A Psychosemiotic Analysis of Moral Dualities in Ice-Candy Man and Train to Pakistan

Abstract

This paper addresses the issue of characters’ perception and their behavior that disrupted during the course of partition grounded on religious affiliations. This paper explores that how characters psychologically undergo significant transformations under the pressure of religious affiliations during Partition. Prior to partition, Hindu-Muslim was living harmoniously because of shared social fabric and culture but after partition their unity turned into animosity and created rift among them. This paper investigates how the moral binaries of good and evil are constructed, deconstructed, and psychologically internalized in Ice-Candy Man and Train to Pakistan through a psychosemiotic lens. This paper will qualitatively analyze the signs and symbols that are present in the two novels by applying Charles S. Peirce's theory of emotion. Drawing on Charles S. Peirce’s theory of signs and Lacan’s concept of the "uncanny," the paper examines how semiotic representations in the two novels reflect the evolving psychological states of the characters. Moreover, this paper concludes that perception of people changes due to changing social, biological, and psychological factors during the course of Partition. Religious extremism, fanaticism, and revenge are the factors behind this change in perception. This paper recommends that future research can be conducted where psychosomatic can be applied to various trauma or partition novels by incorporating psychology, history and literature to create a holistic approach towards research.