Colonial Apparatus in the Postcolonial Discourse of Admiring Silence by Abdulrazak Gurnah

Abstract

This study investigates the operation of the colonial apparatus in Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Admiring Silence through the theoretical framework of postcolonial criticism. It examines how the novel represents colonial authority, domination, dependency, otherness, and psychological and cultural oppression while exploring the enduring effects of colonialism on identity formation and migrant experience. The analysis focuses on the protagonist’s internal conflicts, experiences of racism and discrimination, and his struggle to negotiate belonging between Tanzania and Britain. Particular attention is given to the role of memory in exposing colonial history and revealing the continuing influence of colonial structures within postcolonial societies. The study also explores the representation of family relationships in both colonial Tanzania and culturally hybrid British-African communities, highlighting the tensions between African and Western cultural identities. The findings demonstrate that the novel reconstructs colonial history through a fragmented narrative that reflects crises of memory and identity while exposing the persistence of colonial power in cultural, political, linguistic, and even medical forms beyond formal independence. Ultimately, the research shows that Gurnah’s narrative challenges Orientalist discourse and uncovers mechanisms of surveillance, marginalization, symbolic violence, and epistemic domination, presenting the narrator as an embodiment of the ongoing struggle between selfhood, belonging, and competing cultural identities.