Identity

The novel treats the theme of identity as it relates to the problem of ambiguity. Many of the characters of the novel experience their identities as compromised or lacking in authenticity. The novel's portrayal of the dilemmas of identifying have their fullest expression in the life of the narrator himself. As an American born to immigrant Pakistani parents, Ayad is unable to commit himself to identifying as American, but his American life experience prevents him from identifying as Muslim and Pakistani. Ayad is unable to find a firm footing for his identity in either his American life experience, or his Pakistani family background. He finds himself alienated from each identity group.

Although the experience of Ayad is the novel's central expression of the struggle for identity, Sikander's struggle to establish his own American identity shows that the failure to identify is not specific to the conflicting...