Oppressed becomes Oppressor: Transformation of Saraswathi in Nayomi Munaweera’s novel “Island of a Thousand Mirrors”

Abstract

Extreme violence has been inflicted in Sri Lanka during Sri Lankan Civil War, from 1983 to 2009 due to the constant discrimination and brutal persecution of Sri Lankan Tamils held by Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lanka government. Such brutality resulted in migration of a large number of Tamils to other countries and remaining joined Tamil militant forces intentionally or forcefully. Series of these events caused adverse consequences on lives of affected people. The paper seeks to explore that how in such circumstances sometimes, the oppressed ones become oppressors. The study considers this view in Paulo Freire’s concepts stated in Pedagogy of the Oppressed (2005) about “oppressor” and “oppressed”. In his view, sometimes the one who is oppressed instead of struggling for freedom, himself/herself becomes oppressor. This research focuses on the character of Saraswathi, an important character in Nayomi Munaweera’s novel Island of a Thousand Mirrors (2012), how she transforms from an oppressed to an oppressor and how her role changed within the society.