Original scientific paper
IDENTITY WITHOUT IDENTITY (ĆAMIL BETWEEN THE EAST AND THE WEST)
Katarina Ivon
orcid.org/0000-0002-5696-7056
; Odjel za izobrazbu učitelja i odgojitelja Sveučilišta u Zadru
Abstract
Andrić's work is abundant with representations of different collective identities, and his basic preoccupation with permanent contemplation and questioning of two opposite civilizations – the East and the West (Christianity and Islam) – is particularly evident in the novel Prokleta avlija. Although the story takes place outside Bosnia, Andrić succeeds in setting the post-colonial East-West contrast in a small room of a Turkish prison in Constantinople. The representatives of the abovementioned contrast are the two main characters – Ćamil and father Peter. Regardless of mutually stereotypical (cultural) perceptions, they create a special kind of bond, which is, in this novel, raised to a higher, more universal level. Ćamil's character is very interesting, because it is completely opposite to the stereotypical image of the Turks. Ćamil ideally fits into the gallery of characters with hybrid identity, i.e. the characters that are deprived of their singularity and imprisoned in the space between, failing to identify themselves with any identity.
Keywords
Ivo Andrić; "Prokleta avlija"; post-colonial theory; stereotypical cultural perceptions; East-West contrast; hybrid identity
Hrčak ID:
98571
URI
Publication date:
8.3.2013.
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