Live Like Cockroaches: a Homeless Immigrant's Struggle Leading To Stereotypification

dc.authorscopusid 57233486300
dc.contributor.author Turgut, Z.R.
dc.contributor.other Department of English Language and Literature
dc.date.accessioned 2024-10-06T11:17:07Z
dc.date.available 2024-10-06T11:17:07Z
dc.date.issued 2024
dc.department Atılım University en_US
dc.department-temp Turgut Z.R., Atilim University, School of Arts and Sciences, Department of English Language and Literature, Turkey en_US
dc.description.abstract The use of cockroaches as a metaphor to describe the conditions of immigrants in immigrant literature is a problematic and controversial topic. It is a form of dehumanization that reduces individuals to pests or insects and constitution of demeaning stereotypes and xenophobia. The use of this metaphor can be traced back to colonial and racist attitudes towards non-white, non-Western individuals who were often depicted as primitive, dirty, and inhuman. This view which was used to justify colonialism and segregation is still prevailing in contemporary society through media and cultural representations. In Rawi Hage's novel Cockroach (2008), the use of the cockroach as a metaphor is a central theme throughout the book. The novel tells the story of an unnamed Lebanese immigrant who is struggling to make a new life in Montreal, Canada. The protagonist sees himself as a cockroach, a resilient survivor that can adapt to any environment and cope with any hardship. The cockroach metaphor in this novel might be interpreted in several ways. On the one hand, it can be seen as an indicator of the protagonist's resilience and ability to survive in a hostile and challenging environment. Since the cockroach is known for its ability to survive in harsh conditions, the protagonist sees himself as embodying these traits. On the other hand, the use of the cockroach as a metaphor might also be seen as the representation of the maltreatment of immigrants in Western societies. The protagonist is often marginalized and discriminated, and his identification with the cockroach can be seen as a way of highlighting the way that immigrants are often seen as pests or insects by mainstream society. Thus, the aim of this chapter is to examine Rawi Hage's novel Cockroach in order to reveal the struggles of immigrants in a new country who try to survive although they face many problems, including isolation, discrimination, poverty, and cultural exclusion. © 2023 Peter Lang Group AG, Lausanne. Published by Peter Lang GmbH, Berlin, Deutschland. All rights reserved. en_US
dc.identifier.citationcount 0
dc.identifier.endpage 130 en_US
dc.identifier.isbn 978-363191627-8
dc.identifier.isbn 978-363191267-6
dc.identifier.issue 3 en_US
dc.identifier.scopus 2-s2.0-85188224489
dc.identifier.scopusquality N/A
dc.identifier.startpage 121 en_US
dc.identifier.volume 86 en_US
dc.identifier.wosquality N/A
dc.institutionauthor Turgut, Z.R.
dc.institutionauthor Turgut, Zeynep Rana
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher Peter Lang Publishing Group en_US
dc.relation.ispartof Linguistics: Textual, Contextual, Conceptual Concerns in Contemporary Literary and Cultural Productions en_US
dc.relation.publicationcategory Kitap Bölümü - Uluslararası en_US
dc.rights info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess en_US
dc.scopus.citedbyCount 0
dc.subject Cockroach en_US
dc.subject Cultural Exclusion en_US
dc.subject Discrimination en_US
dc.subject Isolation en_US
dc.subject Rawi Hage en_US
dc.title Live Like Cockroaches: a Homeless Immigrant's Struggle Leading To Stereotypification en_US
dc.type Book Part en_US
dspace.entity.type Publication
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relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication.latestForDiscovery 8b792715-728f-42a9-abba-e7efd76da37e

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