The Philosophy of Autobiographical Memory and Collective Memory in Rohinton Mistry’s “Swimming Lessons”

Abstract

Diasporic writing depicts the experience of immigrants, the feeling of nostalgia and the quest for identity through different narrative techniques. One such technique is comparing the past experiences with the present. This technique helps the writer to stay connected with his/her homeland. Rohinton Mistry, an Indian- Canadian writer, skilfully delineates the narrator’s feeling of nostalgia and sense of belonging by narrating his past experiences in the short story “Swimming Lessons”. The narrator Kersi Boyce in “Swimming Lessons” describes his childhood days in Firozsha Baag reflecting his connection with the past. Some of his experiences as an immigrant in Canada prompt him to contemplate his cultural and societal roots. Past memories of Kersi Boyce is used as a tool to express the dilemma of acceptance and assimilation. This paper aims to demonstrate the impact of autobiographical memory and collective memory in tracing the experiences of immigrants.