Failure of identity formation in Jean Rhys’s voyage in the dark

Abstract

This research paper examines the question of identity in postcolonial literature. The hybrid culture of postcolonial societies is revealed through examining how postcolonial, more specifically, Caribbean writers such as Jean Rhys described her protagonist’s journey of searching for an identity. This type of authors discusses how displacement, alienation and even language impacted the postcolonial Diaspora. They are making an effort to rebuild their identities or create new ones. We use the descriptive-analytical method throughout the three chapters of this study. The case study lends itself to postcolonial theory due to its containing some notable themes of postcolonialism. We first go through the topic of postcolonialism and its relation with identity, and then we discuss the very question of identity as related to postcolonial literature. The results demonstrate that the components that influence identity like: displacement and alienation, are the same that can cause its crisis. This research shows that the individuals who experience immigration are subject to suffering from inner struggles between two different identities and a complete failure in building a new one.