DOUBLE CONSCIOUSNESS AND OTHERNESS IN THE LAST WHITE MAN BY MOHSIN HAMID: A POSTCOLONIAL STUDY

Abstract

The following research is a descriptive study of the novel The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid from the perspective of postcolonialism. Postcolonialism focuses on studying the effects of colonization on the colonized people, both in the past and present. It examines how the colonized and colored people were made inferior through white stereotypical knowledge and ideology during and after colonialism. The objective of this thesis is to investigate the concepts of double consciousness and otherness in this novel. The theoretical frameworks for this study are double consciousness and otherness. The fourth chapter examines through excerpts from the novel the notions of double consciousness and otherness as experienced by the characters in the novel. The analysis of the fourth chapter reveals that black characters in the novel feel double consciousness and otherness in a white dominant society because they are not provided with true knowledge. Instead, white knowledge is imposed upon them, through which they define and see themselves. They always look at themselves through the eyes of the white people, which leads them to feel degraded, inferior, vulgar, and vile. Furthermore, the black characters negate the feelings of double consciousness and otherness by looking at themselves from a black perspective.

Keywords: Postcolonialism, colonialism, double consciousness, otherness, white knowledge.