Strategic Invisibility as part of Invisibility bargain: A Study of the Invisibility dynamics in Aravind Adiga’s Amnesty

Abstract

Aravind Adiga's Amnesty records the struggle of an illegal immigrant Danny who overstays in Australia after the expiry of his student visa. The novel is replete with references to Danny’s keen sensitivity to the gaze of others, his persistent endeavors to retain and reinforce invisibility and his earnest aspiration to achieve legal status and celebrate visibility. This paper seeks to present the coexistence of visibility and invisibility in this novel as a perfect narrative illustration of what Jeffrey D. Pugh has called the ‘invisibility bargain’. Furthermore, this paper will try to unravel how the various strategies that Danny adopts to remain invisible and his cherished dream of being legally visible address the problematics of what is known as ‘strategic invisibility’. The analysis seeks to reveal that while theoretically both these concepts emphasize successful integration, Danny’s bargain ends in failure and his strategies prove to be insufficient.