Shanlax International Journal of English

Visual Representation of Gender in English Language Textbooks

2025-09-01T14:03:23+00:00

Education plays an important role in shaping students’ lives, because students tend to uphold and practice what they learn in the classroom. Therefore, promoting gender equality in English language education is essential, as it not only influences students’ attitudes, but also advances the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 5 (Gender Equality). In Sri Lanka, textbooks are the primary material used by teachers for teaching. Hence, textbooks have the potential to foster a positive self-image among students regarding gender. Visual representations, especially in school textbooks, play a vital role in shaping the perceptions and attitudes of students, and have an immediate impact on students rather than textual content. Gender stereotypes in the visual content presented in English language textbooks could perpetuate traditional gender roles and limit students’ understanding of gender roles in society. Therefore, it is crucial to examine the representation of gender in these textbooks. This study aimed to explore how gender is visually represented in English language textbooks used at the secondary level (Grades 6 to 11) in Sri Lankan schools. This mixed-methods research employs content analysis to explore gender representation in the visual content found in English language textbooks published by the Educational Publication Department. This study specifically examines four specific aspects: the numerical representation of boys, men, and girls or women in visuals; the types of activities depicted visually for each gender; the portrayal of occupational identities illustrated through visuals; and the inclusion of great personalities in visual content. The findings revealed a clear imbalance in the visual representation of gender in the selected English language textbooks. Furthermore, this study highlighted the need for more gender-inclusive visuals in English language textbooks to promote gender equality in classroom learning.

Witnessing Partition: Trauma, Memory, and History in Khushwant Singh’s Fiction

2025-09-01T14:03:23+00:00

Khushwant Singh’s major novels, particularly Train to Pakistan, I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale, and Delhi, are acclaimed for their subtle portrayal of the traumatic legacy of the 1947 Partition and its aftermath, and this article, through its qualitative literary analysis, reinterprets his fiction through the lens of trauma studies by way of drawing on theories by Cathy Caruth, Dominick LaCapra, and Kali Tal to foreground how these works portray psychological, collective, and generational trauma. The paper also foregrounds the way(s) the writer writes with detached, quasi-historical objectivity and uses recurring animalistic metaphors to lay bare the dehumanising impact of communal violence. As exemplified by the ghost train of massacred bodies in Train to Pakistan, the dying words of Sabhrai in Shall Not Hear the Nightingale and the enigmatic figure of Bhagmati in Delhi convey unspeakable horrors obliquely, signifying the layered dimensions of trauma. This paper attempts to analyse how Singh’s dual role as a novelist and historian enables a uniquely candid yet compassionate chronicle of partition trauma and thus offers fresh insight into partition literature and the processes of cultural memory and healing.

Double Marginalisation: An Uncharted Struggle for Identity

2025-09-01T14:03:24+00:00

Refugees encounter significant obstacles due to forced displacement which includes losing their homes, jobs, and social networks. They often face difficulties integrating into their host countries, grappling with cultural differences and employment challenges, and frequently experience systemic exclusion. Among these refugees, families with members with disability endure even more severe difficulties such as limited mobility, insufficient healthcare, and societal stigma. These additional challenges not only hinder their autonomy but also alter family dynamics, placing considerable pressure on caregivers and exacerbating their marginalisation. This study used Cognitive Dissonance Theory and Transactional Analysis to investigate the psychological and social challenges faced by refugees with disability. The novel The Beekeeper of Aleppo (2019) is a key text in this examination, portraying the compounded difficulties of refugee families through the character of Afra, who is blind.However, the research does not use empirical field studies or cross-cultural data across multiple refugee populations, and its scope is restricted to fictional representation within a single novel. This study highlights the critical need for inclusive refugee policies that acknowledge the specific vulnerabilities of disabled individuals. By addressing these inequalities, humanitarian initiatives can promote accessibility, independence, and dignity, leading to a more just and compassionate approach to refugee crisis.

Unraveling Traditional Gender Boundaries: A New Paradigm of Identity in Ladies Coupe

2025-09-01T14:03:24+00:00

Anita Nair is a well-known postmodern Indian English novelist. Her novel, Ladies Coupé, explores several women’s lives through personal journeys. In today’s society, the rigid boundaries of conventional gender roles are being increasingly questioned. Ladies Coupé is a compelling exploration of these issues, offering a nuanced perspective on gender identity, societal expectations, and blurring of traditional roles. By focusing on female characters’ experiences within the confines of a ladies’ compartment, the novel provides a microcosmic view of the broader societal constraints and expectations that shape women’s lives. This article uses feminist and psychoanalytic literary criticism as its primary methodological framework to examine how Ladies Coupé challenges the traditional conceptions of masculinity and femininity, highlighting the complexities of gender identity in modern India. This paper analyzes the characters of the novel to show how it subverts conventional gender stereotypes and offers a more nuanced portrayal of gender expression. By examining characters’ interactions and relationships, this article explores how social expectations can both limit and empower women. The women’s compartment symbolises both the restrictions and possibilities that women face in a patriarchal society. Through their experiences, the characters demonstrate women’s resilience and autonomy in challenging the established gender norms. This research suggests that the novel not only critiques patriarchal structures but also envisions a transformative redefinition of gender roles and identities in Indian culture, offering new insights into how women’s voices can influence cultural and social change. The research eventually finds that Ladies Coupé not only criticises patriarchal standards but also redefines gender roles by depicting female characters who regain their identity, autonomy, and voice, providing a transformational picture of femininity in modern Indian culture.

Home is Where the Feet Are: A Diasporic Study of Yasmine Gooneratne’s A Change of Skies

2025-09-01T14:03:24+00:00

Diasporic writing has garnered interest among literary audiences because it amplifies the voices of colonial individuals on a global stage. It advocates indigenous people’s identity within their ancestral territory. The key themes included displacement and exile, regret for the past, identity crisis, alienation, belonging, culture shock, assimilation, and acculturation. V.S. Naipaul, Uma Parameswaran, Meena Alexander, and Yasmine Gooneratne were the most notable diasporic writers. In this paper, Yasmine Gooneratne’s A Change of Skies has been taken up for study and it attempts to analyse the novel through the prism of diasporic studies. This paper begins with a succinct introduction to diaspora and diasporic literature, followed by an author introduction, a literature review, the research methodology employed, a synopsis of the novel, and a comprehensive discussion of the study. It concludes with an optimistic perspective on cultural adaptation and assimilation in the adopted land while also emphasising the potential for future research on this topic. Novel.
In this paper, three recurrent phases experienced by diasporic people, cultural shock, assimilation, and acculturation, have been used as research tools to elucidate the distinctions between traditionalists and assimilationists and conclude on an optimistic note regarding cultural hybridity, emphasising the significance of adaptation and assimilation in a new environment, as well as the role of multiculturalism in enabling diasporic individuals to lead fulfilling lives abroad, while also underscoring their emotional ties to their homeland.
This novel is a luminous debut that chronicles the adventures of the Sri Lankan couple, Bharat Mangala Devasinha, and his wife Navaranjini, as they settle in Australia. Bharat and Navaranjini had to accommodate the new culture at the initial stage of their arrival, but later started to embrace their new culture and lead a harmonious life in their adopted land. Acceptance serves as the superior remedy for expatriates seeking to alleviate their feelings of alienation, as illustrated by the author through her characters Barry and Jean. Thus, this study underscores the significance of assimilation and cultural hybridity while preserving their original identity. Future research may further investigate the diasporic literature through comparative analyses of South Asian diasporic experiences in various host nations, explore the identity formation of second-generation immigrants, and assess the transformative role of digital media in influencing diasporic consciousness and cultural preservation.