Frontiers of Discourse Studies
FDS, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2026, pp. 93-107.
Print ISSN: 3106-809X; Online ISSN: 3106-8103
Journal homepage: https://www.fdsjournal.com
DOI：Https://doi.org/10.64058/fds260108aebhn
After Empire, Before Home: Negotiating Displaced Identities and Toward an Ethical Community in Gurnah’s By the Sea
Tan Ziyu
Abstract: Published in 2001, Abdulrazak Gurnah’s By the Sea perfectly fits the context of Britain’s growing refugee crisis at the beginning of the century. In the novel, diaspora is presented as a middle condition—after empire and before home. This paper attempts to present how the characters are placed in a middle condition and construct their identities in a different country through constant negotiation and continuous narrative strategies. It then argues that, within the postcolonial diasporic context, a sense of belonging may emerge from the encounter between the two protagonists, Omar and Latif, thereby opening the possibility of an ethical community in the postcolonial world.
Keywords: Middle condition; Identity, Narrative; Ethical community
Author Biography: Tan Ziyu, Master’s student, Faculty of English Language and Culture, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. Research interests include English literature. E-mail: tan_ziyu@163.com
题目：帝国之后，故园难归：论古尔纳《海边》中流散身份的重构与伦理共同体的建构
摘要：阿卜杜勒·拉扎克·古尔纳于2001年出版的小说《海边》，其叙事背景与21世纪初英国日益严峻的难民危机高度契合。该作品将离散呈现为一种“帝国之后，故园难归”的中间状态。本文旨在探讨主人公如何深陷此种状态，并借由持续的协商与叙事策略，在异国重构其难民身份。进一步地，本文试图论证：在后殖民离散语境中，奥马尔与拉蒂夫这两位主角的相遇，可能催生一种归属感，从而为在后殖民世界中建构一个伦理共同体奠定基础。
关键词：中间状态;身份;叙事;伦理共同体
作者介绍：谭梓渝，硕士研究生，广东外语外贸大学英语语言文化学院，研究方向：英语文学。电邮：tan_ziyu@163.com
Received: 24 Feb 2026 / Revised: 24 Apr 2026 / Accepted: 09 Jun 2026 / Published online: 15 Jun 2026 / Print published: 30 Jun 2026
