Intertextuality In Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Trilogy Brotherhood Of The Conch

Abstract

This paper focuses on the elements of intertextuality with reference to Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's trilogy, The Brotherhood of the Conch. The term “Intertextuality” refers to the presence in a text of two or more texts that are connected with each other. i.e similarity.

Unintentional references can sometimes happen, depending on how well the reader understands the text andits meanings. Intertextuality is a common thread connecting the novels The Conch Bearer (2007), The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming (2008), and Shadowland (2011), where the author draws inspiration from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit. The protagonist of Divakaruni's trilogy is similar to the fictitious characters Harry and Bilbo Baggins. In the novel Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, who would later become Lord Voldemort, makes a similar allusion to the antagonist Surabhanu from Chitra Banerjee'sBrotherhood of the Conch. This article also discusses intertextuality from Julia Kristeva's point of view. Divakaruni's trilogy has had a significant influence on a text in which the characters and plot overlap with other works.