Representations of Life on the Margins: An Analysis of Omprakash Valmiki’s Joothan: An Untouchable’s Life and Sherman Alexie’s Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Abstract

Dalit and Native American writings have emerged as new fields of study in the contemporary era. They are a projection of these people’s anguish, and anger against the oppression and exploitation meted out to them for centuries. Dalits have faced inhuman treatment at the hands of the upper caste people in India for so many centuries that it is a Herculean task to revive their spirits. They have lived their lives on the margins of society for a long time. The Native Americans have also faced oppression at the hands of their colonizers from the first interaction. They were displaced and relegated to the margins of modern civilization and history. The present paper purports to study and analyze two texts by Dalit and Native American writers respectively. It is an effort to understand the common human experience shared by these people in spite of their physical distance. These people have been treated wrongly on the basis of their caste, race, and colour. For this purpose, cultural theory will be applied to the paper. Both authors have honestly represented their lives as a Dalit and as a Native American.