October 2026 | Vol. 17, Issue 5

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
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
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