempts to understand different meaning making strategies that digital readers employ while they navigate through hypertextual compositions. These online texts are quite in vogue after the emergence of information and communication technologies. The hypertext representation under study is multimodal/multisequential which is conspicuously distinct from the classical traditional texts. This difference occurs at various levels especially the way texts are prepared, presented and explored by their readers, and therefore, a digital hypertext seems to invite noticeably different interactional strategies. These strategies appear to be unlike the way traditional sequential texts are processed for meaning making. An online multimodal hypertext (text with links, images and visuals) was selected and participants were screened for this research. They were engaged to explore the assigned representation after they were given instructional sessions about the nature and features of the text. Qualitative methods were applied for data elicitation with each of the participants. Concurrent and Retrospective think aloud protocols were administered for gaining insights based on subjective understanding. Therefore, the participants were engaged individually and their responses were recorded. Time‐stamp technique was used to record and transcribe participants’ online interactions and these elicited responses were analysed afterward. Furthermore, the participants were interviewed individually to understand the nature of their meaning making strategies. The findings were insightful as the participants applied new meaning making strategies in addition to the traditional ones that they use for print based representations. These strategies highlight their preferred ways of learning as well.

Keywords: multimodality, meaning making strategies, hypertext

Introduction

Language readers employ different reading strategies keeping in view the mode of representation and nature of the text. The importance of this skill amplifies for a (non‐native) reader when the meaning making process is to take place in some foreign language, English in the Pakistani context. English as a language has been a compulsory component at all levels and “Book” as a mode of representation is used for instruction


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purposes. At graduate and postgraduate level, a great number of students, in the discipline of Humanities and Social Sciences, take English as their major.

With the emergence of multimedia technologies and their increasing role in imparting knowledge, the phenomenon of reading per se is undergoing radical changes. This shift is taking place in the creation of texts that are dynamic and creative, in the reading strategies, and in the formation of new readers (Bexten, 2006; Cho, 2014; Hocks, 2003; Hagood, 2003; Saemmer, 2013). Questions are now persistently asked about the future of the books and their historically situated role and association with the readers, especially, with regards to academia. The availability of written material on the World Wide Web and Compact Disks (CDs) not only has given a successful impression to facilitating the readers throughout the globe but redefined the concept attached to the process of reading and meaning making in the English language, as well (Clark & Feldon, 2014). This is because, according to Kerckhove (2002):

The technologies that support or manage language also affect the mind, of necessity, simply because language is a system for the articulation of the mind, a kind of operating system writ large. Language thus entertains a close and intimate relationship with our inmost sensibility and also with both the content and the structure of our minds.

The impact of this change is quite conspicuous in the discipline of English Studies, where books and research dissertations are displayed onscreen defying the tradition of the print culture, and take reading beyond this localized and static reading medium strategy. Computer programs allow the display of hypertext (digitized language with embedded links, images, audio and video clips) on one page that seems to be more interactive and interesting than the printed linear page. As an onscreen virtual text, hypertext is multilinear/multisequential and allows the readers to move through the composition of “graphic, digitized speech, audio recordings, pictures, animation, film clips,” as Verezub et al. (2008) note quoting Conklin, a hypertext theorist.

One of the purposes of research into the phenomenon of digital hypertext reading is to explore the comprehension competence strategies that participants/students employ for their interaction with the hypertext composed in digital environment, and how these reading strategies facilitate meaning making and improve their understanding, and whether the supposed features associated with digital hypertext reading, in actual, facilitate or not in the whole process.

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As far as the electronic forms of reading are concerned, theorists as Cohen (2006), Joly (2002), Joly & Martins (2006) are of the view that they must be conceived in a new manner. This is, perhaps, the most focused aspect of this new form. So, the purpose of my study is to understand the nature of this conception, and assess what new meaning making strategies are employed for this purpose.

Research Question

What new meaning making strategies in addition to text processing are used by advanced L2 readers in hypertext representations?

Literature Review

Flexible Nature of Reading

For digital hypertext readers, the phenomena of interactive reading emerge as a fluid journey within text. The freedom to choose one’s reading paths, at one level, makes the act of reading flexible. Foltz (1996) notes:

A hypertext provides more flexibility to the reader in choosing where to go in the text. A hypertext also provides the reader with more methods to employ in order to find the relevant information in the text and to move through the different sections of the text. (p. 5)

Foltz analyzes this aspect at processing and methodological levels. Cho (2014) noted that the digital readers construct the meanings consciously knowing the difference in the reading practices. For some of the learners these meaning making interactions are flexible, yet not encouraging (Jeong, 2012; Young, 2014). Making a comparative analysis of the operational features of classical and digital text, Brody (2000) notes:

A linear text, with specified start and end points, is a stable text. The matrix in which electronic text floats is quite different—a flexible environment that allows multiple layers and n‐dimensional reading variants. It is this polyvalent ability to enter, amend, and exit the text in a nonlinear fashion that defines hypertextuality. (p. 146)

The content of hypertext representation does not move from page to page in a sequence. Even the structures refute the coherence from one portion to the other (Saemmer, 2014). The text does not render it necessary to avoid skipping, rather, as Roche (2004) observes: “We do not simply progress through the text. We take detours and may or may not return. In many cases one may circle back to certain passages without having read other passages” (p. 176).

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Thus, the reading of hypertext implies liberty that a reader enjoys during his/her interaction with the text. A hypertext representation does not make reading of each information passage mandatory; it rather permits a flexible nature of reading that is adjusted with the reading goals of the reader (cf. Cho, 2014).

Hypertext Enhances/Impedes Boundaries of Reading

Like other contentious issues regarding digital hypertext representations, the question whether hypertext form of representation enhances “conceptual boundaries of reading” or not, is again of obvious dispute. To know the essence of this phenomenon, the conceptual boundaries of reading need to be defined, and this conception in itself is controversial for the advocates of printed and hypertext theorists because of differing composition, presentation and accessing patterns. So, it would be unwise to examine hypertextual reading patterns from the traditional printed text reading practices and vice versa. Hence, the conceptual boundaries of reading would also be distinctly defined.

Many of the hypertext authors unequivocally see a difference in the meaning making process with regard to opposing textual representations (cf. Altun, 2003; Bell, 2010; Carusi, 2004; Hinesley, 2007; Jeong, 2012; Stoop et al., 2013). However, commentators relate confronting opinions about hypertexts and the enhancement of conceptual boundaries of reading at the structural and interactional level. For Landow (1997), hypertext broadens the reader’s concept about text, and he observes that, “hypertext links one passage of verbal discourse to images, maps, diagrams, and sound as easily as to another verbal passage, it expands the notion of text beyond the solely verbal” (p. 3).

There is a fundamental relationship of the textual structure with the interactional nature of the text. Thus, the notion of conceptual boundaries of reading is closely associated with these two features. Seeing the fluid nature of the processes of reading, it would be futile to ignore these two perspectives. Examining hypertext from the perspectives of choosing links, Roche (2004) argues that these new environments “may also mean the diminution of the reader,” that may produce a passive reader unlike traditional representations, where a reader “is actively thinking and imagining while reading a printed book” (p. 196). However, Ryan (2006) conversely observes that these choices of links, if used pragmatically, make the experience for the reader “more pleasurable, or the more aesthetically valuable” (p. 123). Carpenter (2006) also notes that in digital circumstances, enriched meaning making experiences emerge, and further observes that, “The use of interactive computer hypertext technology enhances and provokes the focus and purpose of art

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instruction and learning to be more expansive and personally relevant than previous traditional methods of teaching” (p. 150).

Disorientation while Reading

Digital hypertext, with all its advantageous features, also faces charges such as disorientation and “getting lost” while interacting with the text that may result in poor comprehension. For Miall & Dobson (1998), this “disorientation is often attributed to readers’ inability to locate themselves spatially within a hypertext” (p. 2), and consequently, the reader feels lost. Thus, it is considered as a primary discomforting factor which is supposed to turn the computer‐mediated text into a maze (cf. Altun, 2003, Jeong, 2012; Stoop et al., 2014). Schneider (2005) examines disorientation from the cognitive theory perspective, and defines it as, “an inability to establish a satisfactory situation model quickly that will then serve as a framework in which the episode is expected to take place, providing a sort of skeleton structure to be fleshed out by further information” (pp. 200‐ 201).

There can be many forms of disorientation, for example, on the part of system design, hypertext author or even the reader (cf. Cho, 2014; Hammond & Allinson, 1989; Jeong, 2012). Theng (1996) considers some of the forms of disorientation are on the part of the reader as s/he feels caught up in a maze. In this case, he finds that

In general, the "lost in hyperspace" phenomenon refers to any of the following conditions: users cannot identify where they are; users cannot return to previously visited information; users cannot go to information believed to exist; users cannot remember what they have covered; and users cannot remember the key points covered. (p. 1)

Disorientation of the reader is therefore, a widely noted phenomenon, and critics give it weightage in the process of meaning making using hypertext. Parr (2001) also points out that, “we have surely observed it in our students: the phenomenon of entering into a hypertextual environment and losing orientation, or losing confidence, or just ‘losing it’ ” (p. 238). However, some commentators argue that it is a problem less with the structure and more with the readers’ little experience using digital hypertext (cf. Cohen, 2006, p. 170; Lavagnino, 1995, p. 109). On the surface, a hypertext seems to be very useful for the reader; however, Theng (1996) contradicts this supposition and expresses his opinion that, “the more useful a hypertext, the sooner a user gets so distracted he gets lost!” It is Graff (2005) who urges readers to be wary of such situations that are specifically caused by the structure.

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New Strategies of Text Processing

Applying McLuhan’s (1964) credo “the medium is the message” to the new environments, it reveals that not only the meanings get changed but the processing strategies also need to be refashioned to comprehend the meanings. New terms like “interaction, associational, analogy, network” have appeared in the limelight for the theorists of social sciences and humanities (Hunter, 1999, p. 107). Because of the emergence of new features in textual presentation digital texts are explored differently for meaning making (Cho, 2014; Jeong, 2012; Saemmer, 2014). So, digital hypertext should be looked at with “new eyes” as the differences exist at the processing terrain. Chartier (2004) expounds the proceedings as he notes:

A text is always conveyed by a specific materiality: the written object upon which it is copied or printed; the voice that reads, recites, or otherwise utters it; the performance that allows it to be heard. Each of these forms of publication is organized in its own unique fashion, and each form, in different ways, influences how meaning is produced. (p. 147)

Thus all these features that, as Chartier mentions, employ different processing methods, so digital hypertext requires new meaning making strategies for multimodal language (re)presentations. Linguistic cues, images or icons, displayed on the interface, assist a reader as to how to navigate through the representational medium to achieve general or specific reading goals. Maps, flashing or blinking “eye candy,” and node titles, all overtly define the structural design of the digital hypertext (cf. Foltz, 1993, p. 58). These cues help a reader to navigate the hypertextual material and process it comfortably but in a new context (cf. Cohen, 2006, p. 174). Roche (2004) notes the same aspect in these words, “The electronic medium with its supporting materials affects not only the extent to which the text is intelligible but also the way the mind of the reader or student processes it” (p. 197). The intelligibility of the content language, thus, is dependent not only on the textual‐stylistic elements but also on the textual reflections and processes prompted by the new medium.

Reading strategies define the trajectory to achieve a predetermined reading task (Jeong, 2012; Mazzali & Schulz, 2004; Rich, 2008). A reader may set these reading tasks by himself/herself or they can be given by the teacher. Using specific strategies also reflect “the amount of information a reader accesses from a particular text” (Salmeron et al., 2005, p. 176). Given their primacy of nature, it is of pivotal importance to investigate the use of these strategies thoroughly that have not been

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properly analyzed yet (Rimrott, 2001). Owing to a variety of intricate factors (such as, the nature of the text, the purpose of interaction, and the reader’s prior/background knowledge) involved in selecting the right strategy, it becomes “harder to determine what information a subject has read and the subjects' motivations for choosing the particular information from the text” (Foltz, 1996, p. 9).

A reader with low prior knowledge of the content or the text structure may “improvise” (Batali, 1988) some of his/her reading tactics. It is because s/he may not have experienced it earlier so such steps seem to be the “immediate reactions to an issue that had arisen” (Taylor & Self, 1990, p. 308). Rich (2008) refers to a university professor Elizabeth Moje who states that, “students are developing new reading skills that are neither taught nor evaluated in school.” She actually refers to the new reading environments where students unconsciously devise new reading patterns. Cohen (2006) examines these new electronic reading environments, and makes certain suggestions for reading strategies:

New comprehension processes are required for these electronic text environments. Readers must constantly self‐monitor as they go through these interactive texts to ensure that they understand what the author means, and also to figure out what their role is in the interactive process, and if they feel comfortable in contributing to the interaction. (p. 171)

Protopsaltis & Bouki (2005) observe the reading processes and note that a reader chooses the reading content, and also what to skim and when to ignore some information, and even the speed of the whole interaction that constitutes the reading strategies employed by a reader (p. 161). In another study, Cho (2014) notes that the learners employ different meaning making strategies than those of the print‐based text and it is because of the textual setting that requires these strategies.

Methodology

This experimental and phenomenological study warrants its own methodology and methods of collection, analysis and interpretation to be applied to data for gaining an understanding of the phenomenon of meaning making and comprehension competence in/through language. This new study is meant to highlight the role of interactive digital hypertext and its implications for the non‐native students in the process of using language for meaning making and, nonetheless, the findings and insights/knowledge would substantiate how to incorporate and/or create these new environments in the existing experiences of non‐native English language learners. This section provides methodological details comprising

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all the necessary features for understanding cognitive processing and reading comprehension of digital hypertext.

For this purpose, an experiment was designed, and students/participants studying at Master’s level in the Department of English Studies, National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad campus, were engaged. The reason for selecting NUML as research context for this study is its status as one of the leading language teaching universities not only in Pakistan but in South Asia as well. With respect to the level of the participants, it is assumed that the students at this level have adequate knowledge of English language and literature since they have qualified the university admission criteria in the discipline of English Studies and have already attained 14 years of education with English as a compulsory subject. However, to ascertain this assumption, the participants were screened by applying three parameters. It is pertinent to mention here that the elicited research data in the multimodal form regarding participants’ responses can be viewed and accessed on the website www.mudassar‐ahmad.com which is designed especially for the research purpose.

Qualitative Approach and Methods

This study applies qualitative approach and integrates different methods during the research (Bazeley, 2010; Bazeley, n.d.; Halcomb & Andrew, 2009; Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2006). The purpose of adopting this approach is the phenomenological nature of the study which elicits subjective responses from the participants followed by qualitative analysis. Sydenstricker‐Neto (1997) prefers this design because it is “likely to increase the quality of final results and to provide a more comprehensive understanding of analyzed phenomena.” Thus, these methods complement each other by “adding more depth to the information.”

Creswell (2003) favors using different methods because it helps understanding the details and nature of the phenomena as well as its generalization for other studies. Johnson and Onwuegbuzie (2004) observe that the application of more than one method in a specific approach has the potential to reduce the problems that arise otherwise, and the researchers are “more likely to select methods and approaches with respect to their underlying research questions” set for the study. Maxwell and Loomis (2003) argue that a variety of methods produces “broader and more interactive concept of research design,” and presents it as an alternative approach. Thus, for these researchers/theorists, this design is preferable as it emphasizes the importance of integration at various levels.

New environments invite carefully chosen methods to understand and comprehend the phenomena of meaning making because of the

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distinct change in the nature of the texts and the displaying media. In this connection, Gocsik (2009) very aptly observes that, “our students are engaging in increasingly diverse discourses, delivered to them by increasingly varied media . . . where information is constructed via text, hypertext, video, and audio.” Being aware of this emerging perspective, Concurrent Think‐Aloud (CTA), Semi‐Structured Interviews (SSI), Retrospective and Reflexive Think‐Aloud (RRTA) were used. The application of these methods/techniques served the purpose of producing authentic and valid data for further analysis.

The participants were engaged with Hamlet on the Ramparts (a project of Peter Donaldson, Department of English Studies, and run under Massachusetts Institute of Technology). He has reconstructed the original Shakespearean text Hamlet (Act I, Scene V) adding the visual and image links along with the hyperlinked language content on the same page, and thus the emergent text can be termed as hypertextual transposition (Mazzali & Schulz, 2004). This is a multimodal/multisequential digital hypertext that apparently seems to differ from the traditional printed language text in design, construction, presentation and interaction.

For this study, 10 participants were engaged. Researchers (Cho, 2014; Coiro, 2007; Foltz, 1993) have conducted such qualitative studies with less than ten participants applying think‐aloud protocol. They were selected on the basis of their performance in the screening session prior to this experiment. For this study, Camtasia/Debut Video Capture recording software was used to record and save the details of the interaction/exploration of the text by the participants. Instructions were given to the students/participants about the nature of multimodal digital hypertext and the potential freedom that a reader is speculated/supposed to experience in the selection of the links, and they were given a demonstration thereafter.

This assigned multi‐representational digital hypertext constitutes the actual text with links, images and video clips, so, the purpose was to understand and assess the application of new meaning making strategies in the new reading environments. The participants/readers attempted to engage themselves meaningfully, and it was interesting to note the difference of this activity from the traditional sequential reading patterns with which these readers are quite familiar.

Concurrent Think Aloud (CTA)

The participants were engaged for 30 minutes in this CTA session. They were familiar with the protocol of this strategy. Their responses and real‐time interactions were recorded using screen recording softwares.

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Figure 1: Multimodal Digital Hypertext with Hyperlink Language and Image Mode on the Right

Semi‐Structured Interviews (SSI)

After the CTA session, 10 participants were engaged for Semi‐Structured Interviews. A questionnaire for this SSI session was prepared to elicit data. These responses were recorded using JetAudio software so that they could be subsequently transcribed for analysis. The multimodal language of the given hypertext was presented quite distinctly than that of the sequentially languaged traditional text. Hence, these interviews were meant to explore the readers’ perception of the digital hypertext transposition and the way they explored the hypertext for meaning making in language.

Retrospective and Reflexive Think Aloud (RRTA)

Retrospective and reflexive think‐ aloud protocol was used to elicit participants’ responses. Their earlier performance on concurrent think‐aloud was recorded using audio recorder and screen recording softwares. They were again asked for retrospection as they were shown important chunks of their performance with this multimodal text. Some theorists call this method stimulated retrospection because of the involvement of visual material (Guan et al., 2006). For this purpose, cues were already taken for this session from the SSI and CTA sessions. This was done to understand

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their different choices for reading in a non‐linear way through language of multimodal digital hypertext, Hamlet on the Ramparts.

Data Analysis

Concurrent Think Aloud

Before starting the CTA session, each of the participants was provided information and training about the assigned digital hypertext that consists of digitized language with 56 embedded hyperlinks for meanings, 94 images and 3 visuals. The participants were engaged individually and each of the participants was given 30 minutes for interaction while producing concurrent verbal responses. According to Block (1986), these verbal responses are based on the thoughts that “wander or rush through the minds of readers, the searches and struggles for meaning, the reflections and associations, are hidden from the outside observer. Yet, this struggle and search for control are the core of reading comprehension” (p. 463). Furthermore, a time log sheet was developed to keep the time record of the participants’ interaction in the session.

Reading Strategies

The reading strategies used by the research participants are more varied and extensive than those employed in the traditional reading setting. The application of these reading strategies also reflects the readers’ cognitive processes (Yang, 2006). During the analysis and interpretation of the responses, new categories were identified under the theme of general reading strategies. It is, because of the digital hypertext, which is unlike a print‐based text that requires “new” reading techniques for meaning making.

One of the participants, AI tried to construct meanings using the three representational modes. He also compared the way representations present the textual language and the difference of effect. While using this strategy, he defined his interactive path for the meaning making activity:

First I saw the movie and then I was looking at the pictures and the text. Now, I was imaging the pictures in my mind as well and what I see from the text and I was corresponding them with the images, I was given in the session. (Pt. 30, 30:25)

The participants during their Concurrent Think Aloud session many times revealed their reading strategies and, as mentioned earlier, these are quite different from the reading strategies the readers use while interacting with the traditional print‐based texts. It is, because of the intrinsic structure of the digital hypertext that provides space for multimodality. One of the

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participants, FS revealed his reading strategy, and how it impacts the hypertext user’s language comprehension and textual understanding. He was of the view that watching the visual first, before reading the text, had influenced his thought process, and he observed:

Now here the difference is that I have watched the movie before going through this text so I think that, that movie is influencing or framing my thought. I mean to say that my imagination has been made limited by that particular movie and as I am going through the text, and in the background of my mind, I must say, I am having that movie. So, that movie is influencing or you can say it is mediating in my thought process, in my power of imagination . . . Had it not been there, probably I’d have got different sort of, you can say, the feelings and sentiments which are being shown here by Hamlet as well as the ghost. (Pt. 31, 07:55)

Another participant AI spoke about his reading strategy when he made critical comments on what the image depicted and compared it with the language of the text (Pt. 30, 26:52, 27:26, 29:02). The participant tried to combine the effect of the different representational modes to make one mental image of the visuals, images and the textual language in order to understand it thoroughly (Pt. 30, 30:25). Thus, from some of the participants’ responses, it was noted that the inclusion of the image mode was helpful for understanding the hypertext content. Participant SK said in this context that, “I can see a full image and the words are also legible, I can read the dialogues as well. This is of help. Now while you are reading the play, these illustrations help you along” (Pt. 9, 16:11).

After reading the text, ZI wanted to see the images so as to assess his understanding about the digitized language. He considered the visual not a separate mode but a representation of the textual language, and explained his interaction:

I got the idea, of the main idea of this, the whole text. Now I want to confirm that whether what I perceived is right or wrong. And after the art I would go to film for the same purpose that whether what I got is right or there is something missing. (Pt. 24, 15:14)

Another participant, HN preferred certain images to some other hyperlinked images because of the colors that attracted his attention. In his CTA responses, he said, “more interesting for me is image number 3 because it has colors. So colors always attract the person. That’s why I skipped image number 2 and chose number 3” (Pt. 25, 27:55). While

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interacting and producing CTA responses, there are insights for the web designers also to prepare and present such quality images that attract the attention of the viewers.

For some of the participants, prior reading of the content language facilitates the watching of the clip for a non‐native participant. It is because the delivered dialogues of a native actor might be fast for the non‐native viewers, and that might cause difficulty in listening comprehension. Thus, the reading strategy of these participants serves to clarify the textual meanings using visuals. Participant HR, in this context, stated, “I am able to understand because I have already read the text so it is easy to understand otherwise delivery is fast” (Pt. 16, 16:10).

During the CTA session, participant ZS explained his reading strategy which was quite different from the print‐based text because the assigned digital hypertext was innately multimodal and seemed to enrich the meaning of the textual language. He expressed that he was “trying to relate that image with the text so how it can enhance the meaning from the visual effect to the textual effect” (Pt. 26, 20:55). It was further noted during the analysis of reading strategies that when a participant likes some representational mode, s/he spends more time on that mode which is a reflection of her/his reading strategy.

In the Concurrent Think Aloud session, the participants expressed general reading strategies as well as linguistic strategies while interacting with the digital hypertext. Thus, some of the participants reflected their reading strategy when they preferred one interactional mode over the other for starting interaction. Some of the participants reflected categories as clarifying meanings of digital hypertext using hyperlinks, clarifying hypertext meanings using image mode, and clarifying hyperlinked text using visual mode.

The participants, in their CTA responses, expressed many categories relating to linguistic strategies along with the general reading strategies. These linguistic strategies reflect new patterns of interaction with the digital hypertext because of its composition in the “new” environment. Since the assigned hypertext contains the vocabulary of old English, therefore, participant AA went through the lines many times to comprehend the text. He confessed that he was “reading it again and again in order to understand. I can’t get its meanings because it is full of . . . old vocabulary” (Pt. 28, 00:21). Thus, according to Block (1986), participants use this linguistic strategy to comprehend the text. Not only AA, but another participant, ZI found the hypertextual language difficult to grasp the meaning, therefore, rereading of the textual representation

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facilitates comprehension. For him, “The language is a bit difficult of this text, no doubt, is very difficult” (Pt. 24, 06:15).

Participant AI found the images contradicting the language in the text, thus raising questions about multiple layers of meanings while reading hypertext which is multimodal. He also questioned the image representations which is his linguistic strategy (cf. Block, 1986). He jumped between the images and made critical comments on the presentation and compared one image with the other image and also with the textual language about the scene (Pt. 30, 21:01). At another place, he said, “the picture shows that . . . he is bowing down as well, he is showing respect. On the other hand the dialogue shows that he doesn’t want to go further so it’s a clashing image making contradictions” (Pt. 30, 10:31).

Participant AI also informed that the language in the clips was spoken so fast that he could not grasp the content. He used a linguistic strategy by questioning the language and pronunciation of the visuals to understand the clip. To his astonishment, “I found the clips a little fast for me. Sometimes, it was very slow, it was understandable, sometimes it was very fast, the dialogues were spoken very fast as if a child is scramming something” (Pt. 30, 05:11).

Participant AI critically evaluated the language spoken by the actor in the visuals and then compared it with the understanding he gleaned after reading the hyperlinked language. He questioned the words, tone, and expressions of the characters performing in the visuals, and then compared it with what he thought about these aspects before watching. To him:

In the movie that I saw “murder” was pronounced with certain anger, the way that showed his feelings. From the fact, this [word] murder is more like a question mark, it should be soft, the suspense I feel, rather, of pronouncing with aggressiveness, it should be more soft, “murder” (utters softly) like this. (Pt. 30, 12:27)

Another participant FS liked to watch the facial expressions of the characters and for that he would like to see the visual. It is because; the expressions show the intensity of emotions and the feelings of the person. Watching the visual enabled another participant AR to understand the character’s emotions in action on the stage, thus it enriched his comprehension (Pt. 22, 11:32).

Participant HR wished to have more meaning links embedded within the hypertext since he is a non‐native reader and the digitalized text is composed in old English. However, “there are meanings of some specific

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words, not all of them are given” (Pt. 16, 18:20), and he appreciated this facility and wished to have hyperlinked meaning of each difficult word. Thus, these hyperlinked options not only changed the context of the hypertext but also enhanced the conceptual boundary of reading. AA also did not find meanings of some difficult vocabulary items that he thought should be there for non‐native readers. Thus, according to Block (1986), this searching for word‐links is a linguistic strategy by the language readers. Participant AA, in this connection stated, “I find a few difficult words but meanings are not there. For a common reader, meanings should be there. There should be each and every meaning” (Pt. 28, 14:21). For another participant, AR hyperlinked words facilitated his meaning making as “all of these words’ meanings are written over there so it is very easy that I can get the meanings of these highlighted words that are written in blue color” (Pt. 22, 05:35).

Participant AA repeated his linguistic strategy by reading again and again in order to grasp the text (03:29, 04:03, 05:40, 07:11, 12:06), and this strategy enabled him to understand the hypertextual language, as ZS stated, “Now I understand, now I got it” (Pt. 28, 04:15). At another place in his CTA session, he uttered his reading strategy in these words, “I can’t get the meanings but I think that I should keep on reading. I’ll try to look for the general idea” (Pt. 28, 15:48). At another place he disclosed another strategy while thinking aloud that, “Once I can’t get it by reading silently so I read it loudly in order to concentrate on meaning” (Pt. 28, 26:45). Another participant HN very explicitly defined his reading strategy that he would first go for the text and then for the image and visual mode (Pt. 25, 00:44). Thus all these utterances are not mere reading strategies but they reflect the participants’ intricate cognitive processes as well for meaning making.

Semi Structured Interviews (SSI)

After interacting with the digital hypertext in the Concurrent Think Aloud (CTA) session, the participants were engaged for Semi‐Structured Interviews. 10 interviews were recorded using JetAudio software for this purpose. The audio data was transcribed using time‐stamp technique on Microsoft Word pages. After preliminary analysis, related categories were found for detailed analysis.

Reading Strategies

Participant FS explained the reading strategies that he devised for a meaningful interaction with the multimodal hypertext. He basically was focused on the content language and clicked other modes to comprehend the languaged hypertext. In this context, he informed:

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The main motive was to get a better comprehension of the text and since I knew that there are certain things which could help me in a better comprehension or understanding of the text whether a video or a meaning link so whenever I wanted to check my own thought, my own understanding whether I was going in the right direction I would consult the meanings or I would go to the pictures or I would go to the movie just to, not only to understand what was there but also to testify whatsoever I had in my mind, was it there in the movie as well, so for the sake of checking my own understanding and for the sake of getting more understanding about the text I used those things. (Pt. 31, 10:24)

Thus, the participant quite explicitly stated that he clicked image and visual modes to comprehend the hyperlinked digitalized language.

Retrospective and Reflexive Think Aloud (RRTA)

After conducting Concurrent Think Aloud session and Semi‐Structured Interviews, cues were identified for the participants’ retrospection and reflection. A cue sheet was developed for making notes from the CTA and SSI data responses about the cues for RRTA session. This session was also audio recorded using software JetAudio. The collected data was subsequently transcribed using time‐stamp technique, and preliminary analysis was done to identify the categories related to the themes. 9 sessions were conducted for the RRTA as one participant could not manage to find time for this session.

In this session, the participants reflected on what they had previously said in the CTA/SSI sessions, and the way they had interacted with the assigned digital hypertext in their CTA sessions.

Reading Strategies

One of the participants, AR suggested that a new user should maintain sequence of what s/he is interacting with in a hypertext environment. He stated that, “I think it would be very easy if he has proper sequence” (Pt. 22, 05:51). Defining his reading strategy, participant AB informed that meaning links and visuals enhanced the comprehension and he devised his reading strategy in response to the reading goals. AB elaborated:

I definitely got help from the graphics . . . I was obviously able to infer from the visuals and visual really help me in answering the question that what kind of clothes it was wearing or whether it was impressive . . . there are so

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many unconscious scenes we have learn from visuals and audio . . . it at least was important in answering the question. (Pt. 23, 06:36)

So, the participants in the present session, reflected about their general reading strategies that they used, mainly, two modes (visual and image), because these modes assisted in the meaning making process and the participant stressed on maintaining sequence while exploring the textual content.

Conclusion

Traversal through the hypertext or navigation for a meaningful interaction is considered one of the critical reading strategies and this specific strategy makes the reader more “powerful” in the digital environment. However, present research also disclosed, in this context, that the digitalized language readers employ different and new strategies than what the printed language readers do for meaning making with their respective texts. These strategies include: Start interacting/reading from the visual, Start interacting/reading from the image, Clarify meanings using hyperlinks, Clarify meanings using visual, Replay the visual, Re‐click the image etc. Digital readers use these strategies keeping in view the nature/form of electronic text. Since the digital hypertext provides space for compositional liberty so the readers enjoy interactional freedom and these reading strategies are in consonance with the reader’s space where s/he controls her/his navigational path for comprehending multimodal/multisequential language representation. Familiarity leading to increased interaction and resulting in high background knowledge of these meaning making practices is expected to facilitate enriched understating of the content.

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The Suitors’ Treasure Trove: Un‐/Re‐inscribing of Homer’s Penelope in Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad

Mirza Muhammad Zubair Baig

Abstract

Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad (2005) has attempted to reinscribe the stereotypical character of Penelope from Homer’s Odyssey (circa 800 BC). Her character has been presented as a prototype of faithful wife for the women of her times and, later on, throughout several generations, and across many boundaries and cultures in contrast with her heroic and legendary husband who was never questioned for his failure to fulfill the responsibilities of a husband and a father. This study focuses on how Penelope confronts Homer’s “nobler” version of her character that has glossed over the seamy side of her troubled life contextualized by her

experiences with her father in Sparta, and with her husband and son in Ithaca. The retelling asserts how the “divine” queen has been ostracized right from her childhood. She was a plain girl and a woman conforming to the patriarchal standards but her wealth turned her into a prize for her husband and treasure trove for the suitors who besieged her day to day life. Her post‐body narration from the Hades, as her soul is now free from the earthly limitations and obligations, provides her free space for the expression of her concerns. By suspending readers’ disbelief, the narrative challenges the preconceived notions and images of The Odyssey. Her weaving of the King Laertes’, Odysseus’ father, shroud has been considered as a web of deception and commended as a trick to save her grace, secure her son’s vulnerability and defend her husband’s estate. Where The Odyssey is in praise of Odysseus and his adventures, The Penelopiad is all about Penelope and her real self.

Key Words: canon, rewriting/retelling, patriarchy, absences

Introduction

This essay is based on my unpublished doctoral research in which I have studied the purpose of rewritings as “re‐righting” of the absences found in the Western classic texts that have been taken as prototype for patriarchal and colonial discourse and where the voice, identity and representation of the marginalized are absent. The absences have been presented as “others” lacking any tangible human identity. Their images have been standardized in accordance with the colonial and patriarchal norms. These normative mispresentations are through the gaze of the


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domineering Other who attaches a fabricated image to the subservient other (Baig, 2012).

Penelope’s character in The Penelopiad is a unique experiment in the narration of rewriting. Here, she is not a living body but is talking to the readers from the world across. She is a soul and claims to be more knowledgeable. Penelope distances herself from her traditional representation and self by exciting readers’ “willing suspension of disbelief,” (Coleridge, 1834, p. 174) and becomes a voice of a soul freeing her from the woes, oppression and suppression of earthly life and patriarchy. Talking as a soul seriously questions the patriarchal order which does not give space to the living women to speak up.

The Penelopiad is a revision of particularly Penelope’s character. Her father was King Icarius of Sparta, but her mother was a Naiad. She was not royal in blood from her mother’s side. She became an unwanted child when an oracle told her father that she might be harmful for his rule. She was thrown into water at her father’s orders, but she miraculously survived the water when ducks pushed her to the shore. As a wife to Odysseus in his kingdom Ithaca, she could not find her voice to share her concerns with the reader. In this rewriting, she returns as a soul breaking the limits set by the physical and earthly life to give her point of view on the canonical representation of her and the events in Homer’s Odyssey. She specifically is in binary opposition to the character of her husband Odysseus. She tries to absolve herself of her husband’s committed sins, and reminds conscientious readers that she has not been party to the circumstantial excesses of mass murder carried out by her husband, Odysseus and son Telemachus.

In the absence of her husband, she remains true to her husband and invents new ways to keep suitors at bay with false promises of marriage to save the dwindling Odysseus’ estate. She Weaves the shroud of King Laertes, her father‐in‐law and Odysseus’ father, during the day time and unravels it at night in order to buy time from the suitors and ensure Odysseus’ return. In addition to the suitors and the absentee husband, her problems are aggravated by her teenage son, Telemachus, who is too sure of himself. He asserts himself against her in the absence of his father.

Canonical Representation of Penelope in Homer’s Odyssey

Jones (1991) makes a thought‐provoking comment, about Penelope in his “Introduction” to Homer’s Odyssey noting:

Penelope is a woman in conflict: with herself — should she stay or remarry?; with Telemachus — who is the master of

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this house?; with her servants, and with the suitors. The constant pressure under which she lives has the effect of turning her into a woman who hangs grimly on to the past. She finds solace and comfort only in the world of sleep and dreams, though even these can be painful to her. She clutches at every straw of hope and fluctuates between hope that Odysseus will return and absolute certainty that he will not. But her intelligence and beauty are never in doubt, as the suitors acknowledge, and her loyalty to Odysseus remains constant, even up to the moment when she agrees to remarry. The trick involving Laertes’ shroud which keeps the suitors at bay for a while—and did she hope that the bow trial might do likewise? — shows that she is by no means helpless, and her trick to discover whether the beggar really is Odysseus is worthy of Odysseus himself. (p. xxv)

In Jones’ understanding of Penelope’s character in The Odyssey, she is a woman all for “conflicts.” She is not “helpless,” and always in control of the situation in Odysseus’ absence. The challenges which she has to face include her son as well. Penelope, wife of Odysseus, argues with her son, Telemachus who grows stronger, bolder and more audacious in the absence of his father and her husband. He is filling up the space of his father, the master of the house by exerting himself as a patriarch over the woman, Penelope. He clearly orders his mother without remorse, “Go to your quarters now and attend to your own work, the loom and the spindle and tell the servants to get on with theirs. Talking must be the men’s concern, and mine in particular; for I am master in this house” (Homer, 1991, p. 13). In comparison with Jones’ claim, she does not defy her son and “men’s concern.” Telemachus confines her life to “the loom and the spindle,” and positions himself in the driving seat in the house.

Where Jones appreciates that “her loyalty to Odysseus remains constant,” he shows no interest in exploring the causes of her sufferings and the cost she had to pay for keeping up this loyalty in Homer’s Odyssey She takes her bed as “bed of sorrows (without her husband) watered by my tears” (p. 257). In the absence of her husband, she is vulnerable to the suitors and is further weakened by her arrogant son. She has hardly a relationship to fall back upon or trust. Her “bed of sorrows” has been presented as a metaphor for women who have lost their husbands. This metaphor conventionalizes that, in the absence of a husband, a woman can do nothing but weep and suffer.

Penelope is presented as wailing and crying and not taking a ship off the shore like her son as it has never been permissible to a woman. Her

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forte is perseverance, loyalty to her husband and steadfastness. She is shown repeatedly weeping bitterly for her husband, and also as a result of her son’s arrogance and hot headedness. Her son proves intractable for her. Telemachus recalls for his father that “her eyes are never free from tears as the slow nights and days pass sorrowfully by” (p. 241). Tired of waiting, she is shown yearning for death: “wish holy Artemis would grant me a death . . . and save me from wasting my life in anguish and longing for my dear husband” (p. 279). Her absent husband is made so indispensible for her life that she cannot imagine her sustenance without him. However, she is conscious of “wasting” her life in the web of “anguish and longing” set by patriarchy around her person. Worn out by waiting, she finally decides to remarry though she takes the option of remarrying as, “a detestable union.” It shows how a woman has internalized patriarchal injunctions of loyalty at the cost of suffering, sacrifice and not remarrying. She feels horrified at the idea of expected remarriage, “It will be the end of me; Zeus has destroyed my happiness” (p. 281). At another place, she says, “Gods of Olympus, annihilate me like that; or strike me dead, Artemis of the beautiful hair, so that I may sink underneath the hateful earth with Odysseus’ image in my heart, rather than delight the heart of a lesser man” (p. 306). A strong patriarchy has ideologically discouraged a woman to remarry but, here, the same patriarchy, in the form of the suitors, becomes prime cause of her expected and forceful marriage. It is parochial understanding of remarrying which has made the idea “distasteful” (p. 358). She has associated the idea of “hate” traditionally attached to remarrying with earth instead of the men. She is required to die and “sink underneath the hateful earth with Odysseus’ image in my heart” as determined by patriarchy when her husband has been having extra‐matrimonial relationship with goddesses. Her loyalty to Odysseus remains constant even up to the moment when she agrees to remarry.

Her handling of the suitors has been much praised by patriarchy. Later, she reveals to the disguised Odysseus how she has delayed the possibility of “forced” and imposed marriage by employing her trick of weaving Lord Laertes’ shroud:

So by day I used to weave the great web, but every night I had torches set beside it and undid the work. For three years I took them in by this stratagem. A fourth began and the seasons were slipping by, when through the connivance of my shameless and irresponsible maids they caught me at my task. They reproached me angrily, and I was forced reluctantly to finish the work . . . My parents

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are pressing me to marry and my son is exasperated at the drain on our estate. (p. 290)

She challenges the oppressive patriarchy by her project of weaving the “great web.” She “undid” at night what she was made to do in broad daylight. Her weaving and unweaving is a covert tool to resist the suitors. It was not an act of deception but rather an act of passive resistance. To choose from the suitors is not a choice; it is, rather, a compulsion enforced by patriarchy on her. When Penelope decides to select a suitor for remarriage, she proposes a test to all the contestants: “Whoever proves the handiest at stringing the bow and shoots an arrow through each of the twelve axes, with that man I will go” (p. 302). Even when she has to make a choice, she puts them to the test which only her husband can qualify. It is to be kept in mind that it is the patriarchal interpretation of Penelope that is mispresented in The Odyssey.

She is an “incomparable” wife (p. 204). Her “loyalty” to her husband’s bed has been exemplified. She is “wise” and “thoughtful.” She is a woman of high fame, “For of all the Achaean beauties of former times, there is not one, not Tyro, nor Alcmene, nor Mycene of the lovely diadem, who had at her command such wits as she” (p. 20). Odysseus disguised as a stranger tells Penelope: “your fame has reached broad heaven itself, like that of some illustrious ruling a populous and mighty country with the fear of the gods in his heart, and upholding justice” (p. 289). She is even praised by Agamemnon’s soul in Hades’ Halls as

Shrewd Odysseus! You are a fortunate man to have won a wife of such pre‐eminent virtue! How faithful was your flawless Penelope, Icarius’ daughter! How loyally she kept the memory of the husband of her youth! The glory of her virtue will not fade with the years, but the deathless gods themselves will make a beautiful song for mortal ears in honour of the constant Penelope. (p. 360)

She is “flawless” and “faithful,” unlike Clytaemnestra who killed her own husband Agamemnon and, thus, “destroyed the reputation of her whole sex” (p. 360). Quite contrary, she is hardly appreciated by her son whose manliness requires him to defy the matriarchal order. Before Odysseus’ return, she has been given wrong news and communicated false hopes about him during the interim period. After twenty years of detachment, it was hard for her to reconcile with the idea of Odysseus’ return. She is accused as “hard‐hearted, unmotherly mother” by Telemachus for not showing her readiness in accepting her husband because of her heart that is “harder than flint” (p. 346). On the one hand, patriarchy expects her to be chaste and loyal to her matrimonial bond and, on the other hand, it is

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her heart that has been hardened after bearing pains of wait, incessant trials and long separation. Though her son informs her that Odysseus is home, she resists her husband to confirm his identity, and “know each other more certainly” (p. 347). Even when she recognizes her husband, she blames gods, and not him, for her unhappiness: “All our unhappiness is due to the gods, who couldn’t bear to see us share the joys of youth and reach the threshold of old age together” (p. 349). Gods have been tactically devised to take all the blame for wrong doings actually executed by patriarchy. Even when Odysseus returns and meets his wife undisguised, he redresses her for her controlled emotions and watchful behavior:

No other wife could have steeled herself to keep so long out of the arms of a husband she had just got back after nineteen years of misadventure. Well, nurse, make a bed for me to sleep alone in. For my wife’s heart is just about as hard as iron. (p. 348)

Where patriarchy’s pride and “high” morals demand from her to be faithful, Odysseus is pleased to know that she has been “exhorting gifts from her suitors and bewitching them by her persuasive words, while all the time her heart was set on something quite different” (p. 281). Here, patriarchy is all for material gains and losses.

Theoretical Perspective

My reading is not only about the reversal of the binaries in the rewriting but also about the process of change, transformation and alternative reality which the rewriting process is to supposedly introduce and carry on. In case of my study, the other is in opposition to the patriarchal Other, where “the Other . . . the locus in which is constituted the I who is speaking with him who hears” (Lacan, 1993, p. 273) and tries to evade the fixed images. The process of othering not only arises out of the gender‐polarity but there are chances that the same gender can also become a planted agent for othering. Truth (reality) and lies (fabricated reality) remain interchangeable in the narrative. Reality for the Other is a lie for the dominated other. In this way, my study moves out from the fixed reality into micro‐realities and looks beyond institutionalized meanings.

The art of rewriting challenges the assumption that the classical text transcends individual experience, time, locations and cultures. The rewriting gives room to the diverse experiences of fractured identities at the hands of patriarchy and/or imperialism. They create space for the inscription of “lesser part” of the binary/humanity and challenge what Gayatri Spivak (1985) calls the “epistemic violence” (p. 251) carried out

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against the marginal. The classic texts reinforce the patriarchal view of the world and work as ideological apparatus in different geographical locations and cultures. These texts “authenticate” and authorize the “law of father,” and validate the process and apparatus of colonization while erasing and silencing the colonized “other” in the structure of the narrative. As the Western classic texts give a normative point of representation, these make centre of the writing and present things in taken‐for‐granted mode. These texts erase the women and misrepresent them in “the ‘grandstand view’ of imperial history” (Bhabha, 2000, p. 318).

In my study, I explore absences with reference to the feminist theme of voice, identity, othering and representation in the rewriting. I take feminism as “emancipator” movement which talks of justice for the othered and provides ideological and theoretical basis for the study. The art of rewriting has questioned the fundamental “authority” of the canonical texts and their system of meaning making. Therefore, the rewritings is supposed to re‐evaluate the “exclusive universality of the male subject” (Elam, 2001, p. 35) in his‐story by re‐evaluating the patriarchal discourse about the other who have been stereotyped into the subalterns.

My take on the left‐out absences is that they are willful in the patriarchal writings. Patricia Ondek Laurence (1991) reads three types of silences in Virginia Woolf: the “‘unsaid,’ the ‘unspoken,’ and the ‘unsayable,’ ” (p. 1). My study mainly focuses on the unsaid in the text. Such a type of silence in the rewriting challenges its status as re‐righting. John Marx (2004) identifies three types of relationships between the postcolonial writings and the canon: to “repudiate the canon,” to “revise canonical texts and concepts” and “the appropriation of the entire genres” (p. 83). I import Marx’s idea of canonical text and apply it to feminist rewritings. My study is about critiquing the revision of canonical character and its consequent effect on the subalterns, their identity and representation.

Penelope’s (Re) Telling

The women do have a normal auditory and oral physiological system, but the deriding patriarchy has no regard for it and refuses to listen to them. When they find no space as a body, they find an alternative as a soul and lay claim to patriarchy for their right to speak and get their rightful image and justice. Penelope, here, is not confident of a woman’s art and so considers her retelling and defense as a “low art” in violation of the patriarchal standards. Patriarchy disregards a woman who questions its injustices. Her low‐toned evaluation of her narrative shows anxiety of influence. Her resurrected self in the narration claims:

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Now that I’m dead I know everything . . . I know only a few factoids that I didn’t know before . . . Down here everyone arrives with a sack . . . full of words—words you’ve spoken, words you’ve heard, words that have been said about you. . . . It was a specialty of his: making fools. He got away with everything, which was another of his specialties: getting away. (Atwood, 2005, p. 1)

The life after death as a source of knowing “everything” has been overstated and devised by the writer to justify the reason and cause of narration and retelling. She draws these “factoids” from the other souls in the Hades, and from the “words that have been said” about her. “Down here” explains that she is in Hades. Her life as a soul is in binary opposition to the life as a body. In the standardized text, her body could not represent herself; in the rewriting, her soul takes on the task of self‐representation and employs the medium of words to be heard and understood in the world of bodies. She represents her husband as deceitful, “making fools” of people with words and “getting away.” She categorizes “words” into three types, “spoken,” “heard” and “said.” In the world of bodies, the speaker or listener as “I” or “you” remains a participant in the speech. S/he is either active or passive in the dialogic interaction but when he or she is talked about as a third person in her/his absence, s/he becomes an erasure and a silence in the speech that is vulnerable to mispresentation. In the world hereafter, according to Penelope, she gains knowledge of the “words” being said about her which, hitherto, were unknown. Thus, the “said” words about a person give him/her an additional edge while responding to the addressee.

Talking back to the world after death is a weird concept which is rarely practical. A “few factoids” make the readers expect this to be a revelatory narrative. These “factoids” create a difference between her stereotyped life in The Odyssey and her re‐presentation of herself in The Penelopiad. In the rewriting, she explains her “spoken” words, responds to the “heard” words with an ease for being a soul, and defends her position by countering people’s “said” words against her. These “words” were the cause of disadvantage in the world of bodies if they remained unheard but, here in Hades, they are an added qualification. Penelope blames her husband that he made a fool of her. His “making fools” of the others has been appreciated in The Odyssey which helped the Greeks in winning over the war of Troy. Troy remained invincible: but for his treachery, it fell to the Greeks. It was not out of bravery but because of his deceit that the war was won. He beguiles his true identity by “getting away” with words. His “making fools” with words also requires that his recount of events needs to be questioned. One possible way is to interrupt his narration by an

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interrogative narrative and not to let him get away. She is face to face with her husband’s telling of the events. However, she faces the task to deconstruct “the official version” and “edifying legend” of her husband through her art of retelling. It is a “low art” in the world of men which idealizes a woman who does not “contradict,” ask “awkward questions” and “dig deep.” Talking against patriarchy makes a woman “lowly” in status. The narrative has connected Penelope’s idealized fixture in the canonical text and her total resignation and submission to the patriarchal order and its version to her anxious retelling which changes her earlier stance from keeping silence on patriarchy to revealing what “official version” did not say and did not allow her to say as a living being. She reveals his true nature which is gambling with words:

Many people have believed that his version of events was the true one . . . And what did I amount to, once the official version gained ground? An edifying legend. A stick used to beat other women with. Why couldn’t they be as considerate, as trustworthy, as all‐suffering as I had been? . . . Of course I had inklings, about his slipperiness, his wiliness, his foxiness, his‐‐how can I put this?‐‐his unscrupulousness, but I turned a blind eye . . . I didn’t contradict, I didn’t ask awkward questions, I didn’t dig deep. I wanted happy endings in those days, and happy endings are best achieved by keeping the right doors locked and going to sleep during the rampages. (p. 2)

In contrast with the telling of a woman ideologically taken as a “low” art and unofficial writing, the version of a male is “an edifying legend” and “official.” The man made and concocted “legend,” if questioned, makes women subject of patriarchal derision and slight. In comparison with other women, she has been edified as “considerate” and “trustworthy” only for the reason that she submitted to the official version—a product of “unscrupulousness,” “foxiness,” “wiliness,” and “slipperiness.” The only way to get the canonical “happy endings” in male‐dominated societies is not to “contradict,” but turn “a blind eye,” keep “the right doors locked,” and sleeping when there is chance of a conflict with patriarchy.

Her compulsive aversion and deflection from truth brings to the women all the more “suffering,” as they are asked to live in a fabricated reality materialized by patriarchy through writing in the character of Penelope, stick with which leaves them with a life full of contradictions and conflicts. Her example is not a matter of solace but a “stick” to punish other women with, and commit them to a life of waiting, weeping and suffering. Sleeping on contradictory facts makes Penelope’s life, a psychic and psychological torment, where she has to live a life of “double

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consciousness” and duality. The only way to survive as “trustworthy,” was to remain silent on patriarchal misrepresentation of the world. As Odysseus was a legendary patriarch, his version was “official” in the patriarchal culture and no need arose to test the veracity of his story. People had to believe what he said and no one like her had the capacity to counter his version. The classic story got its “happy” ending at the cost of Penelope’s life of misery and trial. Later, as a soul, she questions the reliability and authenticity of her husband’s recount of his experiences and gives her take on the cause of her silences in The Odyssey:

What can a woman do when scandalous gossip (about her) travels the world? If she defends herself she sounds guilty . . . It’s my turn to do a little story‐making. I owe it to myself. I’ve had to work myself up to it: it’s a low art, tale‐telling . . . The difficulty is that I have no mouth through which I can speak. I can’t make myself understood, not in your world, the world of bodies, of tongues and fingers; and most of the time I have no listeners, not on your side of the river. Those of you who may catch the odd whisper, the odd squeak, so easily mistake my words for breezes rustling the dry reeds, for bats at twilight, for bad dreams. (p. 3)

In contrast with the “edifying legend” of a patriarch, a woman’s version is “a little story‐making” and “a low art.” To defend “scandalous gossip” is not an act of exoneration in case of a woman; rather, it “sounds guilty.” In The Penelopiad, Penelope has “no mouth.” Her voice and its resultant speed coming across the river of eternity make no sense to the people living on earth, and hence, her voice is not audible to “the world of bodies.” The human ear, simply, lacks the capacity to distinguish “the odd squeaks” from the sound of breezes, “bats” or of “bad dreams.” Her voice and identity are “beyond” human audibility and visionary range. They do not have even the imaginary capacity to lend an imaginary ear to “the odd whisper” and envision that it can be a woman’s cry.

Rewriting is Penelope’s “my turn.” Her narrative presents Penelope “almost the same, but not quite” (Bhabha, 1994, p. 86). She is no longer a pliable character as The Odyssey portrays her to be. Here, the word “defence” evades its commonly known and accepted meanings. “Defence” in legal proceeding means an argument established in the court of law and justice against blame or an imposed guilt or a crime but here “defence” against the charges levied in the patriarchal writing is an offence. Defence by Penelope is a public offence in the patriarchal culture which itself is the originator of this scandalous propaganda about her life. She knew the pitfalls of her husband’s official version, but the internalized

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value‐laden ideology given by the patriarchal culture kept her silent. She refers to the world of men as an absolute world of patriarchs where women are absent and exist only as erasures. Her address to the patriarchal world is a high rank transgression from the “official” norms. The phrase “most of the time” qualifies Penelope as the one who gets rare listeners.

In The Odyssey, Penelope’s body is present but her voice is absent while in The Penelopiad, she “partially” recovers her voice but loses her body. She resorts to the written words when she could not establish an audio link between herself and the world she has left. The grave problem remains how to put an end to the “scandalous gossip” about her person in the world of canonicity. She is now an absence in the material world and lives in the world of spirits from where she cannot talk back. She has been mispresented in the “official” version and now is misunderstood. Here, the “world of bodies, of tongues and fingers” is a binary to the “state of bonelessness, liplessness, breastlessness” (p. 1). Absence of her mouth can be related to her scream which, when misunderstood, sounds “like an owl” (p. 2). In the material world, her voice could not find recognition; in the spiritual world, she is handicapped by the absence of a normal human auditory, oral system and channels of communication.

Penelope tells how souls are now summoned to inform men about the trivial matters like selling of a condominium, hearing about “stock‐market prices and world politics and their own health problems and such stupidities” (p. 149). She has hardly been summoned by the magicians. Even when she is called, the occult listeners have never been interested in her story. They have their own worldly questions and patriarchal concerns to be addressed.

The Suitors’ Treasure Trove

Penelope is curious to know about young suitors’ real motives behind enticing her when she was hardly a beauty. There was a remarkable difference between their ages. She was thirty‐five years old; “past child‐bearing age” (p. 81) and they were of her son, Telemachus’ age. Antinous, one of the suitors, as a spirit, shares later in the Hades with Penelope about their drives behind marrying her, “We wanted the treasure trove” (p. 81). She was not the target; rather, it was wealth which such a marriage entailed. They were in Sparta to make fortune and Penelope was an easy prey. They were trying to make a good bargain out of a woman of their mother’s age. Wooing Penelope for marriage was a career making attempt. They planned to bring her “resistance” down by the “threat of impoverishment” (p. 83). She personifies the greediness in the suitors and visualizes them as “vultures” scavenging at her, “the

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carcass” (p. 82). In the rotten patriarchal culture which guaranteed no safeguards to a woman, a (would‐be) widow is a “carcass” to be fed upon. Penelope expresses her lacking at openly challenging the suitors:

If I tried that, they’d turn really ugly and go on the rampage and snatch by force what they were attempting to win by persuasion. But I was the daughter of a Naiad; I remembered my mother’s advice to me. Behave like water, I told myself. Don’t try to oppose them. When they try to grasp you, slip through their fingers. Flow around them. (p. 86)

When she knows no other way to counter the suitors, she recalls her mother’s advice. She “flows around them” and does not openly stand up and “oppose” them. From water, she imports the idea and favors their tactic of “persuasion.” Taking “by force” was too dangerous for the equally ambitious suitors. They were not “ugly” for her for a while but the situation for the maids was quite contrary to it. They let her “slip through their fingers” when they took the maids in their arms “by force.”

Penelope counters the possibility of their application of “force” by her cleverness. She thinks that their strategy of “persuasion” should be encouraged otherwise they can take it “by force;” but the text nowhere supports this idea wholly. All the suitors had only one goal—Penelope—who stood for wealth. There was no chance and possibility of division or sharing. Taking “by force” was too dangerous for the suitors as well. If the suitors had tried it, it might have resulted into fighting and killings among them. She just feels that she was slipping and flowing around them; in reality, it only bought her time. If Odysseus had not returned and killed the suitors through treachery, there might have been a different end to her story. She here gives other reasons of not remarrying except modesty: “I certainly didn’t want to marry any of those mannerless young whelps” (p. 87). She “flows around” the suitors by her trick of weaving. She wrongly attributes her own idea of weaving to be that of Pallas Athene, goddess of weaving, as “crediting some god for one’s inspirations was always a good way to avoid accusations . . .” (p. 89). She sublimates her idea by linking it to goddess to present it divine and acceptable to patriarchy. However, she objects to her weaving plan to be termed as Penelope’s web, “If the shroud was a web, then I was the spider . . . I’d merely been trying to avoid entanglement myself” (p. 94). She alienates the readers from the traditional understanding of the term “Penelope’s web.” She used to undo and unweave her web at night. It meant no harm to anyone. It was a harmless trick invented and adopted in self defense whereas there was no reversal in the “web” woven by patriarchy around her. These were the suitors who were the enticers and spiders ready to pounce on her.

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Distressed Childhood of a Semi‐Divine Queen

Penelope is a displaced princess from Ithaca to Sparta and a besieged queen whose rights of control in the absence of her husband have been usurped by the suitors and further suspended by her growing up son, domineering Eurycleia and disapproving Anticleia. Since her birth, Penelope has been an outcast and an undesired child of low birth. Her childhood experiences have deep marks on her identity formation. Her parents denied her the love and care which parentage showers upon a child:

My father was King Icarius of Sparta. My mother was a Naiad. Daughters of Naiads were a dime a dozen in those days . . . Nevertheless, it never hurts to be of semi divine birth . . . now I suspect he’d been told by an oracle that I would weave his shroud . . . But he must have misheard, or else the oracle herself misheard‐‐the gods often mumble. (p. 7)

She was “divine” in birth from the lineage of her father—a man of royal blood but, a progeny of a commoner from the blood line of her mother. Her “semi‐divine” birth was a matter of shame for her father. Like the Greek tragedies, the misinterpreted oracle further distanced her father from her. As a “fate‐bound,” child, she is to weave her father’s shroud. The oracle was partly right in its foretelling. The “misheard” part was only that it was the shroud of her father‐in‐law, (of King Laertes) not of the real father.

In her parentage, her father King Icarius of Sparta, a royal blood, is in contrast to a Naiad belonging to the clan of women who were historically “a dime a dozen.” Their low price explains that the women had a great supply in the market, and the patriarchal laws had not declared it inhuman and illegal. It also alludes to the rampant trade of women which had minimalized them as mere objects for sale. She is a child of “lesser blood” and, therefore symbolizes, impurity. As it was in vogue in Greek culture and drama, Margaret Atwood introduces the device of “oracle” in her rewriting to recreate an ancient world. She uses the same names and characters and this depends upon readers’ familiarity and previous knowledge. She associates the oracle with the “gods” and not goddesses. She defines the gender of oracle as that of a female who is subservient to the gods and, they express themselves through her — the oracle. In case of the oracle‐god relationship, the woman bears the blame of “misheard” part. The problem is not in listening but in the gods’ voice which lacks clarity. The lack of clarity in the gods’ voice, the alleged poor audibility of oracle, and the coldness of her kingly father shaped her torturous and

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tragic life. It was decreed by her father to throw her into the sea — an act which she tries to rationalize in her postbody life. She later attributes her “reserve” and “mistrust” (p. 9) to this particular incident:

It was stupid of Icarius to try to drown the daughter of a Naiad, however. Water is our element, it is our birthright . . . A flock of purple‐striped ducks came to my rescue and towed me ashore. After an omen like that, what could my father do? He took me back, and renamed me‐‐Duck was my new nickname. (p. 9)

The words “floating,” “birthright” and water as an essential “element” refer to the reproductive system of a woman and buoyancy which a baby enjoys in her mother’s womb. As the life of such nymphs is water bound, these images also connect to Naiad’s biological, mythical and cultural association with water. Being a daughter of a Naiad, she belongs to water. As “duck” swims in water, she was too driven off to a distant land after her marriage.

In this way, she is somehow linked with the ducks whose “flock” redeems her of the patriarchal aggression. Her father’s attempt to drown her has been countered by Nature, and she owes her life to the ducks. Her nickname “duck,” reduces her status from a human being to a swimming bird. The Naiads are nymphs who are found in various bodies of water:

The Naiads were daughters of the Greek river gods. Each Naiad . . . was worshiped for her ability to help and protect people with her water. The Naiads had the power of prophecy, to be able to see into the future . . . They were also the protectors of young girls as they became women. (Daly & Rengel, 2009, pp. 97‐98)

The “ducks,” Penelope and her mother are Naiads who are flocked together by the hostile circumstances, and are united by the element of water. The ducks are actually the Naiads who “protected” the girl child Penelope as later she was to grow up into an edified woman. They watched over her as her “protector” when she needed them the most. A king, traditionally known for his wisdom and sharp perception, is presented as a “stupid” fellow owing to his misjudgment which proved too risky for his susceptible daughter. Here, a powerful king is shown as an opponent to his own feeble daughter. This act undermined the values of bravery and strength required of a king. His father ominously interprets that “renaming” can save his authority and life from the portentous danger of her presence. His act of “renaming” the “daughter of a Naiad” is an attempt to erase her identity as Penelope and bring her up as a humble and vulnerable “duck.” Though her father became fond of her later, she

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felt unprotected and vulnerable to his decisions. This incident had deep effect on her behavioral make up and she committed herself to excessive weeping. Her mother too is a Naiad and is prophetic in her vision and in her advice to her daughter when the latter is to be married off. She tells her to be malleable and pliable like water in her dealings with stone‐like patriarchy.

Arranged Marriages or Copulation

Marriage in Penelope’s times was a prerogative and a matter of high prestige. There were always well considered and planned motives behind the match making. The marriages defined alliances and forged new relationships. In case of daughters, their marriages promised a source of inheritance in the form of grandsons as source and continuation of power and phallic order. Blundell (1995) observes in this connection that women of ancient Greece were presented in “portions” in the classic writings. They are shown as “receivers of dowries, bearers of heirs, (and) possessor of wombs” (p. 11). Penelope’s narrative does not create a much different world for the women. She also revives just their “portions” which are of immediate concern to her and her story. The women have only “partial” presence and mostly are absent like relatively unimportant women had to be a victim of rape, illegal relationship and seduction interchangeably by both disguised gods as hoax men and fraudulent men as masked gods:

My marriage was arranged . . . Under the old rules only important people had marriages, because only important people had inheritances. All the rest was just copulation of various kinds, rapes or seductions, love affairs or one‐night stands, with gods who said they were shepherds or shepherds who said they were gods. (p. 19)

Maids and their mothers come under the category of “all the rest.” Slave women, at first place, are denied the basic right to marriage. Even when they are given the right to copulate, the traditional narrative style makes it readable to patriarchy by evolving it into a sensational episode and plot of rape. Even in case of arranged marriages, we find “divine” interruptions to a woman’s suffering and “rapes.” The word “Shepherds” and “gods” are interchangeable, and both mean adulterers, rapists and seducers. They misuse and violate women without any permission or law.

Patriarchy has used “gods” as a ruse and excuse to their crimes. Patriarchy in the disguise of gods has been the violator. Arranged marriage has a special status and has been a mark of privilege according to the “old rules” which had not been renewed until Penelope’s times. This knowledge of patriarchal tradition explains that the maids were not only adulteresses but also a victim of such unrecognized copulations. The

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inherent structural fault and make‐up of the society gave them no other option but to be engaged in illicit relationships with the men of their times. Even arranged marriages gave women no advantage as it was not a woman’s choice. In case of Penelope, Odysseus was her father’s pick. Schaps’s study (1918) confirms Penelope’s stand that, in ancient Greece, in comparison with arranged marriage as a privilege, it was not a “woman’s prerogative” (p. 74) to choose a husband. It was the father who used to decide a husband.

Penelope’s father’s attachment to his daughter’s marriage is transitory. He is not at all interested in her but in what she stands for now. Penelope refers here to the male‐centric society, “you needed to get them (daughters) bred as soon as possible so you could have grandsons” (p. 20). A daughter was only for fostering sons. She is important with reference to either “wedding loot” or grandsons as “[u]nder the ancient customs, the huge pile of sparkling wedding loot stayed with the bride’s family . . . where I was, there would be the treasure” (p. 22). However, if the bride moves away from her family to her husband’s home, she takes it along as Schaps (1981) notes down that “the dowry of (a woman) belonged . . . to her husband” (p. 75). In case of father’s lacking sons, the focus shifts to getting them from the daughter’s line. Contextualizing Penelope’s case, it can be understood that a daughter’s life from birth to adulthood is an interim place which is to lead to marriage, fertility and production. She is just a means to patriarchal success. She was a source of economic boost to her father as the words “wedding loot” tell. Eventually, the sons are a source of power. The male family members were considered more dependable than the other allegiants, and thus, they were means to a kingship which is fortified by kinship. She is a means to and symbol of “treasure.” Through her body and presence, a woman is to bring forth wealth for patriarchy. Once the grandson or “wedding loot” is received, she loses her importance.

Penelope’s Fidelity, Odysseus’ Delayed Return and Sexual Corruption

Though Odysseus himself has been a product of an illegal relationship between Anticleia and Sisyphus, and has been sleeping with goddesses and women, he is hard and threatening when it comes to his wife. The nuptial bed of Odysseus and Penelope has symbolic importance in the story. It is related in The Penelopiad that one post of the bed was of an olive tree. It was rooted in the ground and it was so fixed that it could not be displaced. In the text, Odysseus shares this secret with his newly‐wed wife and forewarns her if this secret of bedpost is known to the men around, it would prove her infidelity and “he would have to chop me into

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little pieces with his sword or hang me from the roof beam” (p. 59). Keeping the secret of the bedpost was a litmus test for her fidelity. This forewarning was sinister: as he chopped down the suitors and his son hanged the maids even though his bedpost was not displaced. It is hypocrisy of patriarchy that one thing is lawful or exonerative for a man, but the same is unlawful and punishable offence for the woman. Penelope relates the ways in which Odysseus misinterprets her dream. It is Odysseus himself who is “a huge eagle with a crooked beak” (p. 110) who killed not only the suitors but also her “flock of lovely white geese.” To Odysseus’ interpretation, her husband would slay the suitors. Quite contrary to his interpretation, Penelope replaces the metaphors “geese” for maids instead of the suitors as she was fond of her maids, not the suitors. She makes old Eurycleia wash the beggar’s feet—“the booby trap” for her. She gives out a “yelp of joy,” (p. 111) once she recognizes the scar on Odysseus’ leg. Penelope contradicts the claim made in the songs that the arrival of Odysseus coincided with the test of the bow and axes: “I knew that the beggar was Odysseus” (p. 110). Telemachus scolds her mother for not extending “a warmer welcome” to his father on his homecoming and calls her “flinty hearted” (p. 135). Once Odysseus passed the bedpost test, she accepts him to be her real husband.

The Greek heroes had other material motives and ambitions as well. The minstrels exalted Odysseus’ treachery into acts of heroism:

They always sang the noblest versions in my presence the ones in which Odysseus was clever, brave, and resourceful, and battling supernatural monsters, and beloved of goddesses. The only reason he hadn’t come back home was that a god the sea‐god Poseidon, according to some was against him, because a Cyclops crippled by Odysseus was his son. (p. 67)

Where a “natural reason” was not possible in the “noblest version” of Odysseus’ voyage, a supernatural was offered. Odysseus is set up against a much powerful divine opponent, the “sea‐god Poseidon.” In “my presence,” shows that the minstrels had ulterior motives in turning her lost husband into a legendary figure, fighting against a much more potent rival.

The text understates the intensity and level of his sin when it relates that his sin is crippling a Cyclops and, thus, against gods. His crimes against humanity have been ignored and are not the import of the text. The text overlooks the killing of human beings, throwing off the boys to death by patriarchy and the selling of the captured women in slavery in return for money, in the war of Troy, of which Odysseus has been an

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essential and integral part. She listens to his heroics at the sea. Odysseus also shares that “the nobler versions, with the monsters and the goddesses, rather than the sordid versions with the innkeepers and whores” (p. 137). The nobler versions of Odysseus are comparable to the “sordid” versions, and the monsters and the goddesses can be compared with the innkeepers and whores. It is to be noted that the change of equivalents in an adventurous story makes it heroic instead of a story with lowly credentials.

Conclusion

The Penelopiad is full of contradictory standards fixed by patriarchy. The “reality” and “truth” in patriarchal version absolve men of their sins and, instead, despises and tarnishes women for their uncommitted sins. Fidelity has been the distinguishing attribute of a woman glorified in Penelope’s person and not a single character rivals her in the text. No one except Penelope has a pure relationship with patriarchy as per the nobler version of the story.

The Penelopiad as a text and rewriting does not completely fit in Spivak’s (1985) desire and demand to have a text that can “answer one back” (p. 251) against the imperialist project of erasures, silences and absences. However, by taking up the case of injustice and not letting the demand of justice go, Penelope has shown what Bhabha (1994) terms “partial presence” (p. 86) and has partially responded to the situation of stasis prevalent in the world of canonicity.

Patriarchy has its covert objectives when it standardizes a suffering and left alone Penelope as a role model to follow for other women. Penelope is wry of the “nobler” version of Odysseus’ heroic adventures. Historically, only Penelope has been presented as a woman of worthy credence by patriarchy. However, the rumor about her giving birth to the god Pan through excessive sexual adultery also tarnishes her images as a “pure” woman. It also questions the patriarchal assumptions which could not think a woman of that times anything else or higher than a whore, seductress or sex‐toy. The strong patriarchy is found defending its aggression and violence as its right and declares it something “natural,” normative and beyond the invocation of (patriarchal) law.

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Notes 1 Lacan differentiates between the Other and other on the basis of “locus” of speech. The Other with capital ‘O’ is the one who gets the position of speech and constitutes the other with small ‘o’: “There is an Other, and this is decisive, and structuring . . . .The Other must first of all be considered a locus, the locus in which speech is constituted” (Lacan, 1993, p. 274). See Lacan, J. (1993). The psychoses. (R. Grigg, Trans.). New York: W.W. Norton. 2 The section “Canonical representation of Penelope in Homer’s The Odyssey” is solely based on Homer’s The Odyssey, translated by E. V. Rieu & Peter V. Jones, so I do not repeat author and year in citation and only give page numbers. 3 I use E. V. Rieu’s translation while citing from The Odyssey for the reason that Margaret Atwood herself has used the same as her primary source while writing The Penelopiad. 4 Henceforth, I analyze Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad: The myth of Penelope and Odysseus and the year and page numbers in citation are not repeated.

Notes1 Lacan differentiates between the Other and other on the basis of “locus” of speech. The Other with capital ‘O’ is the one who gets the position of speech and constitutes the other with small ‘o’: “There is an Other, and this is decisive, and structuring . . .The Other must first of all be considered a locus, the locus in which speech is constituted” (Lacan, 1993, p. 274). See Lacan, J. (1993). The psychoses. (R. Grigg, Trans.). New York: W.W. Norton. 2 The section “Canonical representation of Penelope in Homer’s The Odyssey” is solely based on Homer’s The Odyssey, translated by E. V. Rieu & Peter V. Jones, so I do not repeat author and year in citation and only give page numbers. 3 I use E V. Rieu’s translation while citing from The Odyssey for the reason that Margaret Atwood herself has used the same as her primary source while writing The Penelopiad. 4 Henceforth, I analyse Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad: The myth of Penelope and Odysseus and the year and page numbers in citation are not repeated.

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Mingling the Real and the Magical: Deconstructive Epistemology in Contemporary Fantasy Literature/Fiction

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The Suitor’s Treasure Trove: Un/Re‐Inscribing of Homer’s Penelope in Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad

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