Negotiating Hyphenated Identities: A Psychoanalytic Study Of Immigration In Monica Ali's Brick Lane

Abstract

This paper examines the psychoanalytic dimensions of immigration and marginalisation in Monica Ali’s Brick Lane, concentrating on the challenges encountered by South Asian immigrants and their hyphenated identities. Utilising Salman Akhtar’s psychoanalytic framework, it investigates the emotional and psychological journey of Nazneen, a Bangladeshi immigrant residing in London, as she faces cultural dislocation, displacement, and the process of identity formation. The idea of "hyphenated identity" illustrates her difficulty in reconciling tradition with modernity, home with exile, and personal aspirations with societal pressures. This analysis emphasises Brick Lane as a powerful examination of the psychological intricacies confronted by diasporic communities.