Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Swanstrom, Elizabeth

Abstract

Song of Ice and Fire is unarguably one of the most popular fantasy series of all time. Notwithstanding its success, the series has only recently begun to be analyzed critically. George R.R. Martin’s books are often celebrated for breaking many of the tropes common in fantasy literature. Despite this, the series is nonetheless a product of a genre that has been shaped by white, male authors. Using such prominent postcolonial scholars as Edward Said, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Homi Bhabha, and Albert Memmi, I analyze the five published books of Martin’s series. I argue that although Martin seems to be aware of the theoretical background of postcolonial studies and attempts to present a story sensitive to issues of colonization, the book series fails to present a Western representation of the East outside of orientalist stereotypes and narratives that reinforce imperialism.

Extent

80 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00004673

Format

pdf

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