Archetypes in Dalit Literature

Archetypes in Dalit Literature examines the role of the multitudinous archetypes and myths in understanding the evolution of the psyche and consciousness of the Parayar Dalit community based out of Tamil Nadu, India.This book also examines the other Dalit communities like Bhangis, Chuhras and Madigas through the lens of Archetypal criticism.This is a nuanced take on Dalit Studies where Western thought and theory have been applied to the colossal work of a Tamil Dalit writer, Bama and others (Mulk Raj Anand, Omprakash Valmiki, Sharankumar Limbale and Perumal Murugan) to comprehend the community archetypal characters, setting, myths, rituals, and language.A detailed analysis of the Jungian archetypes of Rebirth, Mother, Spirit and Trickster has helped in acquiring an understanding of the so-called lower caste, their circumstances, their life and experiences.Among the seminal works on myth criticism are Joseph Campbell's ‘Monomyth’ and Vladimir Propp's ‘Functions’.One of Bama’s works, Van