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393360

"Global Rejects/Refugees as Liminal Nomads in Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West"

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Last updated: 25 Dec 2024

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Abstract

Throughout history, humans have consistently engaged in perpetual migration, driven by the pursuit of a more prosperous existence or the need to escape perilous areas. However, in recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of displaced individuals, and the topic of the ‘refugee crisis' is frequently discussed in public. Refugees, who may be either outcasts or persecuted in their homeland, are compelled to migrate and face several challenges in quest of a welcoming destination. However, they often encounter resistance and are viewed as a potential danger to the social fabric and culture of the host country. This paper examines the plight of Saeed and Nadia the protagonists of the novel Exit West by Mohsin Hamid (2017) who embark on a journey from their war-torn city through magical doors that start appearing in various places and can teleport people instantly to the more developed and stable first-world countries. Saeed and Nadia are in a constant mode of movement enforced by the rejection they encounter at each border/door crossing in their journeys, thus caught in a perpetual state of liminality and ‘in-betweenness.' The analysis draws on the concepts of liminality and nomadism as defined by Arnold van Gennep (1960) and Deleuze and Guattari (1987) respectively.

DOI

10.21608/herms.2024.393360

Keywords

refugees, journey, Liminality, Nomadism, Mohsin Hamid, In-Betweenness, Gennep, Deleuze and Guattari

Authors

First Name

Noura

Last Name

Al-Abbady

MiddleName

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Affiliation

Faculty of Arts- Cairo University

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Volume

13

Article Issue

3

Related Issue

51229

Issue Date

2024-07-01

Receive Date

2024-11-24

Publish Date

2024-07-01

Page Start

75

Page End

102

Print ISSN

2090-8555

Online ISSN

2974-4695

Link

https://hermes.journals.ekb.eg/article_393360.html

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https://hermes.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=393360

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6

Type

المقالة الأصلية

Type Code

1,100

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

هرمس

Publication Link

https://hermes.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

"Global Rejects/Refugees as Liminal Nomads in Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West"

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Article

Created At

25 Dec 2024