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Lost Identity Found Essays

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Lost Identity Found

Stuart Hall writes that “Identity is not as transparent or unproblematic as we think” (Hall 392). Hanif Kareishi, a visual minority growing up in racially charged England, experiences uncertainty and frustration relating to his sense of identity. Salman Rushdie, author of short stories “The Courter” and “Good Advice Is Rarer Than Rubies,” develops characters who experience similar identity crises. In his piece, “The Rainbow Sign,” Kareishi explores three responses to encounters with a foreign and hostile culture: outright rejection of the foreign culture, complete assimilation into foreign culture, or adoption of a synthesis of the two cultures. Kareishi himself embraces each of these different approaches at …show more content…

Miss Rehana is unlike these other women. When offered a passport by Muhammad Ali, she rejects it. In an interview with the British immigration officers, she purposely answers questions incorrectly. Miss Rehana purposely dismisses an opportunity to live in Britain. Muhammad Ali sees her behavior as an example of the “curse of our people…We are poor, we are ignorant, and we completely refuse to learn” (Rushdie12). Ali attributes Miss Rehana’s rejection of Britain to her stupidity. It becomes obvious, however, that Miss Rehana is pleased with her choice: “Her last smile, which he watched from the compound until the bus concealed it in a dust-cloud, the happiest thing he had ever seen in his long, hard, unloving life” (15-16). She preferred to return to “Lahore and [her] job” (15) to “work in a great house, as ayah to three good boys” (15). The south-Asian woman chooses the familiarity and security of her current environment to the unknowns of Britain. Even when presented with an opportunity to escape from her poverty and life of service, Miss Rehana dismisses it. Miss Rehana rejects Britain and her satisfaction with the decision is palpable.

Certainly-Mary, a character in “The Courter,” also chooses to reject Britain in favor of her native India. Certainly-Mary, a nanny and housekeeper, follows her employers to Britain. Even after many years, British lifestyle confuses and alienates her: “’These English… But aren’t they the limit?” (184). One day, Mary falls ill

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