'Becoming' and 'Belonging': The Ambivalent Space of Hybrid Identity in Qurratulain Hyder's River of Fire

Abstract

This research paper explores the role of ambivalent space of hybrid identity and the 'longing' and 'belonging' in the lives of major characters of River of Fire by Qurratulain Hyder to attain a positive vision towards life. In addition, the research tends to perceive the ways by which major characters in the different eras get insight to bridge the 'longing' and 'belonging' by standing in a liminal place.Thus, the study explores the role of subjective liminality in a person's life that induces a new perceptive socio cultural vision in the lives of Hyder's characters. This research uses postcolonial theory as a lens to examine the circumstances that compel the characters towards slip page without regarding their social status and hierarchy. Furthermore, according to Homi k. Bhabha, the term ‘belonging’ represents the cultural history of a nation that always remains in flux because of the ‘longing’ or desires of its individuals of sharing their objectives with other nations in new places to make harmony with new people and circumstances. River of Fire tends to combine a syn chronic and diachronic approach to show that cultural hybridity always orientates the social, economic, and cultural tenets of the characters idiosyncratic ambivalence