In or Between the Cultures: Hybridity in American Dervish

Abstract

This study analyzes American Dervish in the light of Homi Bhabha’s cultural theory. As a postcolonial theorist, Bhabha who also had a colonial past has made significant contributions to cultural studies. He conceptualizes hybridity, third space, in-betweenness, or mimicry to shed light on the cultural interactions in the shade of colonial traces. His theory which draws attention to the impossibility of pure culture is used in this study to discover Shah family’s migrant life. Pakistani descent-American author Ayad Akthar depicts immigrant Muslims’ life in America based primarily on his own multicultural experiences. This study tries to shed light on Shah family’s life in America through multicultural perspectives. The primary aim of this study is to depict how Hayat, the protagonist of the book, constructs his hybrid identity to cope with his dilemmas between two separate cultures at the crossroads of cultures, religions and social norms.