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Library's collection Library's IT development CancelBritish Imperialism had played a significant role in the world history.
There were many countries that had been imperialized by British, both western
and eastern countries. Thus, the interaction between the colonizer and the
colonized was unavoidable and that slowly changed the colonized one?s mind
toward independency. Amitav Ghosh, as the author of post-colonialism novel,
tries to portray the condition of Asia, especially India at the time of British
colonization. His novel, The Glass Palace , tells about the story of three families
and the interaction between each of them. In this novel, I analyze one of the main
characters, Arjun, because he has a problem of identity as the result of his
relationship with the British. That is how I am interested in analyzing his
ambivalent identity and the reasons for his ambivalence. To analyze it, I use some
post-colonialism theories, such as ambivalent and mimicry. In the analysis, I
explain about the ambivalent identity of Arjun and the reasons for his, namely the
reason for wanting to be British and the reason for maintaining his Indian identity.
The reason for wanting to be British is because of his ambition. Arjun has an
ambition for status, wealth, and power, which motivate him to be an officer in the
British Army. And the reason for maintaining his Indian identity is because of the
connection between the condition of India and himself. He realizes that no matter
how wealthy he is if his country is poor, he will be regarded as part of that
poverty. Finally, he has to choose what to defend, the Empire or India.