THE ACTOR OF SUBURBIA: IDENTITY AND SELF-TRANSFORMATION IN THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA

Abstract

Abstract: This essay studies the significance of acting and performing in relation to selftransformation and the search for an identity in Hanif Kureishi’s The Buddha of Suburbia. It uses Judith Butler’s discussions on moral responsibility and gender performances, in order to investigate how the characters negotiate their identities and draws on Edward Said’s discussion on Orientalism to establish how the novel uses stereotypes as a way of undermining stereotyping and Orientalist learning. It also draws on Erving Goffman’s discussion on stigmatised identities, in order to better understand how the characters cope with discriminatory behaviour, being treated as second-class citizens, due to either their social or ethnic background. Arguing that the novel creates a link between the theme of acting and the theme of identity, this paper takes a closer look at the performative aspects of the narration and how the concept of authenticity becomes a problematic influence on performances of identity. Furthermore, this essay examines how the novel portrays the impact of Orientalist learning on social behaviour in a post imperial society, the prejudices and discrimination against Eastern identities and how it has helped produce a stigma against immigrant culture and becomes a cause for identity crises, for several of the characters.