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Exploring Queerness in School and Home in 'Funny Boy' by Shyam Selvadurai

Delve into the themes of education, family ties, and British colonial influences through a critical analysis of Shyam Selvadurai's novel "Funny Boy." This study examines the complexities of queer identity within the confines of school and home, highlighting the struggles faced by the protagonist, Arjie, as he navigates societal expectations and self-discovery. Through a detailed exploration of key scenes and characters, this research provides insights into the interplay of power dynamics, fragmented identities, and acts of rebellion in a turbulent setting.

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Exploring Queerness in School and Home in 'Funny Boy' by Shyam Selvadurai

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  1. FUNNY BOY(3): QUEERING HOME & SCHOOL Riot Journal The Best School of ALL Shyam Selvadurai

  2. Outline • Introduction: School & Home as Ideological State Apparatus (ISA) • Discussion Questions • The Best School of All • Riot Journal

  3. Two Critical Views

  4. Key Words -- Education as un-learning -- Untying the family ties

  5. Introduction: Home & the Unhomely Bildung

  6. Introduction: Colonial Intertexts The Best School of All (by Sir Henry Newbolt) Vitae Lampada … The river of death has brimmed his banks, And England's far, and Honour a name, But the voice of schoolboy rallies the ranks, "Play up! play up! and play the game!"  It's good to see the School we knew,The land of youth and dream,To greet again the rule we knewBefore we took the stream:Though long we've missed the sight of her,Our hearts may not forget;We've lost the old delight of her,We keep her honour yet. ,,, The King & I, Little Women

  7. Introduction: Queering the language Politics & Language: • Arjietransferred to Victoria Academy and placed in a Sinhalese class, as the father’s attempts at normalizing him • Arjie and Shehan’s reading of Newbolt’s poems at the British council • Arjie’s mixing of the two poems at the beginning of his practice, and at the end.

  8. Characters in Conflicts

  9. Discussion Questions “The Best School of All” 1) Authority: How are images of authority presented? 2) Fragmentation: How is the school divided into two camps, while having its hierarchy maintained? 3) Transgression: How does Arjie get attracted to Shehan? What roles do family members (father, mother, Diggy, Sonali) play? Why is he disgusted by the first sexual act? How is his sexual initiation connected with politics on the one hand, and games on the other? “Riot Journal” • Fragmentation: What does the fragmentary nature of this writing convey Arjie’s feelings? • Loss: Why is he not able to feel anything about the loss of his burned house until the very end? (291; 292) • Mob, Neighbors and Lovers: What roles do neighbors play? What do you think about the last encounter between Arjie and Shehan?

  10. Education of Masculinity • be like a man: not to tell parents • taller and larger than Arjie, with “loud confidence” • play rugger with brutality • playing crickets by cheating, fawning on the judges, or with violence (227)

  11. References • Bell, Katherine. "Breaking the narrative ties that bind in Shyam Selvadurai's Funny Boy." ESC 38.3–4 (September/December 2012): 255–75. • Jayawickrama, Sharanya. "At Home in the Nation? Negotiating Identity in Shyam Selvadurai’s Funny Boy." The Journal of Commonwealth Literature-2005-Jayawickrama-Vol 40.2(2005): 123–39.

  12. Next Week • Your paper project • Compare & Contrast • One of the following: • Cartographies of Diaspora Chap 8 • Butler, Gender Performance

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