Exploring the Complexity of the “National versus Ethnic” Discourse in Syed Manzurul Islam’s Burrow (2004)

Numero46
Autori
(fare click sul nome per profilo)
Elisabetta Marino
TitoloExploring the Complexity of the
“National versus Ethnic” Discourse in Syed Manzurul Islam’s Burrow (2004)
ISBN978-88-6065-097-6
Volume rilegato collezionabile€ 10,00
GenereSaggio critico
LinguaInglese
N. Pagine21
N. Illustrazioni0
EdizioneMarzo 2007

This paper aims at analyzing the way in which the “national vs. ethnic” discourse is dealt with in Burrow, the latest novel by British Bangladeshi writer and university lecturer Syed Manzurul Islam, published in 2004 after his first collection of short stories entitled The Mapmakers of Spitalfields (1997). Besides addressing the process of adjustment and negotiation of a new identity on the part of many Bangladeshi immigrants (between the adherence to their cultural roots and the necessity to effectively partake to the new context), Islam mainly focuses on the subject of illegal immigration which further problematizes the above outlined issue. In fact, the illegal immigrant Tapan Ali, who does not have a residence permit in the UK but cannot go back to Bangladesh for personal reasons, seems to be caught in a vacuum between nations and ethnic backgrounds, in a third dimension which is peopled by many other illegal immigrants like him (Bangladeshi, Jewish, and Chinese) and whose complex nature will be examined.

Lascia un commento

Il tuo indirizzo email non sarà pubblicato. I campi obbligatori sono contrassegnati *