What is Diaspora Fiction?
analytical Essay
1391 words
Namesake Diaspora fiction s dwell on/focus on alienation, nostalgia, displacement, loneliness, assimilation, acculturation, and quest of identity, it also deals issues related to existential rootlessness or disintegration of cultures. An individual has to relocate himself afresh on migrati on for which he has to go through atonement such as readjustment, adaptation, participation . When an individual migrate from one place to another, from one country to another, the borders change and the identity of an individual takes a new shape. A person who has migrated always desires to return to what has been left behind. When an individual enters into an unknown world, he is removed from an amiable and cherished world, and this dislocation brings in a sense of nostalgia and the individual becomes prey of nostalgia. The sketches of their past always remain with them. Jhumpa Lahiri spectacularly carves out the acculturation, alienation and nostalgia of Indian immigrants in her novel “The Namesake”. Jhumpa Lahiri herself belongs to the second generation of Indian immigrants. The characters live in two worlds simultaneously, one is the American culture and the other is their native culture , and the first generation always longs for their home which is left behind and becomes nostalgic. They remain torn between the past and present. It really troubles the marginalized gentry of the Diasporas to live in an alien land. The bewildered and vague memories of the homelands seem to stimulate a skimpy desire for “home,” to go back to “the lost world”. A cultural dilemma of sorts stares the denizens of the Diaspora when their cultural practices are ridiculed and their ethnic and cultural identity is in peril.... ... middle of paper ... ...ew views, ideas and values which keeps on unmasking her past. Jasmine dwindles between the past and the present in an attempt to deal with the two worlds, that is the native world and the host world. A lot of families migrate from Pakistan to India and from India to Pakistan after the partition between the two nations. Her family is also one among them who are forced to move to India after partition. Her father always feels nostalgic about Pakistan particularly about Lahore and he is unable to give up the memories of his past. He has deep attachment with Lahore and his past. He always talks about his past life in Lahore. He listen Pakistani programs on Radio. This shows his deep rooted nostalgia for his past. He keeps on comparing India with Pakistan, Punjab with Lahore. He feels happy living with the memories of past. He finds peace and solace in his past.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how jhumpa lahiri's "the namesake" portrays the acculturation, alienation, and nostalgia of indian immigrants.
- Explains that diasporic communities are groups of people that are distanced from their homeland, such as political or economic migrants seeking work or refugees escaping war. nostalgia plays a prominent role in the lives of first generation immigrants.
- Analyzes the interplay of nostalgia, acculturation, and alienation in the novels.
- Analyzes how jasmine is an open minded lady who makes decisions with mind and does not flow in emotions. she crosses the boundaries of race, gender, and nation.
Related
- explanatory
- analytical
- argumentative
- Migration In With Migrationexplanatory essayMigration is essential in an advancing world. The increased mobility of people consequently results into cross-cultural confrontation. With a purpose to analyse the work of any post-colonial author, It is necessary to enter into a tangled and forbidding web of multiplicity and investigate multiple cultures, identities, migrations, loyalties etc. Today, it is realty that more than 20 million Indians have migrated to alien lands and complicated the definition of Home. They have made the world their home. Their ubiquitous and intense desire to link and re-link the home of their origin is a subject of study for many post-colonial scholars. Bharati Mukherjee is one of the prominent Indian writers who had migrated to Canada. With
In this essay, the author
- Explains that migration is essential in an advancing world, resulting in cross-cultural confrontation. bharati mukherjee is one of the prominent indian writers who had migrated to canada.
- Explains that immigration is a historical phenomenon that has entailed the creation of multiple affiliations and identities. the bible describes the exodus of israelites from egypt to canaan.
- Explains that the term diaspora is derived from the greek term 'diasperien' and refers to displaced communities who have been dislocated from their homeland through migration, immigration or exile.
- Explains that diasporas exhibit several features, such as dispersal from an original homeland, expansion from a homeland in search of work, in pursuit of trade or to further colonial ambitions, collective memory, myth, idealization of ancestral home, return movement, strong ethnic group consciousness, troubled relationship with host societies, solidarity with co-ethnic members in other countries.
719 wordsRead More - Diaspora Essayanalytical essayAs I have shown, throughout his essays, Gordon establishes a narrative of the past in the Diaspora which is distinctly negative, drawing on images of the Jewish people as passive and parasitic, alienated from nature and labor and accordingly without a living culture. Through his ideology, Gordon establishes an idea of the perfect relationship between people, nature and labor; a relationship that must be withheld in order for a people to be a living, creative culture. Gordon asserts that the Jewish people have been kept apart from the natural sphere in their own land in which they developed as a people, and have been severed from direct contact with nature in the countries where they are living in Diaspora, thus creating a strictly negative identity for the Diasporic Jews. The Diaspora experience is presented by Gordon as an identity defining experience that is presupposed as part of the Jewish self-understanding. The ideology of Gordon indicates that the Diaspora was a degrading and negative experience for all Jews:
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how gordon establishes a narrative of the past in the diaspora which is distinctly negative, drawing on images of jewish people as passive and parasitic, alienated from nature and labor.
- Describes how they look at their people, degraded, hungry, poor, thirsty, beaten and wounded, torn and martyred.
- Explains how the diaspora and the identity of the group influenced each other, so that the concept of jewish identity was shaped by the experience and perception.
- Analyzes how gordon conflates all jewish people into one category and applies one distinct identity to them: the diaspora identity.
- Explains that a community's identity is most clearly discernible when it is defining itself against ‘others’.
- Analyzes how gordon's writing is an internal stigmatization of a part of the people, designed to encourage them to change their ways.
- Analyzes how the diasporic identity represents the removal from the land to which the jewish people have a mythic connection.
- Analyzes how the dichotomy created through strong opposite identities helps gordon consolidate his goal of reasserting the jewish people as a strong nation rebuilding their homeland and their faith.
1222 wordsRead More - Analysis Of Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake And Unaccustomed Earthanalytical essayMany authors have captured the experiences that immigrants face when migrating to a new country. In her works The Namesake and Unaccustomed Earth, Jhumpa Lahiri highlights the struggles of assimilation that immigrants from South Asian countries, particularly India, face when migrating to America. Lahiri focuses on the differing experiences between immigrant parents and their American-born children. Lahiri's works serve to educate Americans and provide immigrants with literature that they can relate to.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how jhumpa lahiri highlights the struggles of assimilation that immigrants from south asian countries, especially india, face when migrating to america.
- Analyzes how ashima's journey to america begins when her husband, ashoke, decides to move to the states to pursue a degree in fiber optics at mit.
- Analyzes how ashima and ashoke struggle to adjust to america, as they stay at home, preparing meals for their husband, and are afraid to give birth in a country where most people enter to suffer or die.
- Analyzes how ashima and ashoke are astonished when their doctor suggests that they name the baby "gogol" after his father.
- Analyzes how ashima and ashoke's lives in america begin to transform with the birth of their son. they are the only bengali couple around and feel further isolated.
- Analyzes how ashima's birth reminds her of the life she left behind in india. the community of bengalis that she surrounds herself with, serves as her family and makes life in america much more bearable.
- Analyzes how lahiri highlights the differences between the immigrant generation—ashima and ashoke—and their children—gogol and sonia.
- Explains that ashima and ashoke try to implement as much of their bengali culture in their children's lives as possible. they also make trips to india to keep gogol and sonia in touch with their culture.
- Analyzes how the focus of the novel shifts from ashima and ashoke to their son, gogol, as he ages and begins school.
- Analyzes how gogol feels like a prisoner walking free after changing his name from "gogol" to "nikhail"
2043 wordsRead More - Refugee Migrationanalytical essayThey disfavor, in Bharati Mukherjee’s words, Maximalism creed. The element of ‘double identity’ “as an ambassador and a refugee” does not haunt them. They think of their role only that of ambassador and fail to adopt the host culture, always nurtures a desire to protect and preserve the native culture. However, the second generation gets inspired by their role as refugee that induces them “to seek refuge, protection, and relate more positively to the host cultural.” This difference, in Uma Parameswaran’s view, is mainly due to their respective attitudes to the ‘concept of home’ and response to ‘homeland.’ Parameswarn herself a second generation migrants states:
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the second generation disfavors the maximalism creed and the element of 'double identity' as an ambassador and a refugee.
- Explains that the concept of 'home' continues to exacerbate intergenerational frictions within the diaspora community. most young people whose parents keep to old ways feel trapped by their differences.
- Analyzes how the first generation expatriates are like the greek god janus- leaning backward and looking forward; the second generation refuses to return to the past, rather than be driven by a recurring sense of loss and longing, displacement and nostalgia for their native land.
- Analyzes the socio-cultural gap between the first world and the third world nations in the post-colonial, postnational, and postmodern context.
623 wordsRead More - Immigration in USAexplanatory essayKnott , Kim, and Seán McLoughlin, eds. Diasporas Concepts, Intersections, Identities. New York : Zed Books, 2010. Print.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the united states of america is the best place for immigration. the history proved that america was the dream land, the place of chances.
- Explains that immigration to america began when christopher columbus discovered the new land now called the american continent. immigration increased in the 17th century when people came from europe, africa, and asia to the new land.
- Explains that between 1850 and 1930, about 5 million germans immigrated to the united states, while 3.5 million british and 4.5 million irish entered america. before 1845 most irish immigrants were protestants.
- Explains that congress changed the nation's basic policy about immigration from 1930 to 2000. the supreme court decided immigration would be under federal jurisdiction in 1875, and congress created the "quota system."
- Explains that the government has put provisions designed to encourage migration of certain kinds of workers who have lost the skills from the current population.
- Explains that congress abandoned the quota system and the acceptance of immigration, based on the "need" relative to each immigrant's postulants. the new system is limited in large part to immigration from mexico and central and south america.
- Explains that the united states has a history of excepting the people who chose america to immigrate because america is the land of chances.
- Opines that immigrants provide america with many advantages, such as variety of their cultures, their desire to work hard and take specific jobs that americans would refuse.
- Explains that america has the largest number of immigrants, 1million more every year than any other country. the government tries to change this to raise the number more than 50% but some people say the immigrant’s takes their jobs and some will lose them.
- Explains that immigration laws in the united states limit the number of immigrants admitted each year. annual numerical limits are calculated based on a complex formula.
- Explains the annual limit to the total number of legal migrants is 675,000, which includes foreign nationals who get immigrant visas at the consulate offices abroad, and those who control the situation in the united states.
- Explains that the annual limit is divided into three categories: family, employment, and diversity visas. the white house is developing a draft proposal to allow illegal immigrants to become legal permanent residents in just eight years.
- Explains that the draft law is being developed as members of both houses of congress are formulating their own immigration bills.
- Explains that the bill reflects many of the provisions for 2007 bipartisan a draft law, which was led by senator ted kennedy, sen. john mccain, and ultimately failed.
- Explains that the draft law proposes a new plan to allow homeland security to take donations from people, enterprises, and local and state governments to improve the ports of entry and security features along the border.
- Citesschrag, peter, wellman, christopher, and phillip cole. debating the ethics of immigration is there a right ti exclude?
- Describes lee, erika, and judy yung's angel island immigrant gateway to america.
1379 wordsRead More - Essay On Collective Memoryanalytical essayThe negation of the Diaspora has a mythical character, which functions to legitimize social and political practices and mobilize action and identification with a cause. Gordon establishes this myth of identity through anchoring of the present in the diasporic past and actualization of the diasporic past in the present in the Yishuv.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the zionist movement creates their specific view on the diaspora, and gordon uses this view to establish a distinct identity for the jewish people.
- Explains that collective memory is the structures that underlie all myths and histories without any distinction between them.
- Explains that collective memory is always related to a group, as it is the product of the group's shared memory.
- Argues that a collective memory approach does not seek to establish evidence of historical events, since to relate ‘what really happened’ is beyond the possibilities of memories.
- Argues that collective memory is a collective phenomenon, but one which only manifests itself through individuals.
- Analyzes how the zionists constructed a grand narrative, an interpretation of jewish history, which advocated continuity and identification with antiquity and the declining life of the jews in the diaspora.
- Analyzes how the zionists' negative view of the exile period was influenced by european political and philosophical movements, as well as by jewish enlightenment's portrait of traditional communal life among observant jews.
- Analyzes how zionism was influenced by european romantic nationalism and drawing upon a long, distinctive jewish tradition of longing to return to the ancient homeland.
- Analyzes how gordon establishes the myth of identity through anchoring the present in the diasporic past and actualizing the past in yishuv.
- Analyzes how gordon's ideology is an early example of zionist discourse of negating the diaspora and idealizing the characteristics of the "primitive man".
2298 wordsRead More - The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao: A Summaryanalytical essayHall, Stuart. "Cultural Identity and Diaspora." (First published in the journal Framework (vol. 36) . N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. .
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how yunior's hopes that lola’s daughter, isis, can bring an end to the dreaded fuk by seeking out information from the past enforce the tremendous importance that history plays in our present lives.
- Analyzes how yunior's narration helps us understand the long-term impacts of the regime.
- Analyzes aarbakke's between here and there: aspects of the diasporic experience in the brief wondrous life of oscar wao.
- Analyzes how junot diaz uses postmodern narratives to depict the unique, nuanced perspectives of a generation of youths whose identities are both divergent from their parent culture and deeply rooted in its ideals and inescapable history.
- Analyzes how the hybridity of diaz's style throughout the novel demonstrates the effect of the diaspora on its descendants in a different way.
- Analyzes the shifts from english to spanish throughout the novel that demonstrate the synthesis of cultures that existed in the diaspora.
- Analyzes hall's "cultural identity and diaspora," published in the journal framework (vol. 36). hanna, monica.
2365 wordsRead More - How does life in exile influence kinship practices? Discuss with reference to at least two ethnographic case studies.argumentative essayThese groups then have to essentially find their place within a new society. Cultures and norms may be completely different so often those living in exile face challenges as the lines between their own culture and traditions and the ideals of the new society start to blur. Their main challenges fall on ‘the necessity [to bridge] the gap to the past and to distant places, in order to create continuity… with the necessity to adapt to new circumstances’. (Engebrigtsen: 2007: 727) They feel a deep loss of their culture and thus are left with the idea of the loss of their own identity.
In this essay, the author
- Concludes that the term ‘exile’ emerges with negative connotations that represent loss and isolation. it involves the upheaval or a kin and life as they know it.
- Cites ingrid engebrigtsen's article, 'kinship, gender & adaptation processes in exile: the case of tamil
- Explains olwig, larsen, rytter, and taylor & francis: new york (2012).
- Analyzes how living in exile can influence various kinship practices of different cultures and societies.
- Cites fuglerud, o, goldstein, m c., and hess, j. immigrant ambassadors: citizenship & belonging
1884 wordsRead More - Exile In The Twentieth Centuryexplanatory essay“Oh! not, nothing is softer than fatherland and parents; in the exile, what good is the richest residence, among foreigners and far from its parents?” --Ulysses
In this essay, the author
- Explains that exile is one of the oldest topics in universal literature. it is a fundamental aspect of human condition ever-present in all literatures.
247 wordsRead More - The Role Of Cosmopolitanism In Ghosh's The Glass Palaceanalytical essayIn the present century as in the last decades of the earlier one, large-scale migration created massive challenges to the ideas of nation-states and civil societies. It has drawn the attention of the scholars to the study of transcultural space and identity. It sheds much light on the re-imagining of communities and the subject’s ‘multi-locationality’ within and without the boundaries of one’s culture or territorial region. Cultural purity has become a fluid term, almost a misnomer for it hardly seems to exist in its purest form. What we find instead in the present synchronized world is the practice of mixed cultures that give rise to cosmopolitanism which, in its turn, encourages trans-culturalism. In fact, in the earlier colonial as well as in today’s globalised world, the iconography of one’s cultural identity becomes plural rather than singular – adapted, shaped and reshaped rather than inherited as one comes in contact with other cultural spaces. The historical event of colonisation, as evidenced in Ghosh’s ‘The Glass Palace’ as in his other novels, has
In this essay, the author
- Explains that large-scale migration created massive challenges to the ideas of nation-states and civil societies. it sheds light on the re-imagining of communities and the subject's ‘multi-locationality’ within and without the boundaries of one’s culture.
- Analyzes how ghosh advances the cause of the dispossessed and oppressed subaltern individuals by showing how communal frenzy and violence are caused by untoward incidents or by policy-makers acting in the political machinery in power.
- Explains the concept of transculturalism and cultural pluralism.
- Opines that transcultural has been used loosely and often in a sloppy manner, like other trans-terms.
- Argues that multiculturalism is directed towards conformity in a society where respect for diverse literatures and subcultures becomes the cultural norm.
- Explains that the idea of the nation is a modern one, especially european one that denotes the country with politically fixed, definite and rigorous borders.
- Explains that the 'nation' is also a myth which holds over the emotions of the people.
- Explains that ghosh's novel the glass palace derives its title from the royal palace of burma, inhabited by king thebaw and his powerful and cruel wife queen supayalat.
- Explains that the king raised his glasses to his eyes and spotted several indian faces along the waterfront. what vast, what incomprehensible power, to move people in such huge numbers from one place to another?
- Analyzes how the deposed king was not given a reply, but the answer wasn't difficult to get at. the gravest part of this venture is that it was mostly the indians who were employed in the war.
- Describes how the british took economic, political and military control of burma after the removal of king thebaw from the throne.
- Opines that if they went to burma now, they would be a foreigner—they would call them kalaa like they do indians—a trespasser, an outsider from across the sea
- Analyzes the nightmarish vision of a migrant who has somehow lost touch with the culture of her origin.
- Analyzes how the last part of the glass palace exposes the fatal condition of thousands of people – mostly indian migrated from burma to calcutta on account of japanese invasion in 1942.
- Analyzes how the theme of alienation and identity crisis of south asian families in pre and post-colonial time is explored in the novel.
- Narrates how the road became so thickly thronged that they could barely move. everyone was heading towards the northern landward passage to india, a distance of more than thousand miles.
- Analyzes how ghosh narrates the position of large mass of people, marooned between two countries – burma and india.
- Explains that when the japanese drive away the british from burma, some members in the indian army get split over the issue and it has greater effect on the common people.
- Analyzes how characters torn between two kinds of operation take ghosh back to what has always seemed to be his central concern, the consequences of displacement.
- Analyzes how ghosh shows his concern for the migrated people or people at the fringe of migration. the focal theme of the novel is inevitable recognition of human beings during colonialism.
- Analyzes how ghosh articulates the faithfulness of the native people in the power of foreign rulers on their own land through the character of arjun in the glass palace.
- Analyzes how arjun spent most of his years of service in veneration for the british without ever asking who he was actually working for.
- Analyzes how ghosh projects the development of saya and rajkumar keeping aside the racial, linguistic and religious differences.
- Analyzes how dislocated people go through the process of transculturalization and hybridization in the 'third space' propounded by bhabha in various geographical areas around the world.
3043 wordsRead More