Date of Award
Spring 5-7-2024
Document Type
Honors Project
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
English and Linguistics
Department Chair or Program Director
Richards, Gary
First Advisor
Haffey, Kate
Major or Concentration
English
Abstract
My paper, entitled “Identity and Diaspora in Jhumpa Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth” was written for and approved by Dr. Haffey in her 21st Century Fiction (449U) seminar class. The paper explores the complex relationship between first generation Bengali American characters and their identities in the wake of diaspora. This paper shows that Lahiri works to create a kind of liminal space in which her first generation characters exist - a space between being both Bengali and American. Lahiri does so through exploring family relationships, culture, and the pull between heritage and assimilation in order to highlight a new culture of existing in between the native and host culture. She creates a liminal space for her characters to highlight the idea that a singular identity is a utopian ideal - that we as humans exist in a multiplicity of identities, and can find peace in doing so.
Recommended Citation
Prater, Riley, "Diaspora and Identity in Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth" (2024). Student Research Submissions. 560.
https://scholar.umw.edu/student_research/560