DECENTERING THE CENTRE: A DECONSTRUCTIVE STUDY OF THE HEIRS OF COLUMBUS

Abstract

This paper explores the deconstructive elements through historiographic metafiction in Gerald Vizenor’s novel The Heirs of Columbus. Vizenor uses a trickster discourse and sheds light on colonial history of American Indians. He highlights the power structures in relation to the other subjects in The Heirs of Columbus. The power structures imposed many unjust tasks on the “other” subjugated subjects to maintain power. The novel narrates the history of the subaltern class of society, thus decenters the metanarratives of overriding official documented history.