INTRODUCTION

The fields of intersectionality and postcolonial feminism have had a considerable influence on contemporary literary criticism. These fields have done this by calling into question the many power structures that have been constructed and by shedding light on the intricate relationship that exists between gender, race, and identity in literary works. In response to the failure of classic Western feminism to fully address the specific issues that women in historically colonized regions experience, postcolonial feminism emerged as a response to this failure. The concept of intersectionality, which was introduced by Kimberlé Crenshaw, provides a framework for understanding the many ways in which different types of oppression and privilege are formed by the interaction of several identities, such as gender, race, social class, and sexual orientation. The combination of these two critical approaches is something that academics should do in order to have a deeper understanding of how postcolonial literature reflects the complexities of oppressed identities.

Concepts of resistance, community, and self in contrast prevalent ideals

The research conducted by postcolonial feminists focuses on the difficulties that women in countries that are or were colonized confront, as well as the ways in which imperialism and patriarchy have influenced the lives of these women. In this context, postcolonial literature serves as a platform that allows for the depiction of the challenges faced by these women, while also offering narratives of resistance, strength, and the process of the individual recovering their identity. The effect of this is that authors who investigate the period after the end of colonial rule often deal with complicated themes pertaining to gender, race, and identity. In particular, these narratives highlight the tale of women of colour and how they rethink concepts of resistance, community, and self in contrast to the prevalent ideals that are Eurocentric.

The research is strengthened by the inclusion of intersectionality, which means that it acknowledges the fact that the experiences of disadvantaged individuals are influenced by several social categories. When considering a postcolonial feminist interpretation, it is important to take into account the intricate relationship between a character's power dynamics and the interplay of gender, race, and class. In postcolonial contexts, where several forms of marginalization coexist and interact with one another, it is vital to use an intersectional perspective in order to appreciate the breadth and complexity of the oppression that women face.

Providing insight into the ways in which literature both reflects and affects gender, race, and identity concerns, the intersectionality and postcolonial feminism that are characteristic of contemporary literary criticism provide light on this phenomenon. Our understanding of the postcolonial female experience may be improved by looking at works from nations such as the Caribbean, South Asia, and Africa. This is because the postcolonial female experience is both universal and highly contextualized. Typically, the issues that are brought to light by these texts include the confrontation between colonial and indigenous cultures, the struggle for autonomy and representation in communities where imperialist legacies are still felt, and the tension between tradition and modernity.

Through the perspective of postcolonial feminism and intersectionality as they relate to contemporary literary criticism, the objective of this essay is to analyze the ways in which authors deal with issues of gender, race, and identity in their works while analyzing contemporary literary criticism. The study adopts a comparative approach in an attempt to demonstrate how postcolonial writers challenge patriarchal and imperialist norms in a variety of ways. This is accomplished by establishing links between different cultural contexts and literary traditions. After everything is said and done, the findings of this research will demonstrate how essential it is to examine literature through the glasses of intersectional and postcolonial feminist perspectives while discussing issues of social justice and equality.

OBJECTIVES

1.     To investigate how the intersections of gender, race, and identity are addressed in a few chosen postcolonial books by postcolonial feminist literary theory.

2.     To examine, via the intersectional perspective, how postcolonial literature challenges imperialist and patriarchal systems.

METHODOLOGY

The primary emphasis of this qualitative comparative study is on the depictions of gender and identity that can be found in a few specific postcolonial texts. The stages involved in the procedure are as follows:

1. Textual Analysis: Readings of original works with the purpose of analyzing gender and identity issues via the lens of the stories and characters told inside.

2. Thematic Analysis: Analyzing how the chosen texts deal with subjects like resistance, intersectionality, and hybridity.

3. Contextual Analysis: By analyzing the novels in light of their historical, social, and political settings, we may learn how colonial legacies shape the stories told and the people portrayed.

The selection of Things Fall Apart, Wide Sargasso Sea, and The God of Small Things as the key texts was based on the various geographical and cultural depictions of post-colonial experiences. The combined analysis of these three documents sheds light on the ongoing revision of gender and identity from a comparative and nuanced perspective.

RESULT

Over the course of this study, the novels Things Fall Apart, The God of Small Things, and Wide Sargasso Sea are studied through the lens of a qualitative and comparative methodology. According to the findings, there is a complicated web of gender and identity renegotiations that are impacted by post-colonial environments. The following are some of the significant findings that emerged from the textual, topical, and contextual analysis:

Textual Analysis

According to the analyses of the novels, gender and identity play significant parts in the storylines and character development of each of the books. Things Fall Apart is a work by Chinua Achebe that illustrates the pre-colonial Igbo patriarchal structures. In these systems, masculinity is connected with authority, power, and social position. This social order is disrupted as a result of the invasion of colonial forces, which in turn causes the characters' sense of identity to become muddled and presents fresh challenges to the gender norms that have been in place for a long time, such as the diminishment of Okonkwo's masculinity.

In her postcolonial Indian book, "The God of Small Things," Arundhati Roy raises issues about the inequity that exists between castes and genders. The characters, notably Ammu, bring to light the interconnection of oppression by questioning established gender conventions and caste-based discrimination. This is accomplished via concerns of forbidden love and social transgression. The manner in which Roy portrays female characters in opposition to patriarchal limits exemplifies the complex process of negotiating one's own identity within a society that is rooted in colonial and traditional norms.

In the novel Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys re imagines the character of Bertha Mason from Jane Eyre, bringing to the forefront issues of race, gender, and colonial identity simultaneously. The struggles that Antoinette has with her Creole identity and the marginalization that she has experienced in both colonial and European contexts are examples of how post-colonial societies bring attention to the interconnections of gender and race. Rhys challenges the colonial narrative and demonstrates how patriarchy and colonialism work together to deprive Antoinette of her individuality and identity. He does this by giving Antoinette a voice.

Thematic Analysis

There are three themes that are prevalent across the works that were selected, and these are hybridity, resistance, and intersectionality. The battle between cultural self-definition and colonial legacies is shown via hybridity in works such as Things Fall Apart, which combines indigenous and colonial traditions, and Wide Sargasso Sea, which represents Antoinette's broken identity. Both of these works are examples of hybridity. The essential problem of resistance against colonial and patriarchal structures is the central theme that runs across all three sets of works. Ammu, the protagonist of The God of Small Things, rejects the harsh forces that are shaping his existence. The struggle that Okonkwo goes through to maintain his traditional masculinity is shown in Things Fall Apart. It is shown in Wide Sargasso Sea that Antoinette would eventually fall apart.

The consideration of Wide Sargasso Sea and The God of Small Things, in particular, draws attention to the ways in which gender, race, and class intersect with one another. Ammu's gender-based persecution intersects with her position as a woman inside a stringent caste-based system, whilst Antoinette finds herself in a racial and cultural limbo owing to the fact that she is of Creole descent. There is a lot of crossover between the two. The works demonstrate how the characters are confronted with a variety of challenges as a result of the cumulative consequences of a number of different forms of marginalization.

Contextual Analysis

The historical and social contexts of these novels demonstrate that colonial legacies have an impact on gender and identity. Throughout the course of Things Fall Apart, the arrival of British colonizers causes a shift in the gender dynamics that exist within the Igbo community, hence disrupting the previously established social order. The imposition of new legal and religious systems has resulted in the displacement of indigenous values, which has led to the collapse of traditional gender standards and the marginalization of individuals such as Okonkwo.

The God of Small Things is a novel that takes place in post-colonial India and explores the subtle relationship between colonial power dynamics and gender and caste. Through the demonstration of the caste system as an afterthought of divide-and-rule strategies used by colonial authorities, Roy brings to light the continued influence of colonialism on the stratification of society in contemporary India.

Within the context of Wide Sargasso Sea, the gender and racial inequalities that emerged in the Caribbean as a consequence of colonialism are investigated. The struggle that Antoinette had to go through in order to fit into either the white European culture or the black Jamaican society is an example of the long-lasting impact that colonial ideas had on gender and race. The historical background of Colonial Jamaica sheds insight on the ways in which these legacies have an effect on collective and individual identities.

The examination of Things Fall Apart, The God of Small Things, and Wide Sargasso Sea in conjunction with one another demonstrates that post-colonial narratives provide us with a nuanced and intricate depiction of the reevaluation of gender and identity in the aftermath of colonialism. Intersectionality, which refers to the manner in which gender, race, and class interact to shape people's lives, is shown to have a substantial impact in these texts, which demonstrate how colonial legacies continue to have an impact on contemporary social institutions. The findings underline the need of intersectional and postcolonial feminist approaches to postcolonial literature in order to appreciate gender and identity in all of their complexities.

DISCUSSIONS

Gender as Resistance

Things Fall Apart is a book written by Chinua Achebe that explores the oppressive patriarchal norms that are prevalent in Igbo society and demonstrates how these norms make individuals feel confined. The rethinking of gender roles is a consequence of these tensions, which are rendered even more severe by the meddling of colonial institutions. Additionally, Rhys portrays Antoinette's descent into insanity in Wide Sargasso Sea as a response to the oppression that she endured at the hands of colonial and patriarchal authorities.

Hybridity and Identity Formation

There are a number of characters in Roy's novel The God of Small Things who fight to retain both their traditional Indian identity and the modernity that has remained from the time of colonialism. The representation of identical twins Rahel and Estha, who symbolize the identity fragmentation experienced by post-colonial countries, sheds insight on the complex dynamics of belonging and alienation. This is accomplished via the depiction of the twins.

Intersectionality and Oppression

The way in which gender, social class, and racial identity interact with one another is a theme that is present in each and every one of these stories. At the same time that colonial rule is shown, the patriarchal system that exists inside the civilizations of the female characters is also demonstrated. The dual nature of oppression in post-colonial cultures is shown by the dual resistance that is taking place.

CONCLUSION

By looking at the intersections of gender, race, and identity in relation to colonial and post-colonial experiences via the lens of postcolonial English literature, it is possible to have a deeper understanding of these situations. Through the use of concepts like as resistance, hybridity, and the complicated web of intersectionality, these narratives provide a criticism of patriarchal and imperialist structures. In doing so, they dismantle simple depictions of oppressed identities. The assessment of literature from Africa, South Asia, and the Caribbean revealed that women and other oppressed groups face universal but context-specific conflicts in a variety of civilizations. This research demonstrates that these conflicts are universal yet context-specific. The findings provide light on the significance of postcolonial feminist critique in challenging established norms and advancing conversations about gender equality, cultural identity, and intersectional oppression. This is accomplished by bringing attention to the interconnectedness of gender, race, and class. Postcolonial literature is able to challenge long-established power systems, which is one of the reasons why it continues to play a significant part in conversations concerning feminist literary criticism and identity politics. There is little dispute about this.