The Third Space and the Trap of Inferiority in Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced (2012)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

English Department, Faculty of Women, Ain Shams University, Egypt

Abstract

This paper investigates some of the cross-cultural obstacles that immigrants encounter in the host society, as they oscillate between two distinct cultures. Through an analysis of Ayad Akhtar’s (1970- ) Pakistani-American play Disgraced (2012), the paper explores the characters’ “third spaces”, focusing on the protagonist Amir’s grapple with his fragmented in-between identities. It examines how Eastern immigrants could view themselves as inferior, thus conceal their original identities and adopt the new Western culture. Like many minorities in the United States, this is what some Pakistani- Americans do for the sake of economic prosperity and social acceptance. The paper draws on Homi K. Bhabha’s post-colonial concepts of ‘mimicry’, ‘ambivalence’, ‘hybridity’ and ‘third space’ to highlight the extent to which these concepts impact the colonized identities. The paper also explores whether immigrants can create a balanced ‘third space’ by embracing their indigenous cultures or not.

Keywords

Full Text

I am a teaching assistant and master’s student at the Department of English Language and Literature at Faculty of Women, Ain Shams University. I am also a certified trainer by the Adult Education Center at Ain Shams University. I teach English Language courses to undergraduates at the university. In addition to my career, I work on my academic research which focuses on post-colonial studies in dramatic plays. Through my work, I aim to contribute to the discussion on the struggle of hybrid identities in contemporary literature.

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