Abstract:
The description of paradise occurs in almost all the
religious scriptures. In all literature it has been described as a
place where peace, innocence, pleasure and beauty are beyond
earthly measures besides having God’s grace. It is the reward
in life here after for which every righteous person aspires in
this world. The connotation of paradise brings home the
association of justice, compassion, benevolence and
righteousness. Abdulrazak Gurnah is a Zanzibar born British
diasporic writer who never shuns away from exposing cruelty,
class conflict, caste discrimination, exploitation and slavery
which existed deep rooted in the pre-colonial East African
setting, otherwise viewed as the paradise of the earth. His novel
Paradise traces the growth and development of its protagonist
Yusuf, who is pawned off to a wealthy merchant Uncle Aziz.
However, despite all the apparent beauty, the socio-littoral of
this novel has a strong resemblance with a dystopian world
and the motif and context of the novel can be interpreted from
dystopian perspective. Besides, this article explores the strong
and ironical intertextual relationship with John Milton’s
epicParadise Lost from different viewpoints.
