Colonial/Anti-colonial Ideology In Paul Scott's The Raj Quartet And Raja Rao's Kanthapura

The thesis aims at studying the ideology behind writing both of the Raj Quartet and Kanthapura. The study adopts Macherey's definition of the concept of ideology, and its relation to literature. For Macherey, examining the work of art in relation to its historical background and the conditions of its production would allow for reaching for the ideology behind it. The thesis explores the attitudes of both writers towards both the colonial project and the national movements, in addition to the process of decolonization which took place as a result of national movements. The study examines the two texts in relation to their historical background, allowing, therefore, for presenting an ideological reading of them. Paul Scott is dealing with the last days of the British in India. He laments the end of the British empire and mourns the death of an ideal upon which the concept of the Raj is founded. Raja Rao, reflects the effect of the Gandhian national movement, as well as his social teachings, on the remotest village in India and how they managed to raise the consciousness of the Indian people towards their freedom from colonial rule.