EXILE,ENCOUNTER,AND EMPOWERMENT:RE-ORIENTALIST ANALYSIS IN BAPSI SIDHWA’S THE AMERICAN BRAT

Abstract

This paper critically analyses the novel of Bapsi Sidhwa An American Brat (1994) in relation to the Re-Orientalism theory of Lisa Lau that discusses the possibility of diasporic South Asian writers reinforcing the stereotypes of the Orientalist due to their unintentional efficacies of doing so. The study examines the concept of Sidhwa as an insider and outsider who seeks to navigate through portraying Pakistani culture and targeting the Western audiences. The study provides three main components of Re-Orientalism in the novel, i.e. cultural recognition in terms of stereotyping images, generalization and totalization of native traditions, and mixture of fiction with autobiography to establish truth claims (using textual analysis). The results show that even though the novel presents a valuable representation of diasporic identity and cultural clash, it is also part of the reductive stereotypical representations of the South Asian society. By addressing the modern exchange between authenticity, representation and cultural distortion in the contemporary English fiction regarding diasporic women authors, this paper finds a place in an overall discussion on postcolonial and diasporic fashion.