Brick Lane has stimulated a wide range of debates regarding Monica Ali's portrayal of the inhabitants of the area from which the novel has taken its title. This essay claims that assimilation is the key theme of the novel, and that the desire to achieve it is represented most strongly in the character of Chanu. The latter's primary goal is to assimilate himself into the English society in which he now lives. In order to demonstrate just how complex this assimilation process is, Chanu is discussed in relation to society's influence on him and four concepts of post colonial theory, namely double consciousness, unhomeliness, mimicry and hybridity.

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In the first chapter of Crossing the River (1993), Caryl Phillips depicts the dilemma of a fluid identity for the peoples of the African diaspora and their descendants by using ambiguity to simulate feelings of contradiction, liminality and a double consciousness. The first character, Nash Williams, struggles with his cultural identity as an emancipated, black slave and missionary who is repatriated in Africa to convert the pagans of Liberia. A postcolonial reading of Nash’s hybrid position illustrates his experiences of unhomeliness, of religious doubt and realisation in the shortcomings of mimicry. The second character, Amelia Williams is divided by her dual identity as the wife of a slave owning-slave liberator in antebellum America. Via a contrapuntal reading of Amelia as the antagonist of the tale, her hostile manner supports the suggestion that she sought to control the peculiar situation which was threatening her livelihood, depreciating her social status and debasing her imperialist values. Her proslavery standpoint could not, however, be established unequivocally. Nevertheless, both Amelia and Nash are unmistakably troubled by inner conflicts engendered through slavery and polarised ideologies.

This essay is a study of the character Pilate in Toni Morrison’s novel Song of Solomon. It employs a postcolonial theoretical perspective in order to explore the cultural trauma that Pilate experiences in the aftermath of slavery. Furthermore, it analyses the impact of that trauma on the formation of Pilate’s own cultural identity. When defining cultural trauma and cultural identity, the works of Edward Said, Homi Bhabha and Frantz Fanon are used. In this discussion, terms such as "double consciousness", "unhomeliness" and the "Other" are employed as a theoretical background to the analysis. Pilate’s trauma consists of being an orphan. Moreover, she is rejected as "Other" both by her brother as well as by each society that she settles into. Although suffering from this trauma and being all alone in the world, Pilate manages to both affirm her cultural heritage as well as to use it in a positive way when dealing with the trauma and creating her own cultural identity. In her case, she is able to stay close to her roots and to avoid the feeling of double-consciousness and unhomeliness. Instead she has a solid foundation in her ancestral past and the cultural identity it represents.

Teachers tend to refrain from using a postcolonial perspective in their teaching of literaturebecause they do not know quite how to approach the task. The purpose of this essay is to remedy such a problem. The argument is built on three concepts: unhomeliness, dual identities and othering. These concepts will first be introduced within a postcolonial context generally and will then be studied more specifically – through close reading – as main themes in Jamaica Kincaid’s novel Lucy. This essay aims to provide a model for educators to implement postcolonial theory in the classroom. Moreover, collaborative learning and dialogue will be presented as key elements in a teaching strategy that encourages teachers totackle the postcolonial perspective didactically.

Caryl Phillis’s novel Crossing the River tells a story of the African diaspora caused by the slave trade. The novel not only depicts the physical aspect of diasporic life, but also sheds light on the cognitive aspects. It is visible separately in the four chapters, but also in the prologue and epilogue through Phillips’s use of the mystical voice of the disembodied father who addresses all his children of the African diaspora. This essay argues that Crossing the River is an example of black politics of resistance from two different perspectives. Firstly, Phillips uses the African diaspora to exemplify the hybrid identity, and to reject a binary colonial discourse and racism that have caused tremendous suffering for the African diaspora. Secondly, by not only rejecting the binary colonial discourse but also contesting and taking part in shaping a discourse that synthesizes different worlds, Crossing the River takes part in creating a more diverse and equal sense of the world.

The protagonist Martha in Doris Lessing’s Martha Quest is born to white British settler parents and grows up in a British colony in southern Africa in the 1930s. Although officially the coloniser rather than the colonised, Martha tries to reject this role mentally, verbally, and physically. This essay aims to show that a postcolonial reading of Martha in relation to the colonial context helps in understanding her double consciousness and, more specifically, her inability to find a real or lasting sense of home. Using Homi Bhabha’s concept of unhomeliness, the essay argues that Martha does not truly feel at home anywhere, because the “unhomely” always disturbs the “homely.” Through close reading of the text, it shows how Martha tries to find a sense of home in four areas of her life: her physical home, nature, her body, and her mind. This essay finds that despite Martha’s efforts in moving from her family home to rented accommodation, from the bush to the city, from girlhood to womanhood, and from her individual thoughts to the solidarity of others, she still does not feel at home anywhere. Whenever she starts to feel comfortable in a place or situation, unhomely moments, such as reminders of her nationality, race, or class, always disturb the homely feelings of belonging. Ultimately, Martha cannot escape her unhomeliness. / Huvudpersonen Martha i Doris Lessings Martha Quest är dotter till vita brittiska bosättare och växer upp i en brittisk koloni i södra Afrika på 1930-talet. Trots att hon formellt sett är kolonisatören snarare än den koloniserade, försöker Martha att avvisa denna roll mentalt, verbalt och fysiskt. Denna uppsats syftar till att visa att en postkolonial tolkning av Martha i förhållande till det koloniala sammanhanget bidrar till en förståelse av hennes dubbla medvetande och mer specifikt hennes oförmåga att hitta en verklig, eller bestående, känsla av hemma. Med hjälp av Homi Bhabhas koncept gällande o-hemlikhet argumenterar uppsatsen för att Martha inte känner sig riktigt hemma någonstans, eftersom det ”o-hemlika” alltid stör det ”hemlika.” Genom en noggrann läsning av texten visar den hur Martha försöker hitta känslan av ett hem inom fyra områden av sitt liv: sitt fysiska hem, naturen, sin kropp och sitt sinne. Denna uppsats konstaterar att trots Marthas ansträngningar att flytta från sitt familjehem till ett hyresrum, från land till stad, från ung flicka till kvinna och från sina individuella tankar till solidaritet med andra, känner hon sig fortfarande inte hemma någonstans. När hon börjar känna sig bekväm på ett ställe eller i ett läge, stör o-hemlika ögonblick i form av påminnelser om hennes nationalitet, ras eller klass alltid hennes hemlika känslor av tillhörighet. I slutändan kan Martha inte undgå sin o-hemlikhet.