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In its respective genre, Mohsin Hamid\u2019s 2017 Exit West<\/em> garnered lots of attention for its new approach on the migration narrative. In the past, many works in this genre were riddled with narratives of fear and destruction due to the \u201cmigrant crisis\u201d. Nasia Anam specifically praises Hamid for walking away from this narrative built by Western and European nativism, xenophobia, and fear mongering. Rather, the novel takes a new approach for being in the perspective of migrants themselves. On the other hand, voices such as Yogita Goyal argue that Exit West \u201c[renders] banal what must remain historical.\u201d Rather than expanding on the similar formula of the genre, Goyal argues that it falls short because it emphasizes the normal far too much washing over all the importance in the history. The novel in their opinion is too relatable. I propose this is not the case at all. Rather than completely washing over the history, the novel chooses not to spectacularize it, which also does not make it banal. Within its pages, the novel showcases numerous instances of violence and scenarios that give way to the historical context that Goyal stresses is necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Exit West we are introduced to these excerpts that divert from the main plot of the two lovers Saeed and Nadia. We are sent to a different location in the world learning of a new set of characters\u2019 interactions and situations. Many of these windows into these moments try to expand on the meaning of what it means to be a migrant. The novel has an element of magic door that has the ability to transport people to other locations in the world in the scenario. In Australia in the first chapter starting on page 7 we are introduced to a wealthy Australian white woman who is vulnerably sleeping and then a dark-skinned man who appears in her closet. At first you may believe that he will rob or harm the vulnerable white woman, but soon learn he was sent through one of these doors and randomly transported. Rather than an aggressor, he himself is also a victim, looking for a method of escape. He is a literal migrant, using one of the magic doors to move from one place to another. This small expert has its own historical context in the undertones, the narrative of darker skin being associated with crime and danger. Instead of trying to understand the full context, a predetermined thought that he was there to harm had formed. Another example that’s a little more abstract with the definition is in chapter 10 starting on page 207. Recounting the life of an old woman who has lived her whole life in the same place. Minus traveling on some accounts, everything around her continued to move and change although she remained in the same place. She was a migrant through time rather than the typical definition. Later we also learn the old woman is of Chinese descent. The old woman inherited the house from her parents. We do not know if her parents are immigrants from China, but we do know they secured the house either of their own hard work or possibly inheritance themselves. She wishes for her children to inherit the house next. This also has its own implications and history. This alludes to the immigrant experience in a different country. The previous generations work hard to provide for the generations to come and as they integrate more, they tend to move away from their foundations, forgetting the meaning behind the things their family members do. Her parents were able to provide a better life for her, and she for her children, and her children with her grandchildren. These two looks into the different breaks for the main story showcase one way Hamid has not abandoned the specific historical experiences that generate migration. Rather than spectacularizing, Hamid makes the context and underlying narratives the undertone rather than explicitly described or emphasized. At first glance these parts may seem random, abstract, out of place, or too banal too general, but they prove a platform for other common migrant struggles and narratives to be weaved within the main story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Goyal mentions that \u201cHamid, rather than foreground horror, trauma, or catastrophe, turns to metaphor to emphasize the ordinariness of the fact that most of the world is on the move.\u201d but this is farther from the truth. As stated earlier, Exit West chooses not to emphasize a fully pathos-based story, it avoids the spectacular, but that does not mean it is devoid of the horror, trauma, and catastrophe. The violence is in the pages of the novel, in every chapter, big or small. Throughout the entire main plot, the city Saeed and Nadia call home is deteriorating. As the book progresses, the city becomes increasingly unstable, both physically and the mentally. I believe it was overlooked by Goyal because rather than the main plot line, it is one of the side plots within the main story. In the very first page of the first chapter we are met with the setting, \u201ca city swollen by refugees but still mostly at peace, or at least not yet openly at war.\u201d As the novel progresses the city becomes more undone. Helicopters fill the sky, the militants’ confidence and power grew after a successful assault on the city\u2019s stock exchange, more territories began to fall to the militants, then a curfew was imposed. Chapter 4 starts showing the devolution of the stability of the city\u2019s mentality and peace, Saeed\u2019s mother believed she saw a former student of hers firing with a machine gun mounted on the back of a truck. He was quick witted and shy, but if it was him, he was no longer the same boy due to the violence. The city soon began falling neighborhood by neighborhood in quick succession to the militants. Soon buildings began to fall and become abandoned, rationing of supplies became normal, panic soon began to enter. One does not need to know who these adversaries are to know that the city is becoming less safe as they continue their occupation. Whether the country they live in is a democracy, a dictatorship, or a failing state does not matter, the security of the city is being compromised. That is the issue. Moments such as Saeed\u2019s mother abruptly dying due to a stray bullet (pg 74-75), the public and private executions along with the hanging bodies that liter the city (pg 86), and Saeed\u2019s father realizing that young men were playing football with a severed head are all violent moments within the book. One specific part from Exit West caught my attention, the fact that when the magic doors were acknowledged as real, they were being discussed by world leaders as a major global crisis (pg 88). This single sentence reinforces the historical fearmonger narrative that Nasia Anam discusses about past migrant literature. This \u201cmajor global crisis,\u201d a migrant crisis, is almost interpreted as negative in the line. World leaders are fearful and concerned about these doors that are helping people escape and relocate. To these world leaders, this is an apocalyptic narrative. How is any of this banal, ordinary, or lacking context? Yes, there is the possibility that these things could happen to anybody, but simply because the horror, trauma, and catastrophe is not the most prevalent part of the foreground it is rendered useless to the narrative by Goyal. Simply because the novel does not follow in the traditional \u201cevoke a sense of place by providing detailed descriptions of locations and characters that allow the reader to immerse herself in a recognizable culture\u201d or allowing the instability to be at the forefront does not mean Hamid completely disregards them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Simplicity is the key to brilliance. Just because someone decides to use a more abstract template, does not mean they have decided to disregard the important. Multiple narratives are woven together within Exit West, and although not the traditional migrant story, the horror, trauma, struggle, history, and journey are not disregarded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Anam, Nasia. \u201cThe Migrant as Colonist: Dystopia and Apocalypse in the Literature of Mass Migration.\u201d Project Muse, Johns Hopkins University Press, Sept. 2018, muse.jhu.edu\/pub\/1\/article\/711837\/pdf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Goyal, Yogita. \u201c\u2018We Are All Migrants\u2019: The Refugee Novel and the Claims of Universalism.\u201d Project Muse, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2020, muse.jhu.edu\/article\/758170.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hamid, Mohsin. Exit West: A Novel. Penguin, 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Comments:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Alina: <\/p>\n\n\n\n some thoughts while reading your intro:<\/p>\n\n\n\n -what is the difference between “what’s to come” and the “dystopian aftermath” -Love love love the idea of the thesis statement!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alina:<\/p>\n\n\n\n -Hey Vee! Your essay does a great job of providing evidence from the book. Your evidence is well-chosen, and you explain the plot and how parts of the plot relate to your own argument in enough detail so that the reader understands, but you also don\u2019t bore the reader with overly long and detailed explanations or irrelevant details. If I could point out one thing that you could still improve on in your essay, it would be transitions and metacommentary. I think the intro and the first body paragraph already flow well, but, as a reader, I got lost in the long body paragraphs. The transition \u201ctrying to understand the full context, a predetermined thought that he was there to harm had formed. Another example that\u2019s a little more abstract with the definition is\u2026\u201d for example could have a better flow if you connected the second example to the first in a way that answers WHY you now want to introduce us to this other example that is\u201d a little more abstract with the definition\u201d. Is there a way for you to take the reader by their hand and walk them through your brilliant ideas with a little more guidance? One more thing to think about: You are currently 300+ words over the word count, so you might have to think about choosing the most powerful evidence from the book. Keep up the good work! Reading your essay was really fun and your ideas are so refreshing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eva:<\/p>\n\n\n\n -Hi Veee! I loved reading your essay, such a good thesis! You provide good examples from the text, but maybe you could provide a more detailed analysis of these examples, that would enhance your argument (you could also use it in your quotation sandwiches!). Then also, you could when discussing the characters introduced through the magic doors, consider exploring how their experiences specifically relate to broader themes of migration and identity? You have long paragraphs that contain a lot of information to support your claim which is good, but you are also over the word count! So, try to either cut some information or summarize it more. -Pledge VVB<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In its respective genre, Mohsin Hamid\u2019s 2017 Exit West garnered lots of attention for its new approach on the migration narrative. In the past, many works in this genre were riddled with narratives of fear and destruction due to the \u201cmigrant crisis\u201d. Nasia Anam specifically praises Hamid for walking away from this narrative built by … <\/p>\n
the “so peaceful” is totally right, but before introducing the word “peaceful” you don’t state -who thinks it’s peaceful (reader could guess from context, but if you used a word that implies peacefulness somewhere before that then it would be a little easier for the reader)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Great work!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n