The Quest For Identity And Religious Extremism In Postcolonial African Novel

Résumé: Postcolonial literature is the medium through which the writers of the formerly colonized nations share their experience of resistance and reconstruction. Their writings give voice to the suppressed, unspeakable people in order to determine their identity. The quest for identity is considered as one of the most discussed themes in postcolonial African Literature. Laila Lalami is among the North African writers who threw light on the issue of identity crisis through her works. In this regard, the present dissertation aims at exploring the theme of the quest for identity and the different types of identity loss presented in Laila Lalami's Secret Son. In order to highlight this issue, an analysis of the characters' tendencies and choices is made to show clearly how each one of them perceive it. Equally important, this study seeks to investigate different aspects that help in forging people's identity such as language, immigration, social classes, and most importantly, religion. Furthermore, it also attempts to examine the impact of religion in shaping identity in which religious extremism can be considered as a type of identity loss. Hence, the main objective of this study is to map the connection between the quest for identity and religion; mainly religious extremism in a postcolonial context in general and explore the deterioration of economy and politics and how it has shaped the Moroccan identity in specific. In order to achieve it, the novel under study is approached from a thematic perspective relying on the interpretation of the postcolonial stance.

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