EXPLORING THE DYNAMICS OF SILENCE IN ABDULRAZAK GURNAH’S ADMIRING SILENCE

Abstract

This study analysis the dynamics of silence in Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Admiring Silence, focusing on how silence operates as a mechanism of resistance, survival, and identity reconstruction in postcolonial and diasporic contexts. In Gurnah’s narrative world, silence is not merely the absence of speech but a complex psychological and cultural expression shaped by colonial displacement and racial exclusion. The protagonist’s displacement from Zanzibar to England exposes how silence functions both as a symptom of trauma and as a conscious strategy of self- preservation. Employing a qualitative textual analysis, the research draws upon postcolonial and psychoanalytic theories, particularly insights from Gayatri Spivak, Homi Bhabha, and Michel de Certeau, to explore three interrelated forms of silence – strategic, traumatic, and redemptive.

Through close reading of selected passages, the study reveals that silence in Admiring Silence serves dual purposes: it embodies the protagonist’s internalized trauma and alienation while simultaneously offering a mode of resistance and emotional resilience. Ultimately, the analysis shows that Gurnah’s depiction of silence challenges conventional associations of voice with power and speech with liberation. Silence becomes a space of negotiation where the fragmented self can endure, resist, and reimagine belonging. Further comparative research into Gurnah’s later works may illuminate silence as a recurring motif of endurance and renewal across his postcolonial imagination.