Browsing by Author "Amarasooriya, D.N.P."

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An analysis of selected songs of popular music based on the concepts of existentialism
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Amarasooriya, D.N.P.
The existence of man with the individual identities amid the miscellaneous social realities has been defined and observed through the disparate social and religious ideologies thus elucidating it depending on their beliefs, prejudices and judgments. Thus the existential identities of the social being tend to waver between distinct realities questioning the true essence of their existence. Viewing this perplexing social milieu the philosophical ideology ‘Existentialism’ with a broad perspective addresses the dichotomy between the negation and acceptance that the individual identities confront in front of the meaninglessness and absurd nature of the social sphere. Popular music which has evolved through diverse genres extends its scope towards the prevalent societal and individual issues which relate with the oppression and liberation of the social being thus developing a critical discourse on the identity, survival and empowering one’s own self. Elaborating on these argumentative perspectives this research has focused on identifying the linkage between existentialist ideas and the themes of the popular music and on examining how and to which extent the concepts and thematic notions of popular music address existential viewpoints. Within the analyzing process the songs of Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody), Metallica (Master of puppets, Nothing Else Matters, The Day That Never Comes), Simon and Garfunkel (The sound of silence), Pink Floyd and Grateful Dead have been examined based on the prominent notions of existentialism and the theoretical perspectives of Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir have been given a thorough concentration. Due to the socio-cultural, sociopolitical and psycho-social conditions, the individual, his actual identity and the true essence of the ‘self’ have been moulded into an incomprehensible shape with zero identification and validity, thus thrusting their identities and lives to revolve in a futile cycle and negating and disrupting the individual who breaks away from the meaningless, absurd social pattern.
An analytical study on the value of humanity of Maggie Tulliver in the face of repression
(International Conference on the Humanities (ICH 2018/2019), Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2018) Amarasooriya, D.N.P.
George Eliot, a journalist and a leading writer in Victorian era through her narrative ‗The Mill on the Floss‘ created the character of Maggie Tulliver bringing forth a destiny of a female being whose existence and the individuality are defined and molded through the impact of the conventional social taboos and the authoritative cultural constraints which overshadow the individual expectations. Thus, the study has focused on analyzing the female literary portrayal of Maggie Tulliver with the objective of bringing to the surface the socially determined fatal end and the symbolic disappearance of the feminine figure. In analyzing the perspectives which are discussed within the research paper the theoretical perspectives of Simon de Beauvoir (‘The second sex’), Sigmund Freud, (‗Civilization and its Discontents’,) and Slavoj Zizek, (‗Looking Awry‘) are referred with a thorough consideration. During the journey towards the destination of her self-emancipation, Maggie Tulliver follows a traumatic path and encounters an unsettling emotional conflict through which her self-love is replaced by the compassion towards the social other whose emotional satisfaction and the survival become a source of spiritual victory in her life. Being confined to a narrowed space where several religious and communal taboos surround her existence, Maggie‘s character has become the focal point upon which the repression cultivates its domination thus obstructing her inner strength and self-determination that she possesses in advancing towards her liberation of identity. Though social discriminations which are created by the cultural concepts on gender induce her to abandon the pursuit of fulfillment of the innate desires and the independent motives Maggie Tulliver strives to stand as a determined female whose self-strength and spiritual victory recognize her as an independent woman since her sacrificing and the negation of her expectations induce her to turn away from the materialistic and physical pleasures and embrace humanity and spiritual enhancement of the self. In that sense it can be identified that her self-sacrifice leaves behind something to admire implying a more psychological vitality without being just a physical deterioration