Breaking borders: navigating gender norms and realities in Ali’s Brick Lane and Desai’s fasting feasting
This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in English, 2024.
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Brac University
2024
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10361-237402024-08-12T21:02:38Z Breaking borders: navigating gender norms and realities in Ali’s Brick Lane and Desai’s fasting feasting Khan, Fariha Ahmed Rezwan, Mohammad Zaki Department of English and Humanities, Brac University South Asian literature Gender representation Women Transnational identity Interconnectedness South Asian literature (English) Group identity Women This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in English, 2024. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 58-61). Monica Ali’s Brick Lane and Anita Desai’s Fasting, Feasting are contemporary novels representing the condition of South Asian women both as insiders and as outsiders. As South Asian women writers, both of the novels are influenced by the author’s experiences. These novels have been studied under postcolonial narratives and feminist standpoints. Even so, this paper aims to critically analyze South Asian Women's narratives navigating traditional gender norms, societal expectations, and the impact of culture on women both as insiders and outsiders. Through an in-depth examination of the characters, the research highlights the way characters respond to their gender discrimination pointing to the broader questions of whether the concept of gender is constructed or inherent. Moreover, the study mentions the double alienation and examines the formation of a male hierarchy within the household proving that domestic spaces work as constraint as well as empowerment for women referring to the practice of agency and resistance. Despite the settings, the characters' resistance led them to create their own identity in a new nation forming a sense of transnational identity. A comparison has been made focusing on the themes of agency, resistance, and transnational identity whether the characters accept the assimilation or form a new space of hybridity referring to Homi K. Bhabha’ Third Space. Furthermore, a parallel comparison has been shown between the two novels and the experience of the character’s dreams longing for a sense of belonging under the lens of the American Dream, in Ali’s Brick Lane and Desai’s Fasting, Feasting. Fariha Ahmed Khan B.A. in English 2024-08-12T10:29:13Z 2024-08-12T10:29:13Z ©2024 2024-01 Thesis ID 20103022 http://hdl.handle.net/10361/23740 en Brac University theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. 68 pages application/pdf Brac University |
| institution |
Brac University |
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Institutional Repository |
| language |
English |
| topic |
South Asian literature Gender representation Women Transnational identity Interconnectedness South Asian literature (English) Group identity Women |
| spellingShingle |
South Asian literature Gender representation Women Transnational identity Interconnectedness South Asian literature (English) Group identity Women Khan, Fariha Ahmed Breaking borders: navigating gender norms and realities in Ali’s Brick Lane and Desai’s fasting feasting |
| description |
This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in English, 2024. |
| author2 |
Rezwan, Mohammad Zaki |
| author_facet |
Rezwan, Mohammad Zaki Khan, Fariha Ahmed |
| format |
Thesis |
| author |
Khan, Fariha Ahmed |
| author_sort |
Khan, Fariha Ahmed |
| title |
Breaking borders: navigating gender norms and realities in Ali’s Brick Lane and Desai’s fasting feasting |
| title_short |
Breaking borders: navigating gender norms and realities in Ali’s Brick Lane and Desai’s fasting feasting |
| title_full |
Breaking borders: navigating gender norms and realities in Ali’s Brick Lane and Desai’s fasting feasting |
| title_fullStr |
Breaking borders: navigating gender norms and realities in Ali’s Brick Lane and Desai’s fasting feasting |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Breaking borders: navigating gender norms and realities in Ali’s Brick Lane and Desai’s fasting feasting |
| title_sort |
breaking borders: navigating gender norms and realities in ali’s brick lane and desai’s fasting feasting |
| publisher |
Brac University |
| publishDate |
2024 |
| url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10361/23740 |
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AT khanfarihaahmed breakingbordersnavigatinggendernormsandrealitiesinalisbricklaneanddesaisfastingfeasting |
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