Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL)

A Peer Reviewed (Refereed) International Journal Vol.10.Issue 2. 2022

Impact Factor 6.8992 (ICI) http://www.rjelal.com; (April-June)
Email:editorrjelal@gmail.com; ISSN:2395-2636 (P); 2321-3108(O)

RESEARCH ARTICLE

FLUID IDENTITY

Dr. Navdeep Kaur Gill

Assistant Professor (English)

Abstract
The present paper is an attempt to analyze fluid identity with reference to The
Shadow Lines. Different perspectives on identity formation are the central focus of
the analysis. The purpose is to reevaluate the set norms vis a vis identity formation
and redefine it. Fluidity in identity is not because of a person’s personality
characteristics but due to many other biological, geographical, social, and cultural
Article Received: 27/05/2022 factors. Due to the fluidity in factors, the identity always remains in a flux.
Article Accepted: 28/06/2022
Keywords: Identity, Fluid, Ghosh, Social, Cultural, Belongingness
Published online:30/06/2022
DOI: 10.33329/rjelal.10.2.284

Introduction consistent as Erikson points out identity formation is

continuous, a never-ending process. (114)
“No man ever steps into the same river
twice.” (Heraclitus 246) Analysis: It can be verified by a very simple
observation: A human being has to define himself as
Above words point to fluidity as a prevailing
a member of particular society/community/religious
and all-encompassing principle of life. All things
group. However, belongingness cannot be
around us readily testify to this observation. At the
ascertained that simplistically. The multi-
matter, the change is explained by the theory of
dimensionality of one’s existence gives way to
evolution. Evolution of human mind is equally fluid.
multiple identities. Obviously one type of identity
Aristotle said, “Nature abhors a vacuum” (41).
does not deny the others. However, which is more
Likewise life appears to abhor stagnation.
authentic and valuable cannot be determined. Here
What is identity? is an simple example to illustrate the above point: a
Identity is one of the basic human quests. human being may define himself, say as a Hindu.
“Who am I ?” is a question nearly every human asks Later, he has to pin point which of four casts/ vernas
himself/herself or somebody else sooner or later. It he belongs to. Within these casts, there are further
is as old a question as human existence. The desire sub casts/sub groups such as Brahmanical subcasts
to define oneself in terms of identity is very complex Kanyakubz and Sarbapani. Add to it the national
and needs a conscious process of thought. Identity identity and we have such as an Indian/ Hindu/
has been variously defined. To quote Rutheleen Brahman/ Kanyakubz. Some other factors such as
Josselson, “Identity is the stable, consistent and economic (rich/ poor/ middle-class) and regional
reliable sense of Who one is, What one stands for in (northern/southern). Now we need to redefine the
the world” (10). Contrary to what Rutheleen claims above level as (Indian/ Hindu/ Brahman/
identity cannot be accepted as something stable or Kanyakubz/ Rich Brahman/ Bengali Brahman).

284 Dr. Navdeep Kaur Gill

Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL)
A Peer Reviewed (Refereed) International Journal Vol.10.Issue 2. 2022
Impact Factor 6.8992 (ICI) http://www.rjelal.com; (April-June)
Email:editorrjelal@gmail.com; ISSN:2395-2636 (P); 2321-3108(O)
Likewise many other identities can be added globalization, socio-cultural matrix began to be
reflecting the continuity of identity formation. restructured. Diverse groups came into contact with
each other asserting their values. The exchange of
Fluidity in identity is not only due to multiple
values fashioned a new set of values that partook of
aspects of one’s personality. It is also influenced by
participating cultures. This new social entity when
the very nature of life which is intrinsically in flux. To
introduced with other groups brought about new
illustrate the above argument two perspectives have
socio-cultural group. The case of Punjabi migrants
been considered below: Biological and geographical.
illustrates this point. Over the last three decades a
Human body is constantly evolving. Old cells die and
large population of Punjabis has moved to American
new are born such that all cellular system is renewed
and European countries. Particularly in Canada fast
every seven years. Equally interesting is the
growing number of Punjabis has begun to influence
geographical factors that physical factors
the native culture. The Punjabis have gained a
surrounding human life. Geologists have found out
noticeable presence in the country. It is reflected in
that millions of years ago there was only one grand
the fact that Punjabi is the second language after
continent called Pangaea. It was broken down into
English in Canada. Moreover, the telltale signs of
seven by a movement of tactical plates. Some
Punjabi presence in Canada can be seen on the
geologists have put forward the hypothesis that the
street sign boards written in Punjabi.
whole process may be reversed merging the
fragments into the whole again. It clearly explains Further more interaction among diverse
that identity can never be permanent as the factors societies often leads to hybridization of their
that underpin it, are themselves fluid. individual values. People belonging to the hybrid
place i. e. those in between place have strange
Moreover the problematic nature of
identities; they belong to both cultures yet, in a way
language boldly defies all attempts of identification.
belong to neither. Their mixed identity needs for a
The post structuralist idea of ‘floating signifier’
separate sense of self.
precludes the very possibility of an absolute and
fluid identity. To elaborate, deconstruction From the above discussion it can be
emphasizes that the meaning conveyed by a signifier concluded that the identity is fluid. The following
is not self-explanatory. It calls for a cluster of part of paper discusses the concept of identity
another signifier wherein each term calls for new analyzed by Amitav Ghosh in The Shadow Lines.
clusters. This process goes on ad infinitum. In words
The novel under discussion as its title
it is impossible to reach the meaning. Lacan, in his
suggests, treats all categories of identity as unreal.
theory of psychoanalysis, analyzes this problematic
Influence of time on creating new identities and
of language. His theory of mirror stage delves into it.
erasing old ones has been emphasized all through.
According to Lacan the quest for identity of a child
How floating on the river of time, the real turns into
begins when he enters mirror stage (76-77). In this
a shadow or it evolves a mirage like existence.
stage, his identification with his own image starts
Viewing from the vantage point of the present, the
(77). At the same time he enters into language
bygone events appear illusionary. For example: The
because he needs linguistic terms to define himself.
riots of 1864 that took place in Calcutta hit the world
But whatever he uses in this attempt are merely
news. It had deeply wounded the national psyche
symbolic. As a result, identity remains undefined. It
and seemed to have left an indelible mark, a trauma
follows from the above that to form a notion of
from which it seemed is unable to recover. Contrary
identity in linguistic terms is impossible.
to it, the wound evaporated soon. Its volatile
The concept of fluidity is logically applicable existence was due to fluid nature of life. Ghosh
at socio-cultural level. In the earlier times, the socio- describes it in the following words, “By the end of
cultural identities used to be stable, well-defined January 1964 the riots had faded away from the
and distinct. There was a sense of belongingness to pages of newspapers, disappeared from the
the geographical place. Further, under the impact of collective imagination of ‘responsible opinion’,

285 Dr. Navdeep Kaur Gill

Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL)
A Peer Reviewed (Refereed) International Journal Vol.10.Issue 2. 2022
Impact Factor 6.8992 (ICI) http://www.rjelal.com; (April-June)
Email:editorrjelal@gmail.com; ISSN:2395-2636 (P); 2321-3108(O)
vanished without leaving a trace in the histories and The appalling effect of sudden and irrational
bookshelves” (230). change in national identity is well illustrated in Sadat
Hasan Manto’s “Toba Tek Singh”. It is the story of a
Despite the impossibility of recovering any
lunatic asylum through which the line of partition
truth from the decayed memory, one cannot forget
(Indo-Pak) is to be drawn. The inmates of the place
the past. There is something about the past that still
are required to choose their sides. The protagonist
draws all towards itself. It is reflected in the frequent
chooses to leave his place to move to either India or
usage of terms like memory, forgetting and
Pakistan. The officer in charge says that the
remembering which have been used a number of
protagonist does not have to change his place, but
times in the novel. Memory becomes a way of
only the name. Such crazy word drives the crazy man
connecting to the past wherein seem to lie the roots
crazier: “‘Where is Toba Tek Singh?’ he asked.
of one’s very existence. Moreover such abundant
‘Where? Why, it is where it has always been.’ ‘In
use of terms of recollection suggest writer’s strong
India or in Pakistan?’ ‘In India…. No, in Pakistan.’”
attachment with his personal history. Constant
(Manto17). The narrator’s grandmother in the
seeking in the past grows out of curious mind that
shadow Lines views the whole issue of national
the writer or the narrator possesses. Defining this
identity in the same light as Toba Tek Singh does.
urge Ghosh says, “A longing for everything that was
Such concept is fundamentally fluid for further lines
not in oneself, a torment of the flesh, that carried
of partition may be drawn anywhere, robing people
one beyond the limits of one’s mind to other times
of their identity and thrusting upon them a new one.
and other places, and even if one was lucky to a
An old man symbolizing dusty wisdom in the novel
place where there was no border between oneself
can anticipate this turmoil when he says:
and one’s image in the mirror” (29). It is the same
torment that fuels the seeker and engages him Once you start moving, you never stop. That’s
relentlessly to attain an unattainable goal. what I told my sons when they took the
trains. I said I don’t believe in this India-
Further Ghosh questions the very idea of
Shindia. It’s all very well, you are going away
national identity. The national identity is regarded a
now, but suppose when you get there, they
very potential defining factor of an individual self.
decide to draw another line somewhere? And
Such an identity is basically psychological in nature
what will you do then? Where will you move
formed by socio-cultural values. These values are
to? No one will have you anywhere. (Ghosh
rooted in specific ideologies relating to particular
215)
geographical entity. However this geographical
arrangement may be reconfigured anytime leading Conclusion
to revising the national identity. People belonging to
The answer to “Who am I?” can open the
one type of national identity may be compelled
pandora’s box letting loose a confusing mass of
overnight to subscribe to another. It is not merely
answers each claiming to be the answer, however
the change of label but one is required to give up
the answer cannot be given in essentialist/absolute
one’s whole thinking process in favour of another. It
terms. It is always in the making. It is being born with
is often very traumatic experience. Ghosh illustrates
paradoxical certainty that its birth is deferred
it in the following lines:
endlessly. Ghosh’s characters try desperately to
My grandmother looking out of her window wriggle out of this paradoxical anguish, but in vain.
in amazement, exclaimed: when I last came The answer to the identity question always remains
here ten years ago, there were rice fields in the evolutionary womb to know that one is yet to
running alongside the road; it was the kind of be is to know what one is.
place where rich Calcutta people built garden
Works Cited and Consulted
houses and look at it now- as filthy as a
babui’s nest. It’s all because of refugees in Aristotle. Physics. Trans. Edward Hussey. Oxford:
like that. (131) Clarendon Press. 1983. Print.

286 Dr. Navdeep Kaur Gill

Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL)
A Peer Reviewed (Refereed) International Journal Vol.10.Issue 2. 2022
Impact Factor 6.8992 (ICI) http://www.rjelal.com; (April-June)
Email:editorrjelal@gmail.com; ISSN:2395-2636 (P); 2321-3108(O)
Erikson. E.H. Identity and the Life Cycle.
New York: International University Press.
1959. Print.

Lacan, Jacques. Ecrits. London: W. W. Norton &

Company. 2006. Print.

Ghosh, Amitav. The Shadow Lines. Delhi: Ravi Dayal

Publisher. 1988. Print

“Heraclitus”. Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.

Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1979. Print.

Josselson, R. L. Finding Herself: Pathways to Identity

Development in Women. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass. 1987. Print.

Manto, Saadat Hasan. Kingdom’s End and Other

Stories. New Delhi: Penguin Books. 1989.
Print.

287 Dr. Navdeep Kaur Gill