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NEGOTIATING TRADITION AND MODERNITY: FEROZA’S IDENTITY IN A
POSTCOLONIAL WORLD IN BAPSI SIDHWA’S
AN AMERICAN BRAT
D . J. Sha mila De i
Assis an P o esso , Depa men o English,
S i Sa ada College o Women (Au onomous), Salem
h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.17283283
Abs ac
Bapsi Sidhwa is a p ominen w i e who discusses a ious issues in he no els. In Sidhwa's wo ks, he
mul iple aspec s o Pa see-Pakis ani-Ame ican cul u e a e e lec ed. Especially, i 's e lec ed mo e in An
Ame ican B a . Sidhwa depic s he Pa see cul u e and i s alues h ough he cha ac e o Fe oza. The no el
An Ame ican B a deals no only wi h he ans o ma ion o Fe oza bu also wi h he cul u al issues, iden i y,
and assimila ion ha se e al immig an s ace. Fe oza’s con lic as a young gi l be ween he undamen alis
way o li ing in Pakis an and he libe al way in Ame ica becomes he hea o he no el. The ans o ma ion
exposes he o new ideas, cul u es, cus oms, and ways o li e ha a e di e en om wha she has been augh .
He cul u al ans o ma ion does no occu easily and akes place a e se e al ins ances o aliena ion and
c isis. Th ough Fe oza, he pa en s also unde go cul u al shi s, illus a ing he issues aced by immig an s
di e en ly. In Pakis an, she lea ns he amilial oles o wi e and mo he . Bu in Ame ica, women ge mo e
oppo uni ies in educa ion, ca ee , and socie al oles. This shows ha he space o women is b oade bu
also o e w ough . This leads Fe oza o ul ima ely accep bo h cul u es, a sign o he cul u al ans o ma ion.
The exposu e con uses Fe oza, bu she unde s ands he alues and belie s h ough educa ion. The pape
ocuses on he T adi ion and Mode ni y o Fe oza as an immig an .
Keywo ds: Iden i y c isis, Immig a ion, Cul u al hyb idi y, Mode ni y, Aliena ion, Indi idualism.
Bapsi Sidhwa's wo ks allow eade s o explo e e sa ili y. All he wo ks deal wi h di e en
pe spec i es. An Ame ican B a is one o hem. The si ua ion and su oundings unde go se e al
changes in e e y aspec . The cha ac e s and hei su i al e lec he eali y o he people's li es
a ha ime. Fe oza’s jou ney was depic ed as undamen al o independence, clea ly in he no el.
She becomes mo e undamen alis in he beginning. She has a na u e o ealism and anxie y. She
aces cul u al p oblems in he daily li e. She becomes wo ied ha he amily and socie y a e
he big hings in he mind.
Fe oza's cha ac e is depic ed as adi ional and conse a i e. She was b ough up in he
Pa see communi y in Laho e. He pa en s a e Cy us and Za een Ginwalla. In he Pa see
communi y, he people ollow hei adi ions in e e y aspec . Fe oza’s undamen alis a i ude
becomes mo e se e e day by day. He mo he , Za een, had hough ha Fe oza had become
mo e undamen alis . She was mo e backwa ds in he a i ude. Fe oza wen o he Sac ed Hea
gi ls’ school in Laho e.
Fe oza’s mo he , who wea s a sa i wi h a slee eless blouse, isi s he school. Bu Fe oza
wo ied abou he mo he ’s d ess because he Pa see people ne e wea mode n d esses. Za in
Says:
I wen o b ing Fe oza om school oday. I was cha ing wi h Mo he Supe io on he
e anda…… Fe oza p e ended she didn’ know me……. Mummy, please don’ come o school
d essed like ha .’ Look, we’ e Pa see, e e ybody knows we d ess di e en ly.’ “When I was in
he age, I wo e ocks and cycled o Kinnai d College. And ha was in ….. i een yea s a e
Pa i ion! Can she wea ocks? No. Women mus n’ show hei legs, women shouldn’ d ess
……I e e y hing co up s hei pious li le minds so easily, hen he mullahs should wea bu qas
and s ay wi hin he ou walls o hei houses! (p.10)
Fe oza el he mo he was oo mode n. Za in’s ea abou he daugh e and he a i ude
ala ms he . They decided Fe oza needed o know he wo ld. She wan s o know he people om
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di e en places, hen she will unde s and he eali y. Fe oza canno accep he mo he ’s d ess.
This na ow-minded a i ude in ec ed he , oo. The same hough s we e sp ead among he
Women o Pakis an, especially among Zo oas ians. So Sidhwa depic s he na u e o women in
Pakis an h ough he cha ac e .
Fe oza’s amily sends he o Ame ica because o he undamen alism. In he jou ney o
Ame ica, Fe oza goes h ough he expe ience o sel -disco e y and social e alua ion. He
analysis o he socie y and i s cul u e exp esses “Al hough he sense o disloca ion o no
belonging, was mo e acu e in Ame ica, she el i would be mo e ole able because i was sha ed
by housands o new come s like he sel ” (312). She didn’ like o go o Ame ica. He en ies in
Ame ica made he anxious, and she unde wen dep ession in he o m o he new cul u e,
socie y and i s expe ience.
Fe oza ies o change he li es yle in Ame ica. Manek, he uncle, augh he o con ol he
empe . Manke, who ook he o isi many places in Ame ica, like he places o he Empi e S a e
Building, Wall S ee and so on. Tha was a new expe ience. Th ough his, he wan s o each
Fe oza how o su i e he alien land. He says o he o pu sue he s udies in Ame ica. Fe oza
also accep s and con inues he s udies he e. She also unde goes he happiness and ibula ions
in he new land. He iend Jo helped he o su i e he land, and Fe oza also adop ed he cul u e.
She changed he a i ude and li es yle as an Ame ican. The ans o ma ion o a gi l om a
pos colonial coun y o an alien land means she ans o med om a shy, ese ed gi l in o a
con iden and sel -asse i e gi l. She lea ns e e y hing, including hei slang. When she was in
Laho e, she ne e saw men, bu a e she wen o Ame ica, she now boldly alks o unknown
pe sons oo.
Cul u al di e ence is an impo an hing in he no els o Sidhwa. Especially in he no el, An
Ame ican B a , depic s he cul u al changes and hei consequences. Sidhwa ga e a ui ul eply
o he ques ion asked by Naila Hussain in an in e iew abou he heme o An Ame ican B a :
Na u ally, he book (An Ame ican B a ) deals wi h he subjec o he cul u e shock-young
people om he Sub-Con inen ha e o con end wi h when hey choose o s udy ab oad. I also
delinea es he clashes, he di e gen cul u es gene a e be ween he amilies ‘back home’ and
hei ans o med and ansg essing p ogeny b a ely g oping hei way in he new wo ld.
Fe oza's cha ac e ans o ma ion was somewha g adual in he d eamy land. In e e y
cul u e, he e is a posi i e and nega i e side, so he p o agonis came o know he eali y o he
place a e unde going se e al inciden s. The p o agonis expe iences bo h he igh and he
da k side.
In he no el, Fe oza decides o ma y Da id P ess, a Jew. So, a e she came o Ame ica, he
adi ional hough s changed in o mode n ones. In Pakis an, hey won’ accep a di e en
cul u e pe son o he ma iage. Bu Fe oza wan s o exp ess he decision abou he ma iage o
he pa en s. Fe oza old Manek o he desi e, and she sen a le e wi h he pho o o Da id P ess
o he pa en s. So, hey decide o e u n Fe oza o Pakis an, and she has o ma y a Pa see boy.
Finally, Manek says o Fe oza o hink abou he decision. “I hink you ha e o be su e i s . Gi e
i ime... The e’s no big hu y. He’s p obably he i s man in you li e… I all seems wonde ul
now, bu ma iage is some hing else: ou cul u es a e e y di e en (70). Manek inally
exp essed his ca ing no e o Fe oza. She el mo e elie and g a i ude o him.
Fe oza's iden i y c isis is deeply oo ed in he pos colonial condi ion. Fe oza is doubly
ma ginalised because she is om Pa see Pakis ani cul u e and also by he gende . A e he
pos colonial he en i e hing has been changed, in ha hey s uggle o exp ess hei iden i y.
He e, she mig a ed o he Uni ed S a es wi h he wo ds o he mo he because she is oo
undamen alis ; ins ead ha she mus ge libe a ed om he hough s. Bu she became mo e
libe al pe son, which made he in o a deepe c isis o iden i y.
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Fe oza’s Pa en s came o know abou he desi e, hen Za en, he mo he , wen o Ame ica
o comp omise he . Za een, who explained ha he isk o ma ying a pe son om ou side is a
sin in he na i e land. Bu inally, Za een was changed by he wo ds o Fe oza. “I should ha e
lis ened. I should ne e ha e le you go so a away. Look wha i ’s done o you—you’ e become
an Ame ican b a !” (p.279)
Za een was e y much imp essed by he way o Da id, bu she won' accep hei condi ion
because in hei na i e land, hey won' accep . She ne e ga e any assu ance o he , e en hough
she pe sonally accep ed.
Sidhwa exp esses he Eas -Wes bina y o bo h cul u es wi h con adic ion in he no el.
Fe oza's cha ac e has po ayed Pakis ani cul u e as pa ia chal and es ic i e, wi h Ame ican
indi idualism. Fe oza's cha ac e s exp ess he eali y o he pe son who immig a es o ano he
place. Because hey had a ension o whe he o ollow he adi ional o he mode n eedom.
Fe oza's cha ac e is a symbol o eminis awakening. Ini ially, he cha ac e ollows he
condi ion o he cul u e as a gi l who s ood up na u ally, as shy, obedien , and socially a ached.
She slowly adop s Wes e n cul u e wi h con idence. The ans o ma ion made he om
aliena ed o he amily and communi y.
Fe oza’s cha ac e s exp ess he na u e o women and how hey ca y hei cul u al pu i y
and amily honou . Fe oza's e ol agains bo h cul u es. She is in a hyb id space whe e he
cul u al meaning has been nego ia ed and eshaped. She is unde amilial p essu e, which leads
o a new iden i y. He decision in he inal is ha she is ne e eady o ollow any o m o cul u e.
This also made he anxious and hopeless. He aliena ion om he socie y and amily leads o
he choice. La e , i is disco e ed as a pe son in mig a ion, memo y and esis ance. Fe oza
accep ed he eali y, and she mo ed o Den e . The a ai wi h Da id ended because o Za een.
Fe oza inally obeyed he wo ds mo he as an Ame ican B a .
No y Kapadia says: The no el ends wi h unce ain y. Fe oza exp essed he na u al eeling
ha was no allowed by hei ci cums ance. So, she p e e s o li e he li e in Ame ica. As a Pa see
w i e , Bapsi Sidhwa does no ebel agains he communi y's domina ing ideology. Sidhwa does
no endo se he adi ional Pa see code on in e -communi y o in e - ai h ma iage.
Whe eas he changes occu in he new cul u e, when she e u ns o he land, she used o
ealise he cul u al alues again. A e he mig a ion owa ds Ame ica, she ne e adap ed he
whole hing based on he Ame ican cul u e. She lea ns o li e a ee li e in Ame ica wi hou
spoiling he cul u e. This exp esses how she is deep- oo ed in he cul u e and i s alues. Now
she can’ li e in he coun y, because she led a ee li e in Ame ica, bu a he same ime, she
can’ b eak he cul u al cus oms. This shows he ans o ma ion o Fe oza in a clea way.
Fe oza's amily and he socie y we e he main easons o he ea . This makes o a ea ul
pe son in e e y aspec o he li e. Though she aces many di icul ies, she lea ns how o deal wi h
hem. Th ough he jou ney as a young Pa see gi l, she aces many p oblems, bo h physical and
psychological. In he beginning, as a Pa see, she was passi e, and la e she u ned in o an ac i e
pe son h ough he cul u al changes as an Ame ican. Finally, she li es wi h ma u i y as a
Pakis ani Ame ican. Fe oza ans o ms a adi ional pe son in o a mode nised one. She ca ies
he iden i y h ough h ee cul u es- Pakis ani, Pa see, and Ame ican. Th ough his expa ia ion,
she unde goes ep ession, displacemen , iden i ica ion, a ionalisa ion, sublima ion,
a ionaliza ion, and p ojec ion. Sidhwa is a diaspo ic au ho , and i ’s po ayed h ough he
immig an s’ cha ac e s wi h ealis ic images.
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Re e ences
Sidhwa Bapsi, An Ame ican B a , New Delhi, Penguin Books,1994.
Kapadia, No y. “Expa ia e Expe ience and Theme o Ma iage in An Ame ican B a .” The
No els o Bapsi Sidhwa. Eds. R.K. Dhawan and No y Kapadia. New Delhi: P es ige Books,
1996. P in .
Hussain, Naila. ‘On he W i e s’ Wo ld, in e iew wi h Bapsi Sidhwa, The Na ion, 26 May,
1993:19.
