Critical Discourse Analysis of Tariq Ali’s Novel “The Stone Woman”: A Corpus Driven Study

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the ideology working behind Tariq Ali’s novel The Stone Woman through Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) by applying corpus driven approach. Gee’s (2011) CDA tools have been used to explore the ideology working behind the novel. This ideology has been subjected to Althusser’s (1969) theory of ideology to find how Ideological State Apparatus (ISA) collaborates with Repressive State Apparatus (RSA) to naturalize and internalize certain ideologies. It has been concluded that the supremacy of the male members of the family and society has been accepted as an ideology and this ideology has been naturalized and internalized by using certain institutions like marriage, family, customs and traditions. Not only the ideologies have been institutionalized but also this process works for the extension, strength and dominance of the male members of the society.