immigrant experience in brick lane

Immigrant Experience in Brick Lane


Background of Immigrant:Migration started in 1930sPredominantly Sylheti Phenomenon :

empoloyed by British Ship CompaniesLargely illiterate and Landless farmersAfetr WWW-II, Labor Shortage , British Govt.

encourage migration In 1950s, Migration increased dramatically

Immigrant Experience in Brick LaneIn 2001, British Bangladeshi Leaders led a

successful bid to gain the official desingation of “Banglatown” for Brick Lane


• Centred Around Nazneen and ChanuContinuous process of NegotiationAnd self questioning and through this process

the characters finally succeed to arrive at an identity that is almost complete in itself.

• The narrative develops around Nazneen:Migrates to London after an arranged marriage

Immigrant Experience in Brick LaneConfined with domestic chores

“not beautiful, but not so ugly either. The face is broad, big forehead. Eyes are a bit too close together”. (p.22-23).

English was restricted to two words “sorry” and “thank you”


“Why should you go out? ‘If you go out, ten people will say, “I saw her walking on the street.” And I will look a fool. Personally, I don’t mind if you go out but these people are so ignorant. What can you do?” (P-75)

• “Why should you go out? ‘If you go out, ten people will say, “I saw her walking on the street.” And I will look a fool. Personally, I don’t mind if you go out but these people are so ignorant. What can you do?” (P-75)

Immigrant Experience in Brick LaneBe submissive reminds: “If God wanted us to ask question, he would

have made us men.” Silent Protest: hot chilies in sandwiches

Immigrant Experience in Brick LaneShe feels empowered for the first time in

London : A English stanger

Sides her Daughters

Start making Decission

Attend Community Meeting

Immigrant Experience in Brick Lane Karim’s sudden entry into her life adds

empowerment

She also takes up sewing

Engaged with an affair with Karim

Immigrant Experience in Brick Lane“BD is the happiest country in the World” (cp-

15)

Refuse to return BD

Refused to marry Karim: Defends his place because he has no place

No longer “Un – Spoilt” village girlFree to do whatever she liked.Razia reminds her -- “This is England. You can do whatever you

like.” (Page-413)

“She waved her arms, threw back her head and danced around the table […] letting it all go loose.” (p.489).


Razia: “Listen, when I’m in Bangladesh I put on

a sari and cover my head and all that. But here I go out to work. I work with white girls and I’m just one of them…Some women spend ten, twenty years here and they sit in their kitchen grinding spices all day and learn only two words of English.” (P-114)

Immigrant Experience in Brick LaneRepresented suffering from maladjustmentBeing tired of tolerating discrimination he

decides to return to Dhaka ‘And when they jump ship and scuttle

over here, then in a sense they are home again. And you see, to a white person, we are all the same: dirty little monkeys all in the same monkey clan. But these people are peasants. Uneducated. Illiterate. Close-minded. Without ambition.’ (Ali, 28)

• Chanu: ‘And when they jump ship and scuttle

over here, then in a sense they are home again. And you see, to a white person, we are all the same: dirty little monkeys all in the same monkey clan. But these people are peasants. Uneducated. Illiterate. Close-minded. Without ambition.’ (Ali, 28)

Immigrant Experience in Brick Lane “To be an immigrant is to live out a tragedy” (page-91)

“ I am talking about the feeling of

alienation engendered by a society where racism is prevalent.” (page- 92)

Finds himself alien

“A set of questions, an array of possibilities, abd a spark of debate” (Pg- 55)

Moreover, the change that he sees in his two daughters made him shiver and he began feeling outsider in his own family.


Not listen to Bengali classical music,

wore jeans and hated Salwaar kameez

“the little memsahib” & “the messenger”

Immigrant Experience in Brick LaneShahana and Bibi or Tariq and

Shefali :different perspective of immigrant experience

Youngsters enjoy the liberties that London offers them


“Identity Crisis”Not caused by Nostalgia but their instinct for

Survival

Thank You for Having a Look

Mehidi Hasan Mukul 20111104030

M.A , 1st Semester Department of English

Session [email protected]

immigrant experience in brick lane

Education