An Analysis of Linguistic Choices Portraying Violence and Abuse in Noor: A gender-based study

Author(s) : Tarim Masood & Tazanfal Tehseem

Abstract:

This study aims at analyzing linguistic choices portraying violence and abuse in Noor (Khan, 2003) by employing Thematic Roles (Andrews, 1958; Radford, 1988, as cited in Saeed, 2016) which underline the roles of the participants according to the described situation. The purpose of the study is to explore the exhaustiveness through which the text breaks down and portrays the torturing situation of women under suppressive socio-cultural tensions and requirements. The data has been selected and then scrutinized under the variables such as violence, marginalization, abuse, victimization, and objectification of female characters employed by the writer. The study mirrors the destiny of women as conjugal joy and their job to fulfill their familial commitments as opposed to fostering any design for the accomplishment of individual objectives. The findings reveal that among the male-centric society, the tragic downfall of the females give rise to marginalization, victimization, violence, and abuse. Therefore, the study is significant to unfold that females are treated as the man's property especially in the Asian culture in focus; subsequently, the committing of the rape against them is not only to suppress them but to endorse a particular prejudice.
Keywords: Violence, Abuse, Victimization, Linguistic Choices, Female-portrayal.