The IUP Journal of English Studies
Across Cultures and Ethnicities: A Multicultural Reading of Pearl S Buck

Article Details
Pub. Date : Dec, 2023
Product Name : The IUP Journal of English Studies
Product Type : Article
Product Code : IJES021223
Author Name : Saba Rauf Rafiqi and Sukhvinderjit Kaur Chopra
Availability : YES
Subject/Domain : Arts & Humanities
Download Format : PDF Format
No. of Pages : 10

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Abstract

A writer much ahead of her time, Pearl S Buck spent her childhood and early years of youth in China, and her writings about the East helped it in developing cultural ties with the West. Buck dealt with many multicultural issues, including race, immigration, women, and minority rights. She was a political activist who had a deep insight and understanding of world politics particularly American politics, and very well gauged the need to bring about a radical change in the global political scenario. Her works explicitly deal with these issues, which, in the 1990s and beyond, became focal points around which the philosophical discourse on multiculturalism was constructed. She believed in "cultural competence"-"the ability of a person to effectively interact, work, and develop meaningful relationships with people of various cultural backgrounds." This paper presents a multicultural reading of Buck's oeuvre and her work as a cultural and social activist.


Introduction
Looking at the present political scenario, it can be easily understood that many global issues and controversies demand a multicultural understanding-a perspective that is liberal, egalitarian, and individual-oriented. In the literary world, a writer whose ideas preceded many of the present theories that stress and focus on individual freedom and equal opportunities is none other than Pearl S Buck. Her contribution is not limited to the field of sociopolitical activism and literature, but is relevant for an understanding of the world scenario in the present day from different perspectives, whether political, social, or geographical. At a time when we are witnessing rampant incidents of racial hatred, xenophobia, and injustice across the world, Buck's works assist present and future generations to foster a humanistic understanding of the world and make it a better place.


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