EAST, WEST, AND THE SPACES BETWEEN: A POSTCOLONIAL READING OF CIVILIZATION AND BARBARISM IN LANDING GEAR

Abstract

The tragic accident of a Pakistani stowaway served as the inspiration for contemporary Canadian author Kate Pullinger's book Landing Gear. The narrative of the book focusses on the difficulties ethnic minorities encounter in mainstream society as well as the misconceptions and misunderstandings that dominant social groups impose on them. Pullinger creates two intersecting pairs of binary oppositions, the contrast between civilisation and barbarism and the contrast between East and West, through the experiences of common characters. The concept of the “Oriental,” which has historically been linked to ideas of barbarism, is reinterpreted as having innate civility, challenging stereotypes of the East imposed by the West and revealing the animosity that the West frequently harbours towards people from nations like Pakistan. On the other hand, Westerners who pose as representatives of civilisation but often exhibit violent, coercive, or morally dubious behaviour are prime examples of both cultural hegemony and the imposition of Western values on others. This essay examines how the novel problematises the relationship between the Orient and the Occident through the prism of civilisation and barbarism from the viewpoint of Edward Said’s Orientalism. Additionally, the study suggests that building a common human community is a useful strategy for destroying the idea of the Other and getting past ingrained cultural prejudices. Ultimately, Pullinger’s narrative shows a conscious and proactive attempt to combat racial prejudice, promoting comprehension and intercultural empathy in the setting of a globalized and interconnected world.