Familial and Racial Loyalties in Kamila Shamsie's Home Fire

Margaret L. Mitchell
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor

Kamila Shamsie is a Pakistani-British author and the writer of the 2017 novel Home Fire. This novel focuses on a family that is torn between orphancy, a body of water, and lifestyle choices. Throughout the novel, there are major tensions of loyalties, both in race and within the family. Taking places in five different countries, parallel to the five different acts in Antigone, each sibling is caught between staying loyal to their culture and their family. With secrets and accusations coming to light, loyalty is tested with distance. I will be discussing how loyalties in Home Fire help Aneeka and Isma to find their identities, and ultimately, grow stronger as a family while discovering where each other’s loyalties lie.

           

Keywords: Home Fire, Kamila Shamsie, Race, Loyalty, Family, Xenophobia

Topic(s):English
Creative Writing
Middle Eastern Studies

Presentation Type: Oral Presentation

Session: TBA
Location: TBA
Time: TBA