"The Pure Land of Suffering: My Minamata Disease" is the representative work of Japanese writer Michiko Ishimure. Once it was published, it received great acclaim and was continuously reprinted. It was praised by Natsuki Ikezawa as "the greatest masterpiece of Japanese literature after the war". The "Michiko-style" invented by the author breaks the boundary between documentary and fiction, endowing "The Pure Land of Suffering" with the significance of stylistic innovation and possessing strong artistic quality that cannot be ignored. Moreover, it attempts to reconstruct the female language beyond the male language. Taking the "Michiko-style" as the key word, this paper links the narrative methods of dialect and poetic language with the development process of Japanese society after the war. Conversely, it also interprets the influence of the modern "Michiko-style" from the perspective of literature and language. The refinement and sublimation of Michiko Ishimure's "Michiko-style" not only finds an outlet for resolving the modernity crisis characterized by environmental problems but also provides useful inspiration for us to study the value of literary styles.

With the development of society,women's self-consciousness has become stronger and stronger,and they believe that they can rely on themselves to improve their social status instead of realising their own value by relying on men.Female writers boldly display their desires and feelings in their works,thus opening up a new period of development for women's literature.Women's literature reveals the complexity and diversity of women's problems with a multi-dimensional perspective and deep social insight.This way of writing not only pays attention to the specific dilemmas of women in various fields such as family,workplace and society,but also explores in depth the social structure,cultural concepts and psychological factors behind these dilemmas.The women in the works struggle with multiple conflicts,such as spirit and flesh,love and affection,career and family,showing the spiritual confusion from "self" to "superego".These confusions not only stem from the specific problems of personal life,but also go deeper into the thinking of the essence and existence of "human".

This paper analyses and compares women's literary works from three countries, namely Under the Tree,Vegetarian and Brick Lane,which come from different cultural backgrounds and have different perspectives,but together reveal the challenges and dilemmas faced by women in contemporary society.From the perspectives of women's consciousness and destiny,we use comparative research methods to explore the various dilemmas faced by women in modern society,and analyse their writing styles and profound meanings,with the aim of revealing the unique perspectives and values of women's dilemmas in contemporary literary works.

Under the Tree is a work by Chinese writer Chi Zijian.Through depicting the growth story of the main character Qidou,it exposes the struggle and confusion of women in family,society and self-knowledge in the rural background where the traditional patriarchal system is deeply rooted.The work deeply describes the state of women's existence based on the perspective of vernacular ethics.

Focusing on Korean urban women,Han Gang,author of Vegetarian,uses her protagonist,Young-hye,to shed light on the multiple pressures women face in their families,marriages, and society.Young-hye refuses to eat meat because of a nightmare, an act that touches a sensitive nerve in social norms and causes her to suffer tremendous pressure from her family and society.Through Young-hye's tragic life,the work criticises the oppression of women by gender discrimination and social norms.

Monica Ali,author of Brick Lane,looks at the survival of Bengali immigrant women in post-colonial British society.The protagonist,Nazneen,struggles with the multiple dilemmas of race,class,and gender as she endeavours to construct her own cultural identity.Through Nazneen's story,the work explores the plight and the way out for ethnic minority women in a multicultural mixed society in the context of globalisation.

Although these three works have different geographical backgrounds and character settings,they all deeply reveal the dilemmas and challenges faced by women in modern society.These works are not only a profound writing of women's experiences,but also a powerful critique of social reality and a philosophical reflection on what "human beings" are.

Contemporary studies in sexuality have increasingly focused on social construction of identities and categories, emphasising the influence of gender, power and political-economic dimensions (Parker & Aggleton). While studies in Indian erotic literature do shed light on gender roles, literary motifs and artistic appreciation of erotic literature, they under examine the role of material culture, mainly cosmetics, in the process. Instead, cosmetics have been studied as a subject of everyday life, detached from the innate connection it shares with sexuality. In ancient Arab societies, for instance, the use of perfumes is intricately tied to the aspect of eroticism (Hirsch), also to be noticed in Rabbinic texts that deal with women’s use of cosmetics in ancient Judaism (Labovitz).

Such academic scholarship is yet to develop on India, possessing a rich erotic literary tradition where application of pastes with designs on bodies of both men and women served as acts of sexuality and tools of seduction. This paper addresses these gaps by examining the neglected relation between sexuality and material culture of cosmetics, specifically focusing on body pastes such as sandalwood, musk, henna, and camphor and their designs in the early Indian literary traditions of Sanskrit and Tamil.

By employing an interdisciplinary conceptual framework grounded in material culture studies and comparative analysis, this paper questions: What functions did cosmetics serve in erotic contexts in Early Indian Literature? What role did they play in construction of gender roles and sexuality? Through a vast corpus of early erotic and love poetry in Sanskrit and Tamil, this paper finds gendered and regional variations in application of the same pastes and designs between these literary traditions situated in acts of sexuality, where the very act of application became a tool of seduction. For instance, sandalwood paste on female bodies was eroticised in Sanskrit poetry while application of the same paste on male bodies by females became an act of seduction in Tamil poetry.

This paper contributes to the field of comparative literature by bridging the gap in scholarship between sexuality and material culture of cosmetics. It demonstrates that cosmetics’ usage showed considerable change across ancient India that was reflected directly in erotic literature, for it played an important role in sexuality. Secondly, the material culture of cosmetics corresponds directly with the culture of clothing that in turn, corresponds to the socio-religious norms of the changing society, signalling a complex relationship between material culture of clothing, sexuality, gender and social acceptability.

By situating cosmetics within the broader context of Indian erotic literature, these findings serve implications to fields of literature, gender and cultural studies, offering a deeper understanding of how material culture shapes and reflects cultural attitudes towards gender and sexuality.

Queer theory in literature is a critical approach that examines how literary texts represent, subvert, or reinforce dominant norms of sexuality, gender, and identity. It rejects the conventional binaries (male/female, homosexual/heterosexual etc.) to resist the rigid structures of society including societal identity and class system.

This study uses queer theory’s principles of Fluidity and Intersectionality to analyze the subsequent identities in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through close reading and textual analysis. The principle of Fluidity questions the notion of fixed identities, exploring the evolving nature of Huck’s and Jim’s identities throughout their journey. It also highlights multiple roles played by both characters influencing their relationship which blur the lines between kinship, love and desire. Other principle explores Intersectionality of Huck’s and Jim’s experiences, demonstrating how their identities are shaped by multiple factors including race, class, gender and sexuality. It challenges the traditional concept of identity, belonging and citizenship.

By analyzing a pure and sincere love and friendship between Huck and Jim, this queer reading of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn opens a new horizon for scholars to use Queer theory to analyze texts beyond sexual love or LGBT+ categories.

Ultimately, it argues that Huckleberry Finn remains a deeply queer and subversive text, one that compels readers to rethink their assumptions about identity, belonging, and the American experience.

Twain’s masterpiece still continues to resonate with contemporary debates around identity, politics, social justice, and human rights.