A Critical Discourse Analysis of Powerlessness in Mohsin Hamid’s Novel “Moth Smoke”

  • Muhammad Ramzan MPhil (English), Elementary Education, KP, Pakistan
  • Dr. Abdul Karim Khan Assistant Professor, Department of English & Applied Linguistics, UST Bannu
Keywords: CDA, Fairclough’s TDM, Mohsin Hamid, Moth Smoke, Power

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to explore powerlessness in the discourses of Mohsin Hamid’s novel Moth Smoke (2000)' from the perspective of Fairclough's Three Dimension Model (TDM).  The main issue of the paper is to examine the communicative process as to how and why the powerless are made to feel inferior. It is a common practice in today's society that in social gatherings a man always wants to show higher which in most of the cases is exercised through language. As analyzing texts through CDA carries objectivity, so the text understudy yielded the theme of powerlessness projected through the word choice of the writer. Through the analysis of the selected discourse, two-class have been found i.e. the upper class and the lower class. They are represented as powerful and powerless respectively. The elites enjoy a luxurious life but the poor often turn to be criminals. Because of this scenario, Fairclough's approach to CDA is quite an appropriate perspective to explore such social issues enacted in the society.

Published
2020-12-25