The Illocutions of Exile

Abstract

This commentary argues that the typical representation of exiles and immigrants in literature be distinguished from their representation in the law, where they are often given not to descriptive and plaintive expressions of their plight, as is the case in so many literary texts, but to simple affirmations of their existence. As the commentary goes on to show, the expression of exilic presence often comes in the form of an illocution – statements that make things happen as opposed to merely describing them – which have the potential to alter our view of exiles and immigrants as outsiders who are powerless and bereft anywhere but in their country of origin.