PARACOLONIAL LEGACIES AND IDENTITY CRISIS: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF AMERICAN FEVER

Abstract

Dur e Aziz Amna in American Fever gives a heartbreaking account of migration, identity, and the colonialist after-effect in the lives of the postcolonial subjects. Hira is presented as the main character who is going through cultural displacement as she is forced to leave her home country Pakistan and relocating to America where she is facing some personal and external conflicts. Hira and her journey in the novel characterize the themes of Para colonialism which is a term used to represent the continued impacts of the colonial legacies into the processes of postcolonial identity creation. The theoretical model of Homi K. Bhabha in the context of third space and Stuart Hall in the context of the cultural identity theory is applied to offer an insight into how the theme of heritage, migration, and the hybrid nature of identity that Hira experiences can be intertwined. Hira is in the phase of an identity crisis, and her identity crisis is set up as an aspect of migration because she is between being Pakistani and being an American. This paper discusses how American Fever enlightens us in the lasting effects of colonialism in the determination of identity especially when it comes to migration.