IJASOS- International E-journal of Advances in Social Sciences

Abstract

The theory of hybridity and ambivalence is not
something that is alien to the postcolonial world. First derived from power
relations between the colonizer and the colonized, it has now evolved into many
different branches. What is understood from it is that it shows that the
relationship between those who hold power and those who are under the rule of a
people is never clear-cut. It is a give and take relationship and gives many
illusions as to how one views the other. Cross-cultural relations are definitely
very complex and we can see this in The
Long Song. We are always creating new identities as the world becomes more
and more globalized. The notion that a culture has to remain unadulterated is a
concept that is almost irrelevant. We are constantly creating new identities to
help us cope with the different experiences that we have and once we are
exposed to it, our way of thinking can never go back to the original. In this
paper, I will draw a connection between July’s belonging, identity, and her
ability to connect with the many people in her life, from her Mistress Caroline
to Massa Robert Goodwin and later, her son and other black or Mulatto people,
to the theory on ambivalence and hybridity by Homi Bhabha. At the end of the
paper, one will be able to articulate that, given the history of Jamaica, the
traits that many postcolonial subjects display go hand in hand with Bhabha’s
theories on ambivalence and hybridity. The discourse on postcolonial subjects,
even more recent ones, has shown a tendency to correlate with the experiences
of their predecessors such as those who were colonized.