Thesis (M.A.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Arts - Department of English

This thesis attempts to analyze fictional representations of Indian diaspora and diasporic identities. It aims at establishing a relationship between the protagonists{u2019} identity transformation, their agency and their ability to assimilate to the host lands. In kiran Desai's the Inheritance of Loss (2006), Bharati Mukherjee's Jasmine (1989) and Jhumpa Lahiri's the namesake (2004), the protagonists engage in multi-cultural encounters that affect their sense of place and time in a manner that compels them to assess their identity and sense of belonging. The term {u2018}diaspora{u2019} is used in this study as an alternative to {u2018}immigration{u2019} which fails to adequately convey the psychological and cultural aspects of dispersal. The theoretical framework adopted in this thesis includes works by Homi K. Bhabha, stuart Hall, Ajit K. Maan and frantz fanon which deal with the issue of {u2018}identity{u2019} from cultural and psychological perspectives. The selected novels are analyzed in relation to the concepts of {u2018}hybridity{u2019}, {u2018}cultural identity{u2019} and {u2018}Internarrative Identity{u2019} which reveal the protagonists coping dynamics, personal agency and cultural assimilation, or lack thereof. While Desai{u2019}s text depicts diaspora as an experience of loss in which the protagonists return to the homeland metaphorically empty-handed, Mukherjee{u2019}s text celebrates diaspora as an occasion for recreating the self through tribulations. Lahiri{u2019}s work yields a more balanced view of diaspora that acknowledges the pains and the gains of displacement

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