immigrantion- isolation, feeling like an outsider Flashcards
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“I have felt rather like a Kurtz waiting for his Marlow…I have been plagued by paranoia.”=
Hamid’s use of intertextuality by making reference to Joseph Conrad’s ‘The Heart of Darkness’ helps to reinforce Changez’s sense of being hunted by America because he has become an enigma-America cannot understand Changez’s metamorphosis from working for a huge global American company to spreading anti-american rhetoric. An example of this disillusionment and what happens when one strays away from westernised ideas can be seen in Conrad’s novel through the character of Kurtz who is supposedly an infamous, and enlightened man who lives among the natives but turns out to be a crazed, brutish egomaniac who has established himself as a God among the natives. He dies in disgrace uttering his famous final words, “the horror, the horror.”
Homi K. Bhabha(theorist)= “To exist is to be called into being in relation to an otherness”= Otherness is seen as troubling or threatening and much racial prejudice has its roots in the other. Many colonial texts construct colonised groups as the ‘other’, defining them exclusively and pejoratively in terms of Western European values and traditions- THOD
brick lane
“I’m talking about the struggle to assimilate and the need to preserve one’s identity and heritage.”- chanu
Chanu’s discussion with Dr Azad helps to illuminate both the intergenerational debate as well as the debate of accommodating a dominant culture rather than safeguarding a minority culture. Chanu’s speech is passionate and reinforces his fear of losing his community’s cultural roots through assimilation which is conveyed through the declarative tone.
-Nikesh Shukla= “Immigrants are told to integrate well. Move upwards in society. Be praised- until people worry that immigrants are doing too well, and remember that they’re foreign.
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“What sort of a man abandons his people in such circumstances? And what was I abandoning them for?” = Rhetorical questions convey how Changez’s collusion in American society, when America is goading India to start war in his country, attacks his sense of integrity and masculinity.
disillusionment is predicated on the unearned reverence which immigrant characters hold towards the host country - a variable which is determined not only by Western empire’s projections of grandeur but also the seemingly transcendent structures of patriarchy
“What sort of a man abandons his people in such circumstances? And what was I abandoning them for?” = Rhetorical questions convey how Changez’s collusion in American society, when America is goading India to start war in his country, attacks his sense of integrity and masculinity. The military buildup was initiated by India responding to a terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament on 13 December 2001, which India claimed that the attacks were carried out by two Pakistan-based terror groups. The US supported India as part of their “global war on terror.” The hostility of America serves as a route to his political consciousness as he comes to realise his allegiance should lie with his family and homeland.
-Adam Kirsche= “Changez realises his place is with the victims of American power rather than its agents.”
“She had submitted to her father and married her husband; she had submitted to her husband. And now she gave herself up to a power greater than these two.”
brick lane
The repetition of “submitted” emphasises the extent to which Nazneen has behaved obediently and subserviently towards male figures in her life. By introducing the character of Karim, Ali is suggesting that in the host country, female immigrants have greater opportunity to choose their own path and way through life. Unlike Changez in RF, Nazneen feels the need to transgress against Bangladeshi cultural norms.= An example of the patriarchal differences in Changez’s and Nazneen’s religion that causes Nazneen to crave the agency
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-“I will admit that there were details which annoyed me. The ease with which they parted with money…or their self-righteousness.” = Changez’s observations of his peers’ behaviour in Greece hints at his growing discomfort with American Imperialism.
-“I will admit that there were details which annoyed me. The ease with which they parted with money…or their self-righteousness.” = Changez’s observations of his peers’ behaviour in Greece hints at his growing discomfort with American Imperialism. Conveys the arrogance and privilege of western culture. Although Changez is part of the American group, his sense of cultural conflict puts him at a distance from his friends. Imperialism= the short term occupation of territory.
monica ali brick lane
“Shahana, leaving for school, requested Birds Eye burgers. Chanu was planning fish head curry.” = Illuminates cultural and generational conflict.
“Shahana, leaving for school, requested Birds Eye burgers. Chanu was planning fish head curry.” = Illuminates cultural and generational conflict. Shahana sees herself as British and therefore wants to adopt cultural norms such as food and dress, however, Chanu as a first generation immigrant is desperate to preserve his cultural roots and identity. Shahana “requested” which is formal (demanding) and respectful. Chanu is the ‘breadwinner’ of the household, he has the dominance. Difference in cultures with the fish head curry and birds eye burgers - reflected through the standalone sentences and lack of conjunctions which shows an inability to come together/compromise.
“That is what culture is; it’s not something that stands still.” “Culture is always a translation.”- Stuart Hall
Edward Said= “ Culture can even be a battleground on which causes expose themselves to the light of day and contend with one another.”
brick lane
“Her clothes were rich. Solid. They were armour, and her ringed fingers were weapons.”= Ali’s use of the fragment sentence ‘Solid’ conveys the woman’s seemingly impenetrable confidence through Nazneen’s eyes.
-“Her clothes were rich. Solid. They were armour, and her ringed fingers were weapons.”= Ali’s use of the fragment sentence ‘Solid’ conveys the woman’s seemingly impenetrable confidence through Nazneen’s eyes. The military connotations of ‘armour’ and ‘weapons’ portray the woman’s power and status in society, and highlights Nazneen’s contrasting feeling of vulnerability being ‘without a coat’.
critique the cultural tension arising from the dominance that western capitalist culture exerts over minority immigrant cultures
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“Did not wish to blend in with the army of clean-shaven youngsters who were my coworkers.” =
Hamid’s choice of ‘army’ to describe the employees of Underwood Samson underlines the power of the culture that these ‘youngsters’ belong to. We can view both the woman who Nazneen encounters, and the ‘army’ at Underwood Samson, a metonym for the US, as representative of the aggressive and individualistic capitalist cultures to which they belong.
-Context = In this sense we can view Hamid as more concerned with exposing the highly politicised climate in a post 9/11 world and the way cultural ‘causes’ become more rigidly defined, whereas Ali is more concerned with exploring the sense of powerlessness experienced by subaltern groups within the dominant culture.
Are you watching that man?…you think he will scold them for the inappropriateness of their dress?” = Hamid uses the frame narrative to create a frame of verisimilitude where a vast range of prejudices are played out or given voice through the juxtaposing perspectives of Changez and the American
Are you watching that man?…you think he will scold them for the inappropriateness of their dress?” = Hamid uses the frame narrative to create a frame of verisimilitude where a vast range of prejudices are played out or given voice through the juxtaposing perspectives of Changez and the American. Changez’s observations and rhetorical questions betray his own preconceptions of the prejudices of Americans.
-Stephen Morton = “Diasporic narratives raise profound questions about the meaning of national culture.”
brick lane
“short purple skirt” and antagonistic expression
Ali’s use of free indirect discourse conveys Nazneen’s private reaction to Azad’s wife as she surveys her “short purple skirt” and antagonistic expression. The image of “eyes that were looking for a fight”, suggests the cultural conflict experienced by Azad’s wife who is aware that her western attire will be a point of cultural tension with conservative voices within the Bangladeshi community.
-Nick Bentley= “The subaltern narrative emphasises that the accommodation of western culture is needed if the immigrant is going to live a fruitful life in the West.”
“The elite has raped that place well and good right? And fundamentalism. You guys have a serious problem with fundamentalism.”
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Erica’s father’s attitudes convey the unconscious prejudice Westerners have towards Eastern politics. There is irony within his declaratory tone that suggests his assumptions have morphed into fully fledged beliefs. The violent imagery and language of the elite “raping” a country is ironic due to American capitalism profiting off of individuals, no matter the class, following a heavily consumer based lifestyle, which can end in poverty.
-Rhetorical questions which reflect his privileged status as a white American male - makes judgement and shows a sense of entitlement that he won’t be challenged.
Edward Said = “The power to narrate, or to block other narratives from forming and emerging, is very important to culture and imperialism.”
brick lane
“Some of the parents were telling their daughters to leave their headscarves at home. Karim put on a punjabi-pyjama and a skullcap.” =
Karim puts on a punjabi pyjama to express the pride he has for his culture, which contrasts others hiding their identities and cultural heritage. This is because of the rise and tension of racism, parents were worried for their kids Ali uses structure to contrast the different beliefs in the bengali community, he begins with portraying some people as losing their identity, then quickly juxtaposes it with karim wearing his cultural attire.This juxtaposition alludes to the idea that prejudice from others can cause internalised prejudice to one’s own culture.
-Post 9-11 society = Can be linked to the reactions of bengalis in Brick Lane.
bitter orange tree kuhl
‘she could not wear any customary punjabi’
‘her mother was so mortified’
alludes to ideas of white professionalism, suppressing roots
