Current Issue

The Criterion: An International Journal in English
Volume 17, Issue 5 · October 2026
ISSN 0976-8165 · Open Access · Peer Reviewed · DOI prefix 10.66376/criterion
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
42 Articles  ·  16 Categories  ·  Pages 1–772  ·  Published 31 October 2026
Call for Papers: RCELL International Conference 2027. Literature in the Age of AI: Posthumanism, Digital Humanities, and Ecological Futures. 13 to 14 February 2027, online on Zoom. In academic partnership with Sahrdaya College of Advanced Studies (Autonomous), Kerala, and Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Punjab.

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Research Articles
01Gender Studies & Feminist Literature

Women’s Performativity and Empowerment in Cherrie L. Chhangte’s “A Morning Diversion”
Dr. L. K. Gracy
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.1
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
1–12

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02American Literature

Jazz, Rhythm and Orality in Beat Poetry
Priyanka Sagathiya, Dr. Sanjay Lalani
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.2
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
13–24

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03Cultural Studies

Bishahari and Belongings: A Critical Exploration of Caste, Gender and Alternative Representations of Folk Tradition in Angh Pradesh (Bihar)
Minu Priya, Dr. Sovan Chakraborty
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.3
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
25–37

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04Interdisciplinary / Other

Public Health Measures and Human Rights in Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year
Dr. Mamta SinghORCID iD icon
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.4
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
38–54

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05Literary Theory & Criticism

Language, Style, and Persuasion in Novels: A Rhetorical Approach
Ms. Urvashi Jhajharia, Veerendra Mishra
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.5
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
55–70

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06Postcolonial Literature & Studies

Maternal Grief, Enforced Disappearance and State Violence in Shahnaz Bashir’s The Half Mother
Mohammad DilshadORCID iD icon
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.6
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
71–87

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07Postcolonial Literature & Studies

From Subjugation to Selfhood: The Transformation of Women in Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns
Dr. Tahira TashneemORCID iD icon
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.7
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
88–99

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08Indian Writing in English

Poetics of Dissonance and Nihilism: Negotiating Existential Crisis in Nini Lungalang’s The Morning Years
Nawal Kishor LodhiORCID iD icon, Nitin Saxena
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.8
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
100–112

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09Ecocriticism & Environmental Humanities

Agro-Ecofeminist Communicative Language Teaching: Reimagining ELT through Indigenous Women’s Knowledge Systems
Mrs. PadmaSri BodiORCID iD icon, Sree Raghu Ram Koduru, Dr. Pawel Veliventi, Dr. Venkata RaghuRam Mantri
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.9
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
113–133

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10Cultural Studies

Tradition and Transition: The Conflict and Reconciliation of Old and New Values in the Fiction of R. K. Narayan
Mrs. Saroj Bala, Prof. (Dr.) Shalini Yadav
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.10
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
134–150

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11American Literature

Dysmorphophobia in The Bluest Eye
Dr. Brijesh KumarORCID iD icon, Prof. Indrani Mukherji
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.11
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
151–164

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12Comparative Literature

From Sensuous Beauty to Revolutionary Longing: A Comparative Study of Romanticism, Melancholy, and Social Consciousness in the Poetry of John Keats and Asrar-ul-Haq Majaz
Abdul Rouf MalikORCID iD icon
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.12
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
165–189

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13South Asian Literature

Narrative Voice and Female Identity in Bharati Mukherjee’s The Tiger’s Daughter and Jasmine
Dr. Tanuja BaghelORCID iD icon
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.13
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
190–206

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14Gender Studies & Feminist Literature

Personhood, Voice, and Agency in Rabindranath Tagore
Ms. Rupsa Mandal ChakrabortyORCID iD icon
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.14
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
207–244

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15World Literature

Between Inner Utopia and Existential Despair: A Positive-Psychological and Existential Analysis of Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist and Veronika Decides to Die
Mr. Abhinav SingalORCID iD icon
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.15
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
245–267

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16Gender Studies & Feminist Literature

Corridors of Power and Panopticism: Departmental Politics, Flattery Economy and Gendered Resistance in Vikas Sharma’s novel, All Her Fires: Every Flame She Lit Had a Cost in the Light of NEP 2020
Mr. Mukesh KumarORCID iD icon
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.16
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
268–283

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17Ecocriticism & Environmental Humanities

Deconstructing Colonial Taxonomies: Posthumanist Ethics and Environmental Transcendence in Jim Corbett and Amitav Ghosh
Mr. Adhiraj BasuORCID iD icon
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.17
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
284–297

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18Dalit & Subaltern Studies

The Image(s) of the Mother in Select Dalit Poems
Ms. Mibdah AijazORCID iD icon
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.18
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
298–311

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19Interdisciplinary / Other

Samādhi, Human Hibernation, and Bengali Crime Fiction: The Strange Trajectory of an Ascetic Practice
Dr. Ayusman ChakrabortyORCID iD icon
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.19
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
312–342

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20Gender Studies & Feminist Literature

Savitri’s Journey from Submissive Wife to a Feminist Mother: An Investigation of the Novel The Dark Room by R. K. Narayan
Mrs. Tahida ParveenORCID iD icon
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.20
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
343–366

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21Gender Studies & Feminist Literature

The Uncanny Maternal Body in Shalimar the Clown: Exploring Violence and Resistance
Dr. Juriti Goswami
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.21
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
367–382

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22Literary Theory & Criticism

Heterotopia, the Mirror, and the Gendered Gaze in Murakami’s Sputnik Sweetheart
Prof. Vishab ThappaORCID iD icon
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.22
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
383–410

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23Postcolonial Literature & Studies

The Swamp as Counter-Archive: Internal Colonialism, Subaltern Memory, and Postcolonial Ecology in Fitri’s Paya Nie
Mhd. Rasid RitongaORCID iD icon, Siti Habsari Pratiwi, Siti Muflichah
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.23
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
411–433

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24British Literature

Exploring the Emanation of Victorian Gothic in Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Ms. Kunjal Sharma
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.24
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
434–447

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25Indian Writing in English

Linked by Loss: Exploring Trauma through Animal Imagery in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things and Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide
Ms. Constance L. Ishikawa
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.25
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
448–463

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26Indian Writing in English

Understanding the Other: A Study of Tagore’s Chaturanga and Streer Patra
Sanjukta PalORCID iD icon
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.26
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
464–483

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27Gender Studies & Feminist Literature

Beyond the Patriarchal Dividend: Navigating Complicit and Hegemonic Manhood in Shakespeare's Hamlet and Macbeth
Mr. Kunal UpadhyayORCID iD icon, Dr. Nisha Khan
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.27
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
484–502

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28Comparative Literature

Modernity and Antiurbanism: Imagining Cuttack in Jayanta Mahapatra’s Select Odia Poems
Mr. Haramohan Nayak, Dr. Atanu Bhattacharya
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.28
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
503–524

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29Dalit & Subaltern Studies

From Silence to Voice: Epiphanic Realisations in Bama’s Karukku and Yashica Dutt’s Coming Out as Dalit: A Memoir
Ms. Tripti VermaORCID iD icon, Dr. Aditi Bhardwaj
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.29
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
525–537

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30Ecocriticism & Environmental Humanities

From Fishing Nets to Sustainable Futures: Material Ecologies and Coastal Livelihoods
Ms. Saranika SORCID iD icon, Dr. Brinda P
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.30
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
538–556

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31Indian Writing in English

The Dark Room: A Symbol of Patriarchy and Female Awakening in R. K. Narayan’s The Dark Room
Arti Rani
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.31
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
557–566

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32Postcolonial Literature & Studies

Colonial/Postcolonial: Re-contesting the Imperial Baggage and A Critical Study of the Rhetoric of Domination and Control
Dr. Abdul Mubid IslamORCID iD icon
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.32
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
567–592

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33Interdisciplinary / Other

Fact in Fiction: Diagnostic Uncertainty and Healthcare in Ali Hazelwood’s Mate
Ms. Kritika NarulaORCID iD icon
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.33
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
593–615

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34Translation Studies

Cultural Meaning and Social Identity: Translating Culture-specific Items in Selected Kashmiri Stories into English
Dr. Irshad Ahmad Parray
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.34
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
616–635

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35Ecocriticism & Environmental Humanities

Masculinity beyond Hegemony: Ecological Masculinity and the Ethics of Care in Sarah Joseph’s Gift in Green
Dr. Tojy DominicORCID iD icon, Dr. Sonia Sebastian, Arunraj Joseph
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.35
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
636–657

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36Disability Studies

Watching Back: Disability, Surveillance, and Child Agency in Zainab Sulaiman’s Simply Nanju
Mr. PankajORCID iD icon, Randeep Rana
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.36
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
658–673

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37Digital Humanities

Beyond the Real: Hyperreality, Spectacle and Simulated Worlds in Don DeLillo’s Cosmopolis and Samit Basu’s The City Inside
Ms. SarikaORCID iD icon, Dr. Abhilasha Singh
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.37
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
674–690

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38Gender Studies & Feminist Literature

The Feminist Dialogics of Black Womanhood: Maya Angelou and Bernardine Evaristo
Ms. Aradhana JyalaORCID iD icon, Prof. A S Adhikari
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.38
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
691–706

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39Interdisciplinary / Other

Striking the Balance: Eco-Gothic Explorations in the South Indian Mythical Folklore of ‘Kalliyankattu Neeli’
Dr. Rose Mary PhilipORCID iD icon, Dr. Anila Thomas
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.39
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
707–721

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40Cultural Studies

Plant Life and Plant-Worship in Tripuri Folktales: A Reading of Ethnobotany in Select Tripuri Folktales
Ms. Doli DebbarmaORCID iD icon
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.40
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
722–738

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41Gender Studies & Feminist Literature

Paradoxical Space, Blindness, And Mothering in Namita Gokhale’s The Blind Matriarch
Ms. Snehal SahayORCID iD icon, Ranjit Kumar
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.41
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
739–755

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42Disability Studies

Against the Tide: Gender, Disability, and Social Control in The Bell Jar and Wide Sargasso Sea
Mr. Indranil Adhikary
Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.42
Open AccessCC BY 4.0Crossref DOI
Pages
756–772

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© 2026 The Authors. Published by RCELL. Articles are published Open Access under a CC BY 4.0 licence.
ISSN 0976-8165  ·  Open Access  ·  CC BY 4.0  ·  the-criterion.com
RCELL International Conference 2027 · Literature in the Age of AI · 13–14 February 2027 · Online · Call for Papers →
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RCELL International Conference 2027 Literature in the Age of AI · 13–14 February 2027 · Online · Call for Papers →