Loss of Identity in Ayad Akhtar's American Dervish

Ragab Selim Ali

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13

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Loss of Identity in Ayad Akhtar's American Dervish

Ragab Selim Ali

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 3, Issue 5)

Received: 18 August 2015 Accepted: 6 September 2015 Published: 17 September 2015

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Abstract

This paper focuses on the concept of the loss of identity in Ayad Akhtar's debut novel American Dervish. The novel explicates the inability of the Muslim protagonist, Hayat Shah, to assimilate himself into community as far as he still holds on his remnant tenets he has inherited from his homeland Pakistan. This theme is overtly applied to both Hayat's character as well as his father's. Hayat represents the younger generation while his father represents the older one. They both follow the same path in that Hayat finds his identity in befriending the Jewish girl Rachel as well as in discarding the Islamic tenets, taught by his mentor Mina; in the meantime, his father finds his identity in accompanying his lifelong workmate--Nathan Wolfsohn, a Jewish professor. With regard to this point, Ayad Akhtar's message to the readers perhaps lies in the way the immigrants to the west in general and to America in particular encounter the so many teething troubles in their lives until they find a path to assimilate themselves into their new community.

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 3, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13
Page(s)	80-87
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Loss of Identity, Assimilation, Dervish, ISLAM, Jewish, Community, Tenets

References

[1]	Aditi Sriram interviews Ayad Akhtar. Guernica: A Magazine of Art and Politics. Notes for the Stage. June 2, 2014.
[2]	Akhtar, Ayad (2012-01-09). American Dervish: A Novel. Little, Brown and Company. New York. Kindle Edition.
[3]	Akhtar, Ayad. Bio. http://ayadakhtar.com/ American Dervish. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 20 June 2015. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dervish.
[4]	Ashworth, Roddy. "Review: American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar." Express. Sun, Jan 29, 2012. http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/books/298728/Review-American-Dervish-by-Ayad-Akhtar.
[5]	Berner, Heike. Home Is Where the Heart Is? Identity and Belonging in Asian American Literature. Doktor der Philosophie. Fakultät für Philologie. Ruhr-Universität Bochum. 2003.
[6]	Boyagoda. Randy. "Teenage Muslim Misadventures." First Things. A Review of American Dervish. November 2012. http://www.firstthings.com/article/2012/11/teenage-muslim-misadventures.
[7]	Elizabeth Marie Crosby. Exploring Stigma, Identity Gaps, and Consumption. Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration. The Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Urbana, Illinois, 2012.
[8]	Daley, David. "Plot contrivances whirl in ‘American Dervish’." USA TODAY. USA TODAY R Review. February 05, 2012. http://books.usatoday.com/book/ayad-akhtar-american-dervish/r619957.
[9]	Fernandes, Isabel. “To be, or not to be, is still the question”: Identity and “Otherness” in D. H. Lawrence’s Work. http://ler.letras.up.pt/uploads/ficheiros/4226.pdf.
[10]	Hooti, Noorbakhsh. "The Quest for Identity in Arthur Miller's 'The crucible.'" English Department, Faculty of Arts, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran. Journal of English and Literature Vol. 2(3), pp. 68-74, March 2011. Full Length Research Paper. http://www.academicjournals.org/ijel.
[11]	How Hamlet Inspired Playwright Ayad Akhtar to Create a Magnetic Role for Aasif Mandvi in Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar. Broadway Buzz. October 23, 2012.http://www.broadway.com/buzz/164963/how-hamlet-inspired-playwright-ayad-akhtar-to-create-a-magnetic-role-for-aasif-mandvi-in-disgraced/.
[12]	Huang, Shih-Yi. The Dialogism of Self and Other in Contemporary American Drama. Diss. Louisiana State University. Louisiana. 2010.
[13]	Interview with Ayad Akhtar, AN. ACT: A Contemporary Theatre. "A Conversation Between Playwright Ayad Akhtar and Anita Montgomery" http://www.acttheatre.org/Downloads/AyadAkhtarInterview.pdf.
[14]	Langer, Adam. "Stumbling Through an American Muslim Maze." The New York Times. January 4, 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/books/american-dervish-by-ayad-akhtar-review.html?_r=0.
[15]	Moody, Lisa Irene. Religion and Realism in Late Nineteenth-century American Literature. Diss. Louisiana State University. Louisiana. 2009.
[16]	Sillman, Marcie. Playwright Ayad Akhtar in Search of the Modern Muslim. Sep 11, 2014 http://kuow.org/post/playwright-ayad-akhtar-search-modern-muslim.
[17]	Smith, Wendy. ‘American Dervish’ is a fine contemporary coming-of-age story. The Washington Post. January 19, 2012 http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/american-dervish-is-a-fine-contemporary-coming-of-age-story/2012/01/06/gIQAWqnvBQ_story.html.
[18]	Tsang Sze Pui, Jappe. The Search for Identity in Things fall Apart, A Man of the People, Anthills of the Savannah and Selected Essays by Chinua Achebe. Master of Arts. The University of Hong Kong. August 2001.
[19]	Writing About the Midwestern Muslim Experience. Jan., 17, 2012. npr books http://www.npr.org/2012/01/17/145334491/writing-about-the-midwestern-muslim-experience.

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Ragab Selim Ali. (2015). Loss of Identity in Ayad Akhtar's American Dervish. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 3(5), 80-87. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13

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Ragab Selim Ali. Loss of Identity in Ayad Akhtar's American Dervish. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2015, 3(5), 80-87. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13

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Ragab Selim Ali. Loss of Identity in Ayad Akhtar's American Dervish. Int J Lit Arts. 2015;3(5):80-87. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13,
  author = {Ragab Selim Ali},
  title = {Loss of Identity in Ayad Akhtar's American Dervish},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {3},
  number = {5},
  pages = {80-87},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20150305.13},
  abstract = {This paper focuses on the concept of the loss of identity in Ayad Akhtar's debut novel American Dervish. The novel explicates the inability of the Muslim protagonist, Hayat Shah, to assimilate himself into community as far as he still holds on his remnant tenets he has inherited from his homeland Pakistan. This theme is overtly applied to both Hayat's character as well as his father's. Hayat represents the younger generation while his father represents the older one. They both follow the same path in that Hayat finds his identity in befriending the Jewish girl Rachel as well as in discarding the Islamic tenets, taught by his mentor Mina; in the meantime, his father finds his identity in accompanying his lifelong workmate--Nathan Wolfsohn, a Jewish professor. With regard to this point, Ayad Akhtar's message to the readers perhaps lies in the way the immigrants to the west in general and to America in particular encounter the so many teething troubles in their lives until they find a path to assimilate themselves into their new community.},
 year = {2015}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Loss of Identity in Ayad Akhtar's American Dervish
AU  - Ragab Selim Ali
Y1  - 2015/09/17
PY  - 2015
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13
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JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 80
EP  - 87
PB  - Science Publishing Group
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AB  - This paper focuses on the concept of the loss of identity in Ayad Akhtar's debut novel American Dervish. The novel explicates the inability of the Muslim protagonist, Hayat Shah, to assimilate himself into community as far as he still holds on his remnant tenets he has inherited from his homeland Pakistan. This theme is overtly applied to both Hayat's character as well as his father's. Hayat represents the younger generation while his father represents the older one. They both follow the same path in that Hayat finds his identity in befriending the Jewish girl Rachel as well as in discarding the Islamic tenets, taught by his mentor Mina; in the meantime, his father finds his identity in accompanying his lifelong workmate--Nathan Wolfsohn, a Jewish professor. With regard to this point, Ayad Akhtar's message to the readers perhaps lies in the way the immigrants to the west in general and to America in particular encounter the so many teething troubles in their lives until they find a path to assimilate themselves into their new community.
VL  - 3
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Author Information

Ragab Selim Ali

Dept. of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Education, Mansoura University, Cairo, Egypt

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APA Style

Ragab Selim Ali. (2015). Loss of Identity in Ayad Akhtar's American Dervish. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 3(5), 80-87. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13

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ACS Style

Ragab Selim Ali. Loss of Identity in Ayad Akhtar's American Dervish. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2015, 3(5), 80-87. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13

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AMA Style

Ragab Selim Ali. Loss of Identity in Ayad Akhtar's American Dervish. Int J Lit Arts. 2015;3(5):80-87. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13,
  author = {Ragab Selim Ali},
  title = {Loss of Identity in Ayad Akhtar's American Dervish},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {3},
  number = {5},
  pages = {80-87},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20150305.13},
  abstract = {This paper focuses on the concept of the loss of identity in Ayad Akhtar's debut novel American Dervish. The novel explicates the inability of the Muslim protagonist, Hayat Shah, to assimilate himself into community as far as he still holds on his remnant tenets he has inherited from his homeland Pakistan. This theme is overtly applied to both Hayat's character as well as his father's. Hayat represents the younger generation while his father represents the older one. They both follow the same path in that Hayat finds his identity in befriending the Jewish girl Rachel as well as in discarding the Islamic tenets, taught by his mentor Mina; in the meantime, his father finds his identity in accompanying his lifelong workmate--Nathan Wolfsohn, a Jewish professor. With regard to this point, Ayad Akhtar's message to the readers perhaps lies in the way the immigrants to the west in general and to America in particular encounter the so many teething troubles in their lives until they find a path to assimilate themselves into their new community.},
 year = {2015}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Loss of Identity in Ayad Akhtar's American Dervish
AU  - Ragab Selim Ali
Y1  - 2015/09/17
PY  - 2015
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 80
EP  - 87
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20150305.13
AB  - This paper focuses on the concept of the loss of identity in Ayad Akhtar's debut novel American Dervish. The novel explicates the inability of the Muslim protagonist, Hayat Shah, to assimilate himself into community as far as he still holds on his remnant tenets he has inherited from his homeland Pakistan. This theme is overtly applied to both Hayat's character as well as his father's. Hayat represents the younger generation while his father represents the older one. They both follow the same path in that Hayat finds his identity in befriending the Jewish girl Rachel as well as in discarding the Islamic tenets, taught by his mentor Mina; in the meantime, his father finds his identity in accompanying his lifelong workmate--Nathan Wolfsohn, a Jewish professor. With regard to this point, Ayad Akhtar's message to the readers perhaps lies in the way the immigrants to the west in general and to America in particular encounter the so many teething troubles in their lives until they find a path to assimilate themselves into their new community.
VL  - 3
IS  - 5
ER  -

Copy | Download