IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCES AND CULTURAL IDENTITY: DIASPORIC NARRATIVE IN GURNAH’S GRAVEL HEART
Keywords:
Abdulrazak Gurnah, Gravel Heart, Diaspora, Immigration, Cultural Identity, Hybridity, PostcolonialismAbstract
“Identity crisis/hybrid identity is a dominant theme of literature in the rapidly growing globalized society” (Mortaza et al., 2024, p. 4177). This study investigates the interplay between the experience of the immigrants and their cultural identity in the fictional book Gravel Heart by Abdulrazak Gurnah in the context of a diasporic perspective. The novel conveys the emotional and psychological aspects of being displaced, alienated and belonging through the diasporic experiences of Salim. Based on the theoretical concepts of Homi K. Bhabha, the study discusses Salim’s negotiation between the cultural norms of his Zanzibarian roots and the expectations imposed by a Western environment. It shows how difficult it is to create a coherent identity in the context of displacement. The results of the study indicate that Gurnah applies the diasporic narrative to present not only the loss and nostalgia but also the agency, resilience, and transformative possibilities of the hybrid identities. By capturing the psychological and social effects of immigration and cultural interaction, Gravel Heart contributes significantly to understanding how diasporic lives re-imagine identity in the wake of colonial legacies.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Uzma Shakoor, Hafiza Ammara Nawaz, Muhammad Irfan (Author)
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