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Author: Robert Willrich
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3640542932
Category : Identity (Philosophical concept) in literature
Languages : en
Pages : 53
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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Bamberg, course: London in Literature through the Ages, language: English, abstract: Being one of Hanif Kureishi's most famous works, The Buddha of Suburbia has been discussed numerously in academic writing. Up to now, most scholars have, unfortunately, only focussed on the most apparent topics of hybridity and racial as well as migrational identity. Although fairly striking, only few have paid attention to the British class system that is portrayed in the novel, and if they have, only in passing. This paper is not intended to be added to this long list. I rather want to concentrate on how diverse and comprehensively the topic of class is approached by Kureishi, how class is depicted. For this reason, I want start with some more general facts about lower middle class, but will try to directly compare them to the contents of The Buddha of Suburbia. Secondly, I aim to show how, especially, class is depicted and to describe what makes someone belong to a certain class. How is affiliation expressed and how can one distinguish from other social groups? What does influence our thoughts and beliefs, and why do people want to break out? In regard to this, I will pay special attention to how the suburbs are presented in the novel and to what extent they differ from London. Finally, I want to examine in how far London offers a chance to flee suburbia and lower middle class influences. Does the anonymity of England's capital provide the basis for a new self, to create something new, and leave the past behind? Do people have to surrender, not to say sacrifice, their old identities in order to make it in London? What is the price for climbing the social ladder, and can one find a new, but genuine, self after having left the old behind? My paper shall answer these questions, it seeks to unfold some of the complexity of Kureishi's début novel and to offe
Author: Robert Willrich
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3640542932
Category : Identity (Philosophical concept) in literature
Languages : en
Pages : 53
Get Book
Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Bamberg, course: London in Literature through the Ages, language: English, abstract: Being one of Hanif Kureishi's most famous works, The Buddha of Suburbia has been discussed numerously in academic writing. Up to now, most scholars have, unfortunately, only focussed on the most apparent topics of hybridity and racial as well as migrational identity. Although fairly striking, only few have paid attention to the British class system that is portrayed in the novel, and if they have, only in passing. This paper is not intended to be added to this long list. I rather want to concentrate on how diverse and comprehensively the topic of class is approached by Kureishi, how class is depicted. For this reason, I want start with some more general facts about lower middle class, but will try to directly compare them to the contents of The Buddha of Suburbia. Secondly, I aim to show how, especially, class is depicted and to describe what makes someone belong to a certain class. How is affiliation expressed and how can one distinguish from other social groups? What does influence our thoughts and beliefs, and why do people want to break out? In regard to this, I will pay special attention to how the suburbs are presented in the novel and to what extent they differ from London. Finally, I want to examine in how far London offers a chance to flee suburbia and lower middle class influences. Does the anonymity of England's capital provide the basis for a new self, to create something new, and leave the past behind? Do people have to surrender, not to say sacrifice, their old identities in order to make it in London? What is the price for climbing the social ladder, and can one find a new, but genuine, self after having left the old behind? My paper shall answer these questions, it seeks to unfold some of the complexity of Kureishi's début novel and to offe
Author: Hanif Kureishi
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 0571249396
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 354
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Book Description
Winner of the Whitbread First Novel Award 'A wonderful novel. I doubt I will read a funnier one, or one with more heart, this year, possibly this decade.' Angela Carter, Guardian The hero of Hanif Kureishi's first novel is Karim, a dreamy teenager, desperate to escape suburban South London and experience the forbidden fruits which the 1970s seem to offer. When the unlikely opportunity of a life in the theatre announces itself, Karim starts to win the sort of attention he has been craving - albeit with some rude and raucous results. 'One of the best comic novels of growing up, and one of the sharpest satires on race relations in this country that I've ever read.' Independent on Sunday 'Brilliantly funny. A fresh, anarchic and deliciously unrestrained novel.' Sunday Times 'A distinctive and talented voice, blithe, savvy, alive and kicking.' Hermione Lee, Independent
Author: Nahem Yousaf
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 9780826453242
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 100
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Book Description
This is an excellent guide to Hanif Kureishi's ground-breaking novel. It features a biography of the author (including an in-depth interview with Kureishi), a full-length analysis of the novel, and a great deal more. If you're studying this novel, reading it for your book club, or if you simply want to know more about it, you'll find this guide informative and helpful. This is part of a new series of guides to contemporary novels. The aim of the series is to give readers accessible and informative introductions to some of the most popular, most acclaimed and most influential novels of recent years - from ‘The Remains of the Day' to ‘White Teeth'. A team of contemporary fiction scholars from both sides of the Atlantic has been assembled to provide a thorough and readable analysis of each of the novels in question.
Author: Marco Schmidbauer
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3668619255
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 10
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Book Description
Essay from the year 2012 in the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 2,3, University of Regensburg, language: English, abstract: The beginning of the novel "The Buddha of Suburbia" by Hanif Kureishi already reveals the struggle for identity. But what exactly is identity? No one can give a clear definition on what it is - we can only limit the factors that determine identity, such as class, gender, sexual preference, ethnic background and education. Moreover, identity is bound to social norms. A boy for example is expected to like football or cars, whereas girls are expected to be interested in fashion and shoes. If a person fails to fulfill his gender role, he/she is automatically seen as different and not normal. This way stereotypes are formed. Stereotypes are fixed notions of racial identities, developed over the years. Even though often unconsciously: every person generalizes - this is just how the human mind works. When we see a person for the first time, we immediately tend to put the other into certain categories. Fortunately, identity is not fixed but a malleable entity constructed through social performance. Social performance includes your way of clothing, behavior, accent and much more. In general, it is your outer appearance combined with your gestures and facial expressions, as well as your way of speaking. To my mind, every single person creates their own identity unconsciously. On top of that, nobody can judge his or her identity by himself - it is judged by others.
Author: Marita Mehnert
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3346384063
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : de
Pages : 18
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Book Description
Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2019 im Fachbereich Anglistik - Literatur, Note: 1,3, Universität Bielefeld, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: This term paper uses a postcolonial approach to analyse Karim's movement between the city centre and the suburbs in "The Buddha of Suburbia". These spatial relations reflect on his development of a culturally hybrid identity that goes beyond the simple British-Indian dichotomy. It moves on from a binary view of belonging either to the one or the other to a more differentiated understanding of the fluid, fragmentary and hybrid nature of the protagonist’s postcolonial identity. The novel follows the journey of the protagonist, Karim, as he navigates through different spaces in London, ranging from the suburbs, the home of his biracial family, to the inner city. All while grappling with his quest for a 'true' identity. Set in the 1970s, just after the post-World War II influx of immigrants from former British colonies. The narrative is shaped by the socio-political backdrop of the time, marked by the Commonwealth Immigrants Acts of 1962 and 1968, which restricted the entry of Commonwealth citizens. The spatial relations in the novel mirror a center-periphery dynamic akin to colonial British-Indian relations. The suburbs symbolize the diaspora and marginalized regions and populations, while inner London represents the epitome of power, wealth, and social and cultural achievements. Karim's movement between these spaces parallels his cultural identity's evolution, transcending the simplistic British-Indian dichotomy. The narrative progresses beyond a binary view of belonging to either one culture or the other, illustrating a more nuanced understanding of the fluid, fragmentary, and hybrid nature of the protagonist’s postcolonial identity. Informed by Stuart Hall's cultural studies, the novel rejects the concept of distinct, complete, and coherent identities. Instead, identity is portrayed as fluid, a work in progress marked by fragmentation and defined by differences from other identities. These differences are shaped by the characteristic binaries of dominant and subordinate identities, reflecting the complexities of Karim's journey towards a multifaceted and evolving sense of self.
Author: Daniel Jung
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3346120716
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 22
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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2019 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,0, University of Cologne (Englisches Seminar I), course: Stories of Migration, language: English, abstract: This paper examines how Kureishi depicts the matter of growing up in a (Western) society having a multicultural background in his novel "The Buddha of Suburbia". The analysis will focus on the main character of Karim. The method of practical criticism will be applied and furthermore the author will rely on pertinent secondary literature. Based on selected motives and scenes concerning the protagonist, it will be explored how the novelist broaches the issue of hybridity in his story. Therefore, it will be refered to relevant postcolonial theories dealing with the subject of colonization and identity. The theorists to be mainly drawn on will be Homi K. Bhabha, Edward Said, and Stuart Hall. To fully understand Kureishi‘s main figure it is crucial to consider England‘s historical background in the 1970s. Set in times of change and immigration the novel requires to take these then tense social conditions into account. Hence, the following lead questions will guide this analysis: How and where does Kureishi show the issue of hybridity through his main character Karim? By merely reading the books ́ title, one gets a sense of the novel ́s main theme. The connotation of each of the two subjects already creates an atmosphere of two different and yet cohesive aspects. While Buddha (from a European point of view) stands for something being far away, strange, exotic, the term suburbia reminds of something that is around the corner, familiar, comforting. Thus, already the title hints at one of the main themes The Buddha of Suburbia deals with. It is a subject the Western world is heavily confronted with these days: Who am I? Where do I come from? And followed by the inevitable subsequent question: Where do I belong? Obviously, this question is mainly asked by people with at least two cultural backgrounds. In 1990 Hanif Kureishi looked into this subject in his aforementioned novel. Born in 1954 in London, the author himself grew up as son of an English mother and a Pakistani father.
Author: Christin Hoene
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317679164
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 168
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Book Description
This book examines the role of music in British-South Asian postcolonial literature, asking how music relates to the construction of postcolonial identity. It focuses on novels that explore the postcolonial condition in India, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom: Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy, Amit Chaudhuri's Afternoon Raag, Suhayl Saadi's Psychoraag, Hanif Kureishi's The Buddha of Suburbia and The Black Album, and Salman Rushdie's The Ground Beneath Her Feet, with reference to other texts, such as E.M. Forster's A Passage to India and Vikram Seth's An Equal Music. The analyzed novels feature different kinds of music, from Indian classical to non-classical traditions, and from Western classical music to pop music and rock 'n' roll. Music is depicted as a cultural artifact and as a purely aestheticized art form at the same time. As a cultural artifact, music derives meaning from its socio-cultural context of production and serves as a frame of reference to explore postcolonial identities on their own terms. As purely aesthetic art, music escapes its contextual meaning. The transgressive qualities of music render it capable of expressing identities irrespective of origin and politics of location. Thereby, music in the novels marks a very productive space to imagine the postcolonial nation and to rewrite imperial history, to express the cultural hybridity of characters in-between nations, to analyze the state of the nation and life in the multicultural diaspora of contemporary Great Britain, and to explore the ramifications of cultural globalization versus cultural imperialism. It will be a useful research and teaching tool for those interested in postcolonial literature, music studies, cultural studies, contemporary literature and South-Asian literature.
Author: Viktoria Groepper
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3640631544
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 19
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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Regensburg (Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik), course: English Literature III - The 20th Century, language: English, abstract: “My name is Karim Amir, and I am an Englishman born and bred, almost. I am often considered to be a funny kind of Englishman, a new breed as it were, having emerged from two old histories. But I don’t care – Englishman I am (though not proud of it), from the South London suburbs and going somewhere. Perhaps it is the odd mixture of continents and blood, of here and there, of belonging and not, that makes me restless and easily bored. Or perhaps it was being brought up in the suburbs that did it. [...] I was looking for trouble, any kind of movement, action and sexual interest I could find, because things were so gloomy, so slow and heavy [...] it was all getting me down and I was ready for anything.” (The Buddha 3) The first lines of Kureishi’s novel reveal most of what this “utterly irreverent, wildly improper but also [...] truthful [...] and very funny” (Salman Rushdie) story will deal with: “initiation, identity, the outsider looking in, and racial conflict. All of these issues are introduced in the first paragraph.” (Kaleta 68) Karim Amir, the son of an Indian father and a white English mother is the protagonist and narrator of the novel The Buddha of Suburbia. First published in 1990, the novel is considered to be Hanif Kureishi’s most successful novel. It combines the two genres “Bildungsroman” and “Condition of England” novel. Both are typical for the 19th century, but Kureishi successfully combines them both and brings them into a contemporary setting. (Bentley 161) The term “Bildungsroman” was coined by the German philologist Johann Morgenstern and arose during the German Enlightenment, presenting the psychological, moral and social shaping of a usually young protagonist...
Author: David Wheeler
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3640994205
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 12
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Book Description
Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Didactics - English - Literature, Works, grade: 2.2, Churchill College, Cambridge, language: English, abstract: A consideration of Kureishi's breakthrough novel as a bildungsroman and a consideration of all the barriers in English society to the protagonist's success.
Author: Alaa Alghamdi
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 1462044891
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 258
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Book Description
The concept of home has been changing for more than a century. This change began with colonialism and the movement of people across the globe, often within a set power dynamic. Since people now move with greater frequency, the question of where home is and what home means is more relevant than ever before. Meticulously researched, Transformations of the Liminal Self addresses the formation of home and identity and the ways in which the latter depends on the former. Using the postcolonial Muslim characters in the literary works of British authors Salman Rushdie, Hanif Kureishi, Zadie Smith, Monica Ali, and Fadia Faqir, author Alaa Alghamdi shows how home and identity are profoundly impacted by the power dynamics of the colonial relationship, the individual immigrants experience, and the subjects multicultural setting. Drawing upon the theoretical work of Homi Bhabha, Rosemary Marangoly George, Gayatri Chakrovorty Spivak, and Edward Said, the conception of home and the formation of hybrid identities is examined and connected to larger cultural manifestations of MuslimWestern relationships. More specifically, Alghamdi explores how these characters define their home. Bold and challenging, Alghamdis work offers a rigorous and well-articulated contribution to the ongoing academic conversation about identity and postcolonial literature.
