Globalization in Travel Narratives: A Study of Eat Pray Love

Abstract

The article will look into the impact of globalization on the travel narratives of twenty-first century and discuss the emerging identity of the travelling subject. It will analyse the issue of postcolonial hybridity which is connected to the theory of globalization using Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir Eat Pray Love. Hybridity is seen in terms of individuals, place and culture. It will show how consumerism has co-modified the Other. The travelling self is a part of the consumer world which views the Other as products that are to be used for fulfilment of needs and pleasure. By utilizing the products presented by the world of the ‘Other', the travelling subject is able to create an identity for itself. The travel writer's choice of destination and travel writing itself has become products of consumerism. The Other and the Self are no longer represented as binaries but in terms of hybrid individuals emerging from a hybrid culture.

The main keywords are globalization, hybridity and consumerism. Globalization is the process by which individual lives and the locality are affected by world culture and economic forces which work together to homogenize the world. Underneath the concept of globalization lies the term hybridity which is a postcolonial concept. The term comes from horticulture which refers to crossbreeding of two plant species by grafting. This is synonymous to its usage in the case of culture, language, individuals etc. Consumerism is a by-product of the capitalist economy which regards everything as a commodity that can be bought or sold. Even abstract things like pleasure, spirituality and the concept of a balanced life are seen as something that can be purchased.