An Orientalist Reading: Exploring the “Self” in The Last White Man

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the process of discovering the self in The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid from the standpoint of Orientalism. To achieve the research objectives, it has utilized the theory of Orientalism developed by Edward Said. The goals of the study are to identify the reasons for Anders’ self-discovery process as a protagonist from an Orientalist lens; and second, to explain the conflict of the binary opposition of Orientalism that leads to the segregation of races and its impact on the lives of individuals as portrayed in the novel. Drawing on the methodology of qualitative textual analysis, this paper considers the novel’s characters in light of Orientalism. Therefore, the findings are the following. Firstly, the novel describes the process of Anders’ becoming, his new views on race and identity, which is relevant to Said’s concept of the ‘Other’ in Orientalism. The narrator’s process of discovering oneself mirrors the assimilation and the subsequent critical thinking of the Western paradigm, which is a fundamental concept of Orientalism. Secondly, the novel shows how main oppositional pair of Orientalism affects the segregation of races as well as the lives of people. The characters of the novel change physically and probe into the society’s norms and races, in accordance with Said’s idea of such changes being social constructs. As a result, the concept of power and the norms of society get shifted and this show how the concept of Orientalism has penetrated deeply in the minds of people.