SUBALTERN VOICES AND RESISTANCE: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF 'THE TENANT' BY RABINDRANATH TAGORE

Abstract

This paper examines how subaltern voices and resistance are represented in The Tenant by Rabindranath Tagore with the help of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). It also seeks to explore the way oppressed characters especially rural tenants are depicted in the socio-economic and feudal system of colonial Bengal and how they can voice their dissent against the dominant system. The research is qualitative in nature as it is based on textual analysis to examine linguistic and narrative techniques that form subaltern identity, social vulnerability, and agency. The results show that Tagore preempts the experiences of the tenant with a focus on economical reliance, social exclusion, and emotional strength. Though the tenant holds the subordinate status in the social hierarchy, his daily activities, working hard on the land, and moral endurance, can be seen as the forms of resistance, which promulgate the dignity and independence in the context of structural situations. Another theme that is mentioned in the study is the language and characterization of the narrative which reveals the power struggles between the landlords and tenants and criticizes the inequalities of the society at the time of colonization. Combining subaltern theory and CDA, this study shows how literature can give voice to historically silenced groups and offer an avenue through which the concepts of resistance and agency can be explored. The research has value to the postcolonial literature studies, as it provides a deeper understanding of the relationship between language, power, and ideology in narrative pieces. It can be beneficial to researchers, educators, and students who may be interested in literature, social justice, and how oppressed groups manage the circumstances through discourse and symbolic resistance.