Pakistan Languages and Humanities Review

Blurring Boundaries: The Use of Free Indirect Discourse in Contemporary Pakistani Novels

Muhammad Ajmal — 2025-07-01

The objective of this research is to investigate free indirect discourse (FID) in contemporary Pakistani novels written in English, analyzing how these blends the narrator with each character’s thoughts. The selected novels are Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie, The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid and Cracking India by Bapsi Sidhwa. The research is supported by using Dorrit Cohn’s (1978) elaboration of different narrative modes and Banfield’s (1982) interpretation of FID within a narratology and stylistics model. The analysis reveals how personal and political tensions are expressed with the help of FID. This narrative mode not only deepens psychological realism but also constructs an ambivalent space where personal and collective histories intersect. Through close readings and comparative analysis, the research reveals how FID contributes to the evolution of the Pakistani English novel as a site of aesthetic innovation and socio-political engagement.

Structural Patterns and Communicative Functions in Goodbye Mr. Chips: A Genre-Based Analysis

Mussarat Aashiq — 2025-07-02

This study analyzes the structural patterns and communicative functions in Goodbye Mr. Chips by James Hilton, a prescribed text in English (Book 3) in government colleges in Punjab, Pakistan, using White and Makki’s (2016) framework. Academic textbooks play an important role in student success, necessitating careful linguistic selection to engage readers. Employing a qualitative approach, the study examines how structural elements contribute to character development, plot progression, and thematic exploration. Findings reveal that specific narrative patterns enhance communicative effectiveness, offering pedagogical insights for literature instruction. The study recommends further genre-based analyses of academic texts and suggests integrating structural analysis into teaching methodologies to improve students' critical reading skills. Curriculum designers may also benefit from these findings when selecting literary texts for English courses.

Traumas leading to Dilemmas: A Feminine Psychological Analysis of Alex Michaelides’ The Silent Patient

Bismia Fatima — 2025-07-05

The study is a complex examination of marital conflicts in Alex Michaelides’ The Silent Patient (2019), based on Karen Horney’s theory of Feminine Psychology as the framework guide. The psychological traumas of Alicia Berenson, the novel’s female protagonist, are central in decoding the intricacies of her broken marriage. A qualitative method and descriptive approach has been adopted to analyze the traumatic occurrences that cause the breakdown of the marriage and the resulting consequences. Through close reading of the narrative with reference to Horney’s theory that counters classical Freudian views on women's psychology, the study enlightens on the deep impacts of gender stereotypes and objectification in society. The study investigates how Alicia Berenson adapts to the outcome of her failed marriage, gaining insight into her personal journey of rebuilding and resilience. Female psyche, marriage dynamics, and societal influences on women’s roles in relationships can be better understood through such researches

Under the Skin: Disability, Trauma, and Marginalized Psyche Divulged in The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie

Qasim Ali Kharal — 2025-07-07

The present study aims to explore the intertwined theoretical perspectives of psychological trauma, disability, and social marginalization in Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap (2021). It argues that the play’s structured plot and complex characterization, particularly of Christopher Wren and Miss Case Well, reveal deeply embedded portrayals of marginalized pMarginalized Psychesyches shaped by personal and collective trauma. Engaging an argumentative approach grounded in Cathy Caruth’s trauma theory and modern disability studies, the research inspects repressed narratives of abuse, mental health, and institutional violence. The findings suggest that The Mousetrap transcends its genre as a murder mystery by metaphorically staging a site of psychological containment and confrontation. The study commends a critical reconsideration of the play as a nuanced interpretation on alteration, urging readers and scholars to move beyond traditional readings centered on entertainment or deception

Transnational Labour Vulnerability and Shared Precarity in the Neoliberal World Order: A Neo-Marxist Study of Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West

Ayaz Muhammad Shah — 2025-07-09

This paper aims to critically examine the global condition of working class under neoliberal capitalism as represented in Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West, contending that economic precarity and systemic vulnerability are transnational phenomena impacting workers across both the Global South and Global North. Neoliberalism—an advanced stage of capitalism— dismantles the welfare infrastructures, thereby intensifying labour insecurity and marginalisation. Engaging with contemporary neo-Marxist and leftist theorists such as David Harvey, Werlhof, and Rajesh Makwana, the study interrogates how neoliberal regimes facilitate upward wealth redistribution while undermining collective protections. Through close textual analysis, the novel is shown to destabilise the dominant narrative that migration to the West guarantees economic opportunity, exposing instead the transnational reach of neoliberal disposability. By situating Exit West within the framework of Anglophone Pakistani resistance literature, the research foregrounds the novel’s critical intervention into global labour politics and its call for post-neoliberal solidarities transcending national and economic boundaries.

Psychological Wellbeing, Life Satisfaction and Hopelessness in Delayed Marriages

Ajwa Arooj — 2025-07-10

Delayed marriage is increasingly common in Pakistan, particularly among urban and educated populations, yet its mental health consequences remain underexplored. In a society where marital status is socially significant, postponement of marriage can induce emotional distress, stigma, and reduce life satisfaction. This research explores how gender and voluntariness affect psychological responses to delayed marriage. A quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted with 210 participants (105 men and 105 women) using purposive sampling. Data was collected through standardized tools: Ryff’s 18-item Psychological Well-Being Scale, the 5-item Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the 7-item Beck Hopelessness Scale. Statistical analysis included correlation, regression, and independent t-tests using SPSS v23. Findings revealed that psychological well-being positively predicted life satisfaction and negatively predicted hopelessness. Females and those who voluntarily delayed marriage reported significantly higher psychological well-being and life satisfaction, and lower hopelessness. Mental health awareness programs, culturally sensitive counseling services, and public education campaigns are needed to support individuals facing societal pressures due to delayed marriage.

An Insight Into Palestine Politics: Edward Said Vs. Yasser Arafat

Muhammad Ilyas — 2025-07-11

The objective of the study is to critically review the ideological perspective by Edward Said concerning the Yasser Arafat leadership in the 1970s 1990s. Yasser Arafat has been known globally as a major player in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, whereas Edward Said despite his international stature most times criticized the policies of Yasser Arafat. Said is seen as the supporter of resistance movement and secular ideals of democracy whose partial contradictory stand offers a multidimensional ideological stance that has to be examined more properly. The qualitative approach utilized and a critical discourse analysis is carried out on the published text of Edward Said, language, tone, and strategic rhetoric of such an analysis on Arafat is considered. The results highlight that Said was inconsistent in his arguments, so that his critiques, although based on the intellectual truths, could have interfered with the Palestinian political unity when it was needed the most.

Exploring the Causes of Language Anxiety in English Speaking Classrooms: A Qualitative Case Study

Farah Naz Abbasi — 2025-07-13

This research, with implications for language learning, aims to explore the Causes of language anxiety among English-speaking students at Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur Mirs, Sindh, Pakistan. This study used a qualitative method and was based on a case study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 15 students. According to the study's findings, the primary elements associated with the high degree of anxiety among English language learners in a particular environment include communicative apprehension, fear of negative evaluation, test anxiety, fear of forgetting vocabulary, and fear of the opposite gender. Furthermore, according to the study, students who report having higher levels of anxiety related to foreign language anxiety have a poor opinion of themselves and their capacity to communicate in English in front of others, such as their teachers and classmates.

Applied Linguistics: CLIL and Language Learning Outcome in ESL Learners

Maryam Munir — 2025-07-14

The motive of this research is to dig deep down into CLIL and different techniques to incorporate in it. The term was first coined in 1994, yet there is still a lack of its implementation in Asian Educational Context .CLIL is a teaching prospective that unites teaching of Language and Content. A mixed method approach was followed and a sample size of 36 students was selected through stratified random sampling and data was analyzed through paired sample T-tests and classroom observation through thematic analysis. The result approved that CLIL is a contemporary way of teaching English Language. It is recommended that for effective incorporation of CLIL teacher’s training is a must and the use of resource materials which integrate Content and Language for better learning outcome. Different levels of competence (Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening) must also be explored with regards to CLIL.

Rewriting Culture and Womanhood: A Postcolonial Feminist Study of Ice Candy Man and Burnt Shadows

Shamsa Faiz — 2025-07-14

The objective of this study is to make a comparative postcolonial feminist reading of Ice-Candy-Man (1988) by Bapsi Sidhwa and Burnt Shadows (2009) by Kamila Shamsie with respect to the manner in which Pakistani culture is represented. The research is defined within themes of gender, trauma, and cultural displacement within the understanding of postcolonialism. Sidhwa and Shamsie present the socio-political breaks of Partition, migration, and war through what is central to the female experience. Their writings challenge and re-define conservative gender roles and identity in postcolonial context. Close reading approach was chosen to critically review the selected passages in the two novels. The textual meaning was informed with the postcolonial feminist theory. The results show that both writers portray women as strong individuals struggling with hybrid identities molded out of colonial history. Sidhwa gives pride of place to indigenous culture whereas Shamsie renders transnational trauma and perseverance.