Chapter 2 Maritime Links, Imperialism, and Diaspora in the Ibis Trilogy
In: Eastern and Western Synergies and Imaginations
Author:
Shilpa Daithota Bhat
Shilpa Daithota Bhat
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Abstract
This chapter examines the Ibis Trilogy, comprising The Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke, and Flood of Fire; the three books are grand ethnographic narratives by Indo-Burmese writer Amitav Ghosh. The author explains how Ghosh captures the interfaces between the Orient and the Occident through strategic negotiations between real historical circumstances and invented archival records. Working around the imagery of the ship, a critical symbol in maritime routes and history, Bhat’s discussion also looks at how East-West interactions intensify colonial forces that perpetuate hegemony and create diasporas that characterize the demographics of the contemporary world.