"Cultural Hybridity: A Manifestation of Mixed Cultures in Bharati Mukherjee's The Tiger's Daughter"

Sopan Nanasaheb, Jadhav Dr, Shashikantmhalunkar, Dist-Thane
2016 New Man International Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies   unpublished
Culture designates a way of life, set of values, beliefs and behaviours that make one particular life distinguishable from other. It is not immutable and undergoes transformation in the course of time. In case of migration, migrant carries his/her indigenous culture to the adopted land and observes the same in conflict with the host culture. Bharati Mukherjee in her debut novel, The Tiger's Daughter (1971) portrays a young lady Tara Banerjee Cartwright caught in the cultural skirmish. Born and
more » ... rought up in typical Bengali Brahmin family, Taratravels overseas for educational purpose, marries an American boy David Cartwright and resides there for seven years. Her residence in America evidences many incidents of cultural conflicts. When she visits back to India, she finds herself misfit in her own native culture which had left behind seven years ago. Her Americanized sensibility does not acknowledge the Indianness of her family.Bharati Mukherjee attempts to convey here all possible cultural issues that are normally faced by the first generation immigrant.Immigrant cannot uproot the native culture deeply planted in his/her psyche which subsequently results in a cultural turmoil. Initially, Tara lives in a foreign land on her ex-status, by the time undergoes cultural assimilation, and finally comes up with cultural hybridity. This cultural hybridity makes her estranged in her family, relatives and friends. She looks towards everything happening around her with Americanized vision. It is because of the cultural hybridity, she experiences cultural dilemma and in-betweenness both in America and India.The present paper attempts to explain the cultural hybridity that Tara Banerjee Cartwright experiences and how her behaviour manifests her indigenous and adopted culture in Bharati Mukherjee's 'The Tiger's Daughter'.
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