From domicile to domain:the formation of Malay and tagalog masterpiece novels in post-independence Malaysia and the Philippines / Luisa J. Mallari

For the Philippines and Malaysia, the establishment of a literary domain (to be occupied by highly valued modern masterpieces) which complements and legitimizes their recent status as an independent political and culture formations, as those found in the various areas of national life, have been inherited from the colonizer's prescriptions and prejudices. How these colonially-determined prescriptions are being reversed, or even subverted, can be witnessed through the constructions of themes and images in the novels that were produced during the post-independence phase. But while these novels question the precepts inherited from the colonial period they are in turn being interrogated within the critical discourse of their own time, a critical discourse that is preoccupied with the revaluation and expansion of the existing literary domain so that it shall be complementary to the formation of a modern and independent state. This conjuncture of past (colonial) and present (post-colonial) responses, in both the narrative structures of the novels and the critical texts that these novels generated. Makes possible a discussion of the relations of post-independence literary production, particularly those that configure the literary domain and grant it its legitimising function. Five novels from each country have been chosen since the analysis is set within the context of the writers’ literary career and the critical reception to their novels. The Tagalog novels are: Maganda pa ang daigdig, Mga ibong mandaragit, Ang Tundo man may langit din, Dugo so bukang liwayway, and Sa mga kuko ng liwanag. The Malay novels are Salina, Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan, Garis Hitam Membelah Langit, Kail Panjang Sejengkal and Interlok.