The publication of Edward W. Said's Orientalism marked a momentous intervention in the historiography of Western imperialism and Western representations of the Middle East. Many regarded Orientalism as "one of the most influential scholarly books published in English in the humanities in the last quarter of the twentieth century"(Lockman, 2004: 190). The book stormed up a debate in the academic world by accusing the West of having a skewed and condescending view towards the East, particularly in the several ways in which Westerners portrayed and represented non-Western cultures. While Orientalism generated sympathy and agreement, it also raised complete rejection. Alexander Lyon Macfie points out this aspect in his book Orientalism (2002) as: "Opinion regarding the validity of Said's Orientalism was then mixed. But a pattern of sorts can be detected, based not so much on the nationality and religion of the scholars and intellectuals concerned as on their attitude to history and the modern and post-modern philosophical ideas (deconstruction, truth as illusion, intellectual hegemony, and so on) which frequently influence it" (109). The present paper tries to bring an approach to criticism made towards Edward Said, his influential theory and Said's partial response to those criticism.

The turn of the twentieth century was a time of tremendous progress in several different fields. Yet, this progression brought about the destruction of established norms and systems without offering a feasible alternative. It created a devastating effect on modern man causing a sense of dislocation, a loss of faith, a chaotic and meaningless life, and total disorder throughout Europe. Joseph Conrad explored this decay and decomposition of values and ideals in his novella Heart of Darkness. A thorough analytical examination of this work can provide valuable insight into its revolutionary contribution to literature. The purpose of the present paper is to bring an analytical approach to the gradual decay and decomposition of Western Society in Conrad's fiction. The novel will bring the alienation and dehumanization into the open. Therefore, as will be seen, Conrad's literary work suggests that western ideals and values are deceptive. The study also argues that, as an attempt to bring morality, the "civilizing mission" brutalizes both colonizers and colonized alike due to its essential hypocrisy.

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The present paper analyzes H. M. Naqvi's Home Boy as counter-narrative to Orientalism in Western discourse that writes back to the American Empire apropos September 11 and terrorism. Naqvi tries to analyze, describe, problematize and destabilize Orientalist discourse of "othering" a and "stereotyping" The narrative protests against American imperialism-its belligerent foreign policy, its suppression and exploitation of third world countries, interference in other countries, and occupation and invasion of foreign lands. The narrative starts as a typical immigrant narrative in which the protagonist comes to the United States in pursuit of the American dream of prosperity, happiness and freedoms. Initially, the protagonist has assimilative and accommodative tendencies in the hopes of partaking in the economic and social privileges bestowed by a prestigious American education and lucrative employment in big financial institutions in the metropolis. However, the events of September 11 exacerbate an already precarious atmosphere of discrimination that exists in the novel in which their protagonist is treated as an outsider and enemy.

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