“The Other” and “Othering” in Thomas De Quincey’s Confessions of an English Opium Eater: A Psychological Study

Abstract

The Other and Otherness (Othering) or Us and Them are one of the most contemporary complex topics which relate to organizing the kind and nature of human relationship besides involving many dangers which could represent a real threat to man's existence. This paper tries to shed some light on this flagrant and shameful literary work of Thomas De Quincey's Confessions of an English Opium Eater which deals with how discrimination is spread among human beings. At the beginning, a theoretical literary review will establish the fundamental bases of this study, including the psychological and post-colonial concepts. Then, it will study Thomas De Quincey’s  Confessions of an English Opium Eater as a realistic model of embodying such racial discrimination and introducing a huge abhorrent image between superior and inferior relationship and the consequences as estrangement, alienation, un-belonging feelings, etc. Finally, the study ends up with the main findings as well as suggesting a piece of advice and solution for eliminating such humiliating inferior look into the other different human being.