Queering the postcolonial :gender and masculinity in Chris Abani’s Graceland and Tahar Ben Jelloun’s Leaving Tangier

Abstract

My research explores the concepts of gender and masculinity in the novels Graceland by Chris Abani and Leaving Tangier by Tahar Ben Jelloun. Set in postcolonial states, the novels address the question of gender and the predicament of masculinity in relation to several contexts, including the role of the nation-state, the role of local culture, and the influence of Western epistemologies. Moreover, while portraying colonialism’s continuing legacy, the novels move beyond the past to confront a present characterized by an increasingly globalized world which underrates the role of the nation and blurs border lines. This thesis aims to highlight the approaches set forth by these novels regarding gender norms, patriarchy and queerness, and explore the postcolonial subject as portrayed in the novels in relation to the aforementioned issues. This thesis also aims to create a dialogue between the two novels that extracts the similarity of their concerns despite the difference in their geopolitical settings, thereby illuminating possible new directions that postcolonial literature is taking. My thesis is divided into four chapters. The first is an introductory chapter that defines the ‘postcolonial’ and offers an overview of my project. Chapters Two and Three study Chris Abani’s Graceland and Tahar Ben Jelloun’s Leaving Tangier respectively and provide in-depth analysis of the novels. Finally, the last chapter attempts to map out the ‘generational’ location of the novels and examine the novels’ standpoints on several contemporary concepts surrounding postcolonial literature today.