POLITICS AND SELF : A STUDY OF GOPAL BARATHAM AND SUCHEN CHRISTINE LIM

Abstract

In this dissertation, it will be contended that in the works of two Singaporean authors -- Gopal Baratham and Suchen Christine Lim, the relationship between politics and self is characterised as oppositional and repressive: the individual is restrained and stifled by the pragmatic and hierarchical politics of the ruling power. In their works, the writers engage in cartography the political mapping of the forms of power exercised in the State's practices to reveal their inherent sovereignty and discursiveness. More importantly, there is an attempt to show that the hegemonic and pragmatic political culture holds many limitations and contradictions, and is unable to cope adequately with the present Singaporean reality. In this context, Baratham and Lim propose alternative ways of handling the Singaporean reality. The ultimate aim is to secure human autonomy within the social scene so that the individuals of the nation need not remain passive ideological products of the exercise of power but live in a context where self-actualization is possible.