Buddha of Suburbia

Throughout the novel The Buddha of Suburbia Karim struggles to find his inner identity, or what McLeod would say, his hybrid identity. From the beginning of the book, even on the first page Karim introduces himself "My name is Karim Amir, and I am an Englishman born and bred, almost”, making his identity seem as if it is one that changes. McLeod discusses identity as being a cross “which go beyond older static models, such as national identity and the notion of ‘rootedness’”(McLeod 251). Karim battles this struggle in the theatre company he joins. He knows he is supposed to play Mowgli in their Jungle Book play, but he does not see himself as a darker individual. This is a battle between hybrid identities in itself. As McLeod says “his or her subjectivity is deemed to be composed from variable sources, different materials, many locations- demolishing forever the idea of subjectivity as stable, single or ‘pure’(McLeod 253). This being said, Karim needs to ditch his heritage to truly become a new nationality.  Hybridisation is the cross over point that Karim makes when playing Mowgli in the play. A lot of other characters in this novel seem to have identity problems as well, along with Karim. However Karim is a great example of McLeod's hybrid identities at the 'in-between'.


                                                                                                                                             
The lonely Londoners is a book a lot like The Buddha of Suburbia, Both are about Indian families living in London. "Moses, Galahad, Big City, Tolroy, Five Past Twelve, and other West Indians who have come to London in search of the dream. There to face a reality of racial discrimination, poverty, harsh winters, waiting to see what tomorrow brings. This novel both joyful and sad, is an ode to the survival instinct of the modern immigrant." Karim struggle hardships as well with fitting in just like the cast of The Lonely Londoners. He struggles with identity and where he belongs in a culture he is not from.

 

 

In This Scene from the Jungle Book, Mowgli is seen. Karim plays Mowgli in a play, making these two relate. You can see Karim struggle with his sexuality and needs throughout this book. Kaa the snake is now a sex symbol, which is crazy because this is a Disney movie. However the snake can be compared to the girl he desires from play cast who is involved with the director.

The White Tiger

The class system in India leaves Balram feeling that his murder was just an act of entrepreneurship, through the ideas and beliefs of their government corruption, murder may be seen as nothing but getting by in the days and the life of a low class citizen of the slums of Indian. Balram in White Tiger struggles to get an idea across through to China in the beginning of the book. He talks about how his act is one of entrepreneurship. He starts out working for a rich landlord, from a caste of landlords. Balram himself is from a sweetmaker caste which is supposed to know how to make sweets, however this is not the case. From the beginning of the book when Balram writes to China, he calls his act of murder, anything but that. Balram from the beginning of White Tiger calls him an entrepreneur on “About three years ago, when I became, briefly, a person of national importance owing to an act of entrepreneurship, a poster with my face on it found its way to every post office, railway station, and police station in this country”, calling himself this word over and over and talking about how he was only of national importance for such little time goes to say about the corruption of the government. Later in the book finding out that he killed his boss, shows more corruption of the government. The whole book makes this murder seem like something Balram just did to get on with his life, a natural instinct and something anyone in a low caste system would do to move up or even just get by in India.


"The characters can also seem superficial. Balram’s landlord boss and his wife are caricatures of the insensitive upper classes, cruel to and remote from their employees. Although Balram himself is somewhat more interesting, his credulousness and naïveté often ring false. When he goes to buy alcohol for his employer, he finds himself 'dazzled by the sight of so much English liquor.' When he visits a shopping mall, he is 'conscious of a perfume in the air, of golden light, of cool, air-conditioned air, of people in T-shirts and jeans. . . . I saw an elevator going up and down that seemed made of pure golden glass.'"-The New York Times




 
Donald Trump is alot like the landlords of Balram. He thinks he is better than everyone else and he has a show to higher people to work for him. He can be considered insensitive and annoyance to his employees. He is also like Balram because he is an entrepreneur, also getting there by not caring about others.