Diaspora, Acculturation and Identity: A Study of BapsiSidhwa’s An American BratAssimilation

Abstract

Framed in relation to diaspora this work engages with the subject of how the nature of diasporic experience is determined by the socio-political scenario and whether or not the migrant feels empowerment in an altogether new locale. Diasporic experience can be understood in a variety of ways. The common thread for this paper comes from the glimpses the novel. An American Brat provides. The aim is to shed light on its impact on the protagonist. The study capitalizes on the theoretical assumptions of diasporic experience outlined by William Safran. The study shows how the protagonist undergoes the experience of identity crises and what impediments she has to face in acculturation. The study shows that the rampant socio-political and socio-economic conditions of the migrant’s homeland are very much responsible for the nature of diasporic experience on the part of the central character of the novel under-study, especially how her identity is shattered and re-built.Sense of freedom, security, boldness and empowerment which she ultimately gains in a foreign land are very much conditional upon the cultural differences, social standing of her clan and political scenario of her homeland. Path towards the attainment of self-realization entails unlearning and relearning as reflected in Feroza’s character. Assimilation in new culture is in fact beyond her family’s expectations, for which she becomes too much modern in the end.