International Journal of Social Science Research (IJSSR)

Amitav Ghosh: A Study of Social, Domestic, Economic and Human Values with Special Reference to Social and Cultural Aspects

Research provides a review of Amitav Ghosh’s books through combined lenses that include various social, domestic, economic, and human values. Aspects of culture and society are especially important when reading the novels. The research used a variety of texts, including The Shadow Lines, The Glass Palace, The Hungry Tide, the Ibis trilogy and Gun Island, plus relevant critical sources for the appropriate texts. The thing that distinguishes Ghosh's fiction is that he does not isolate individuals from their surroundings; rather, the characters are all linked together by multiple elements, including family history (historical background), migration, and the colonial-era transatlantic trade, ecological issues or crises (e.g., global warming), caste, gender, and labour. These cultural connections weave together to impact the character's existence within Ghosh's novels. This article discusses how Ghosh's fiction illustrates the existence of long histories between everyday experiences. For example, in Ghosh's novels there are sites of displacement, poverty, injury, and interruption of people living apart due to borders and different languages; however, these people continue to build meaningful relationships of love, memory, and resilience regardless of their physical or psychological displacement from others. Ghosh's work showcases how social organization continually evolves through the interdependence of human cultural, economic, and traditional values with respect to domestic life and ethics.