For citation:
AHMAD H. M. Cognitive and pragmatic characteristics of Kamila Shamsie’s novel “Home Fire”. Izvestiya of Saratov University. Philology. Journalism, 2026, vol. 26, iss. 2, pp. 143-148. DOI: 10.18500/1817-7115-2026-26-2-143-148, EDN: GKZTYS
Cognitive and pragmatic characteristics of Kamila Shamsie’s novel “Home Fire”
The main aim of this research is to investigate the cognitive models and pragmatic aspects of the novel "Home Fire" by analyzing different lexical units in the novel which represent the themes of grievability and precarity. Kamila Shamsie's novel "Home Fire" recounts the experiences of one British Muslim family to examine, study and relive the themes of Antigone, a play by Sophocles. Antigone by Sophocles has been widely adapted in postcolonial contexts in recent decades. The novel tells how Britain's post-9/11 Islamophobic politics and media make Muslim lives miserable after September 11, 2001. The main characters of the novel "Home Fire" are struggling with this intolerance and re-establish their own dignity and that of their departed relatives. This paper uses affect theory to analyze how the materiality of grief reclaims grievability for those whose lives are in danger due to conflict with their country. This research paper has further examined the cognitive and pragmatic aspects and characteristics of the novel embedded in its dominant themes and concepts. The major components of the cognitive models of the situations actualized and represented by the concepts of GRIEVABILITY and PRECARITY are analyzed.
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