Features of the Novel The Buddha Of Suburbia, Written by Hanif Kureishi - Book Report/Review Example

When a young man is growing up, the life lessons and experiences he learns will stick with him for the rest of his life. The young man will portray the same messages he learns to his family and everyone else that is involved in his life, because of how he was brought up. We see these life lessons and experiences portrayed in many writers’ novels we read today. In the novel The Buddha Of Suburbia, the author, Hanif Kureishi, portrays a message through a character named Karim Amir about how his life resembles Hanif’s own personal life growing up. The paths that the author and his character follow are very similar, as biographical information on this author shows this parallel. Hanif Kureishi and Karim Amir will be forever joined because of the personal similarities that they share with one another. Hanif and Amir’s lives were very similar growing up for a number of reasons, as “Kureishis first novel was the semi-autobiographical The Buddha of Suburbia, published in 1990“ (Smith). Hanif and Amir were both born in Bromley, Kent, which is a suburb in London, England, in 1954. Here, they grew up and went to school during the 1960s and 1970s. Both Hanif and Amir also had fathers who were Pakistani immigrants and mothers who were English, which made both of them half-Indian and half-English. Another parallel between Hanif and Amir is that both of their parents got divorced when they were teenagers. In addition, “Hanif Kureishi grew up experiencing first-hand the racial and cultural clashes that he addresses in most of his work. The product of an interracial marriage between a Pakistani immigrant and an English woman, the inspiration for his work has been drawn from his own lifes trials and tribulations as a hybrid of two different races and cultures“ (Sharma). As both Hanif and Amir were growing up, they had to deal with the issue of finding their own cultural identity. When they were younger, they wanted to deny their Pakistani heritage and be more like their white friends. As an adolescent, Hanif watched childhood friends join racist groups and beat up on Pakistani immigrants like those in his family. Hanif is the son of a man who commuted regularly to the Pakistani embassy where he worked. This provided the family with a great deal of wealth, but did not change the way they were treated by their peers. Hanif also found himself caught between the working class life of his friends and the privileged background from which his father came, which is similar to the author, as “Kureishi envied his fathers background, which was wealthy and glamorous - he went to school in a carriage and had servants - and couldnt understand why he traded it in to become a clerk in south London“ (Brockes). Hanif was always classified as an Indian by his teachers and everyone around him, even though he was also of British descent and was also born in England, as “according to interviews given by Kureishi, however, he experienced considerable racism at school on account of his mixed-race origins” (Moore-Gilbert). This racism was one of the reasons why Hanif decided that he had to escape the suburban London lifestyle in order to find himself. One of his teachers actually called him “Pakistani Pete,” which is highly offensive and outright racist. Through his writings, Hanif is able to tell about this racism thoroughly. Karim also has some issues with finding out his own cultural identity, as he is seemingly stuck between two very distinct cultures. Karim wanted to be English, not Indian because he feels as though he will be treated better in society. This is impossible, however, because he does not look English. His Indian physical traits are all that people see and, therefore, they assume that he is an immigrant. He is not respected like other English people are because of his different appearance. Karim is also constantly addressed as an Indian by his teachers and by racist individuals in the streets. Karim’s role as an outsider is shown when he introduced himself: “My name is Karim Amir, and I am an Englishman born and bred, almost. I am often considered to be a funny kind of Englishman, a new breed as it were, having emerged from two old histories” (Kureishi 3). This shows that even though he was born in a country and his mother is English well, he does not feel as though he fits in, nor do the others feel as though they should accept him. Each of these individuals had a major problem with accepting who they are because the rest of society had this same problem. Many times, minorities are not treated with the same respect as others because of a number of social constructs that are present in society. Since both of these individuals are of mixed race, these constructs go beyond just them as an individual. This is because both of their mothers will be looked down upon for marrying someone of another race and, therefore, this disrespect will filter down onto the two men. Much of the problem for Karim is also an inner battle, as he wants nothing more than to be an ordinary English teenager, but he also does not wish to turn his back on his Indian heritage. This causes him to have to walk a fine line. He dressed and acts like an ordinary English boy, but he does attempt to secretly retain some of his Indian cultural traits as well. This shows that Hanif was somewhat shameful of his heritage growing up, as he wished to keep much of it a secret, although much of this could have been in order to protect himself from his classmates’ abuse. Hanif Kureishi has been quotes as saying, “The Buddha was kind of autobiographical but it was revved up autobiography. Ones childhood is mostly composed of very long tedious stretches when you mostly sit around wishing that exciting things would happen. In a book you put the exciting things one after another. When you read the book you think wow that guy had a really good time down there in the suburbs” (Gardner). This proves that many of the events actually happened to Kureishi, but his life did not feature the non-stop drama that this book portrays it as having. The purpose of making this work autobiographical was so that Hanif could show what it was like to grow up in this type of setting, without having to use his own life experiences exactly. While the world has become a much more tolerant place on the surface, there is still a great deal of racism that exists and this book goes a long way in addressing it. Hanif wanted to portray the message of how his life was not easy living in London during this time period. He wanted to show his readers his perception of life and how he sees the world, through his point of view. Hanif took his personal experiences and messages and put it into his writing so that he could reach other people with his message and his story. This was a very difficult way for him to grow up and, therefore, telling people about it will help for him to deal with his past. A common tendency traveling through this novel is this theme of finding one’s self-identity. Karim is attempting to find his identity in several ways. When Karim says, “I am an Englishman born and bred, almost,” (Kureishi 3) it is significant because it shows how poorly he is treated by his peers, despite his British citizenship. Karim first does not want to be Indian because his peers are constantly addressing him as an Indian, rather than the English teenager that he actually is. He wanted to be white like the rest of his friends white friends so that he would fit in and be able to assimilate. This lack of identity is very important to both Karim and Hanif because it is what they have to deal with on an everyday basis, as “to a large extent, the stories of Karim and most of the characters of this novel have been affected by History, in particular the History of colonization. The prejudices and preconception many of the characters are subject to are rooted in issues connected with power, ideology and historical representation“ (Slepoy). They are not traditionally Indian or British, so they do not feel as though they belong to either ethnic group. This lack of self-identity causes a personal conflict within both of them that must be dealt with in order for them to find truth happiness. This is important to the novel because it shows that there are some deep-rooted issues about these cultures. An important quote that shows that shows that much of this novel is not completely autobiographical, however, is when Kureishi says in an interview, “As you read The Buddha, you think that these guys have a good time all the time. They take drugs, go to parties and have sex. Actually, I spent most of my time in my bedroom reading books, studying and listening to music. So when you make a story, you take the good parts and jam them together and hope that this would be of interest to other people. I think most novels, stories or essays are about moments of breakdown. Stuff starts to go wrong or crazy. To make a story, you need something dramatic. [But] the drama in my family was very slow. We’d stay at home and we were together and we’d love one another and watch TV together. That’s not a novel. So to make a novel, you throw a bomb in it. You say, ‘What would happen if…?’ The autobiography thing is much more tenuous than you would think. The Buddha really began to work when I stopped writing about my real family and began to make up another family” (Sawhney). This shows that while many of the problems that Karim faced were similar to those of Hanif, there was also a lot of information added for dramatic effect, which makes this novel semi-autobiographical. This dramatic effect is also present by the fact that Karim is also portrayed as bisexual in this novel. Like his ethnic identification, Karims sexuality is complicated. He says that has no preference and will sleep with anyone, male or female, though his first really important sexual experience is with a male named Charlie. He does not know which sex he adores yet, which means that he is unsure about his sexual orientation. Throughout the novel, he has sexual altercations with both sexes. Since Karim does not claim a homosexual/heterosexual identity or an Indian/English identity, he is forced to choose between such binaries. There is, however, no information that suggests that this is in any way autobiographical for the author. The author could be using this sexual confusion as a way of comparing it with sexual confusion. When someone begins to question his or her sexual identity, or is unsure where he or she belongs, it can be a very traumatic experience. This type of confusion is present in every aspect of Karim’s life, as he does not know where he fits in sexually or ethically. This is important to the novel because it shows that this confusing of self-identity can happen to anyone. While Karim is faced with both ethnic and sexual identity problems, others in society can face either one of these identity problems at any time and, therefore, this novel is able to relate to those outside of Indian culture as well. The theme of the battle for self-identity is very important to this novel and it goes well beyond the autobiographical nature of most of this novel because no evidence can be found to suggest that Kureishi battled the same issues with his own sexuality, since he is now married with three sons. In this novel, the author was able to include his own experiences of growing up as a half Indian, half English person in suburban London. He does this through his characterization of Karim, who is a teenager who comes from the same background as the author and is faced with many of the same problems. The author also touches upon how his father felt in this situation, as he is a prominent member of his community, all the while attempting to fit in with English culture. This novel also shows some confusion with Karim’s sexual orientation. He is unsure whether he is gay or straight, which highlights the confusion that an individual can feel when he or she does not fit in with any group in society. Through the use of mostly autobiographical information, Hanif Kureishi is able to show how any member of society can feel like an outcast when he or she does not seem to fit in anywhere. While it is easy to see how this happens from an ethnic point of view, Kureishi also uses sexuality to prove to the reader this not belonging to any group can happen regardless of where a person comes from or who his or her parents are. Works Cited Brockes, Emma. "When youre writing, you look for conflict". The Guardian. November 17, 2003. Viewed April 12, 2007. http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,6737,1087028,00.html Gardner, Geoff. "Nature Of Keeping Awake: Hanif Kureishi And Collaborative Film-Making". Senses of Cinema. October 2000. Viewed April 12, 2007. http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/00/10/kureishi.html Kureishi, Hanif. The Buddha of Suburbia. New York: Penguin Books. 1991. Kureishi, Hanif. Buddha of Suburbia. New York: Penguin Books. 1990. Moore-Gilbert, Bart."Hanif Kureishi". The Literary Encyclopedia. 1990. Viewed April 9, 2007. http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2572 Sawhney, Hirsh. "Hanif Kureishi with Hirsh Sawhney". The Brooklyn Rail. July/August 2006. Viewed April 12, 2007. http://brooklynrail.org/2006/07/books/hanif-kureishi-with-hirsh-sawhney Sharma, Surbhi. "Hanif Kureishi". Postcolonial Studies at Emory. Fall 1997. Viewed April 12, 2007. http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Kureishi.html Slepoy, Graciela Moreira. "The Legitimising of His/Her-stories in Hanif Kureishis The Buddha of Suburbia". Postimperial and Postcolonial Literature in English. March 25, 2002. Viewed April 12, 2007. http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/landow/post/uk/kureishi/gms5.html Smith, Jules. "Hanif Kureishi". British Council Arts. 2002. Viewed April 13, 2007. http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth57 Read More