Orientalist Discourse in John Updike’s The Coup: A Saidian/ Foucauldian Perspective

Abstract

This paper attempts to examine the Orientalist overtones of John Updike’s novel The Coup (1978) within the framework of Edward Said’s Orientalism (2003) and in light of Michel Foucault’s theory of power and knowledge. The methodology of this research involves a textual analysis of the novel whereby significant passages from The Coup are scrutinized with regard to the following ideas: Orientalism as a political discourse, the East / West dichotomy, the distortion of Islam, free-flowing power and the role of the author. Emphasis is placed on the novel’s Orientalist nuances and its misrepresentation of Islam, as well as the implications of the novel’s Orientalism in embodying the notions of power, truth, hegemony, and the seemingly authoritative stance of the author. Thus, the significance of this research is twofold; at one level it embarks upon a practical application of the theories of Said and Foucault to a literary work. At another level, it offers a new perspective on Updike’s novel, thereby disclosing the underlying anti-Islamic currents rippling throughout The Coup. Such a discursive analysis of the novel ties in formidably with the Islamophobia rampant throughout today’s Western world.