Repression and Resistance: A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis of Power Structures in the Novel A God in Every Stone by Kamila Shamsie

Abstract

Human literary history is replete with both fiction and
non-fiction narratives that chronicle intricate patterns of ‘power’ and its
multiple manifestations. There are numerous modes through which
power permeates societies and colonization is one of these many forms
that have always been prevalent in all epochs and centuries. Literary
texts, written by previously colonized nations, usually highlight the major
characteristics of this recurrent historical phenomenon. A God in Every
Stone (2014) by Kamila Shamsie is one of those novels that does not only
illustrate the dynamics of colonization in the subcontinent but also pulls
strands from historical eras to illustrate various manifestations of
dominations. Michel Foucault’s insights into the dynamics of power and
resistance provide a suitable framework to evaluate the power patterns
embedded in the structure of this novel. Therefore, this paper is a
Foucauldian discourse analysis of hegemonic spatial structures,
manufacturing of the colonized subjects, and historical strands of
discursive practices of oppression that reinforce the multiple forms and
levels of power in this narrative. The study argues that macro and micro
forms of subjugations are imbued on numerous levels in this text. The
narrative also highlights multiple forms of counteractive resistant forces
which emanate as a reaction against colonization. Thus, this paper
contends that Shamsie’s novel contains a universal message of hope as it
implies that although there are worldly gods in every stone of human
history, however, resistance to those gods is imminent and endemic.