Halls In The Question Of Cultural Identity

Crescent can best be presented from a postmodernist angle as it deals with especially identity, multiculturalism, hybridity, ethnicity, exile, displacement as well as other relevant aspects such as intertextuality, language and narrative technique. Consequently, this study will shed light on the issues of identity, hybridity, exile and displacement. Though this work of Abu Jaber has already received the attention of many critics, I chose this novel of hers because of its relation with the Arabs' exiles quest of their own definition of identity and cultural heritage within the Jewish community in Israel. Further, the ethnic minorities in the novel are at some point similar to the ones in Israel regarding its diversity. Halls in his The Question of Cultural Identity (qtd. in Wathington 10), pointed out that postmodern conception of identity is neither biological, essential, nor permanent. Instead, it is defined historically, and shifts between contexts and audiences. Hall writes: “If we feel we have a unified identity from birth to death, it is only because we construct a comforting story or ‘narrative of the self’ about ourselves. The fully unified, completed, secure, and coherent identity is a fantasy. Instead, we are confronted by a bewildering, fleeting multiplicity of possible identities, any one of which we could identify …show more content…
My point is to analyze the characters' exile, displacement, hybridity, the quest and process they go through to establish their identities. Further, I chose to do that from a postmodernist features because they appeal to me. Specifically, its concept of identity enchants me the most. According to it, having one specific identity is not possible any more. We live in a world in which nothing is certain and final and in which we are exposed to different cultures at the same time. (Yousef,