Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

The Anxiety of Being Australian: Modernity, Consumerism and Identity politics in Michelle de Kretser’s The Lost Dog

Mirza, M.

The Anxiety of Being Australian: Modernity, Consumerism and Identity politics in Michelle de Kretser’s The Lost Dog Thumbnail


Authors



Abstract

Tom Loxley, the Anglo-Indian protagonist of Michelle de Kretser’s 2007 novel The Lost Dog, has a difficult relationship with his adopted country Australia, one that is riven with anxiety as well as a profound sense of loss. This portrayal echoes, in many respects, the not uncommon representation in postcolonial fiction of the feelings of alienation and exclusion experienced by immigrants of colour in advanced capitalist countries. But in The Lost Dog, De Kretser’s nuanced portrayal of Tom’s tense ties with Australia and with other human beings also firmly situates immigrant experiences in the context of global capitalist modernity in general, and consumerism in particular. This article demonstrates that, without neglecting the implications of his racialized identity and without underestimating the trauma of physical displacement, De Kretser’s depiction of Tom’s identity crisis reveals the complex ways in which the notions of inclusion and exclusion, loss and belonging in contemporary Australia are inextricably tied in with the workings of global consumer capitalism.

Citation

Mirza, M. (2020). The Anxiety of Being Australian: Modernity, Consumerism and Identity politics in Michelle de Kretser’s The Lost Dog. Journal of Commonwealth Literature, 55(2), 190-203. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021989418755541

Journal Article Type Article
Online Publication Date Feb 11, 2018
Publication Date Jun 1, 2020
Deposit Date Oct 24, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Journal of Commonwealth Literature
Print ISSN 0021-9894
Electronic ISSN 1741-6442
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 55
Issue 2
Pages 190-203
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/0021989418755541

Files

Accepted Journal Article (577 Kb)
PDF

Copyright Statement
Mirza,M. (2020). The Anxiety of Being Australian: Modernity, Consumerism and Identity politics in Michelle de Kretser’s The Lost Dog. The Journal of Commonwealth Literature 55(2): 190-203. Copyright © The Author(s). Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.




You might also like



Downloadable Citations