Ambivalence and ambiguity in the formation of identity: a reading of Jose Rizal's El Filibusterismo
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Date
2010-06-24T11:26:39Z
Authors
Aldana-Heinermann, Michelle
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Abstract
ABSTRACT
This study examines the manifestation of ambivalence and ambiguity in the formation of
identity as read in José Rizal’s El Filibusterismo. The location of the study within a
colonial novel using elements of fiction such as the roles of the narrator, reader and
author, characters, and the plot as sites of examination is intended to trace the source of
ongoing manifestations of ambivalence in identity in post-colonial societies.
The study indicates that national identity formation in societies where injustice and
oppression is present is necessarily intertwined with struggle. In light of this, the
research attempts to examine the psychology behind the fight for independence and
demonstrate the ambivalent and ambiguous response of the subject to separation, which
is viewed as a natural progression of identity construction. The examination of
ambivalence serves to indicate the consequences of the subject’s internalization of the
colonial framework which manifests itself to this day in post-colonial societies.