Who I Am: Mapping the Reciprocity between Identity Gaps and Interpersonal Relationships in Kartography

Abstract

This study aims to explore the notion of identity from a post-modernist perspective in the novel,‘Kartography’ by Kamila Shamsie. The concept of identity and its multifarious uptakes in varied fields of study have been revealing to understand the complexity embedded in this notion. The concept of identity and its diverse uptakes in varied study fields reveal the need to know the complexity embedded in this notion. Data of the study were selected from novel passages. Discourse Analysis (DA) and Michael Hecht’s ‘Communication Theory of Identity were used as a theoretical framework for the study.This theory explains the concept of identity from the postmodernist perspective and describes four layers of identity, for instance, personal, relational, enacted, and communal. It examines the personal-relational and personal-enacted identity gaps in the characters of the novel under the study. Findings exhibit that novel characters undergo personal-relational and personal-enacted identity gaps, and these gaps negatively influence their interpersonal relationships. Hence, the inherent fluidity of identity has been demonstrated in novel characters