21st Annual Student Research Conference
Masochism of the Faithful: A Look at Unbending Religion as Portrayed in Nadeem Aslam's Maps for Lost Lovers and Zadie Smith's White Teeth
Elizabeth A. Klass
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor
Focusing on the immigrant experience, both Nadeem Aslam's Maps for Lost Lovers (2004) and Zadie Smith's White Teeth (2000) question the role of religion in a multicultural setting through first generation immigrants who try to replant their faiths in contemporary Britain. Aslam and Smith juxtapose two overbearing mothers with their children who, as partial products of Western culture, have abandoned their religion and their mothers in mixing with multicultural England. The fears of the mothers, namely, the dissolution of their religion and culture, are realized through their children. This paper will examine the psychology of unbending faith, and its conflicting role in a multicultural setting as portrayed in the two novels.
Keywords: British Literature, Contemporary , Multiculturalism, Religion
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 6-3
Location: OP 2121
Time: 8:45