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The protagonists of both When We Were Orphans and The Buddha of Suburbia grow up either wholly or partlyin a society where a culture different to their own is dominant.
It is not surprising that Ishiguro and Kureishi should create such characters, as they themselves would be familiar with experiences related to holding such a position in society. Lewis suggests that Ishiguro's home is 'a halfway house, neither Japanese nor English, somewhere in-between departure and arrival, nostalgia and anticipation' (Kazuo Ishiguro: Contemporary World Writers, p1).
Comparing the two novels allows us to analyse the differing portrayals of cultural identity and the effect that location and family have on that identity. Although set at different times, both novels use the locality of London and show the protagonist - also the narrator - moving to or from this city. In this respect, comparing When We Were Orphans and The Buddha of Suburbia allows us to analyse the presentation of 'home' and the effectof cultural identity on Karim and Christopher's concepts of 'home.'
Christopher of When We Were Orphansbegins his life in Shanghai and when his family life is cut short by thedisappearance of his parents, he moves to England to stay with his Aunt. As aresult memories of his parents are inevitably caught up with his time in Chinaand his sense of home becomes entirely related to his childhood. Even hisadult career choice if inspired entirely by childhood dreams and infant gameplaying. And so his childhood logic is carried into the adult world.
Admittedly, his fascination with detective work comes about from the serious event of his father being kidnapped, but when we come to learn that Christopher has misunderstood the situation for all those years, the significance of his work lessens. Childhood whims have ultimately taken over his mature life. The Colonel that he comes into contact with on his return to Shanghai theorises that Colonel 'Our childhood becomes like a foreign land once we have grown.' (WWWO, p346). It is clear that this is not the case for Christopher, with aspects of his childhood seemingly remaining in stasis after his departure from China.
Before he has solved the mysterious disappearance of his parents Christopher is unable to make a home anywhere else. This is a fact that he obviously understands, and is apparent in his reply to the Colonel, 'it's hardly a foreign land to me. In many ways it's where I've continued to live all my life. It's only now I've started to make my journey from it.' (WWWO, p347). Therefore, the hold that unresolved events have on his life, prevent him from creating a new home.
In London, Christopher becomes distinctlyremoved from the world around him, a fact made known to us early on when we aretold that he is not accustomed to visitors. There is constantly a sense thatothers are sharing knowledge that he is not aware of. This is illustrated bythe way that he is often observed by others, 'I became conscious of the othersin the room, and the fact that they were all watching me with gentle smiles.'(WWWO, p236).
Although he lives in London and does become attached to it on some level, it does not become a home for Christopher - 'Nevertheless, there are those times when a sort of emptiness fills my hours (WWWO, p393). Removed from the present, the nature in which Christopher acquires a new family is farcical: he obtains a daughter as a result of a dinner party chat with a stranger. But even with a daughter he is unable to create a proper home and cannot move on until he has returned to Shanghai to solve the mystery of hisparents.
In contrast, Karim of The Buddha ofSuburbia embraces new experiences and uses them to escape from his troubledfamily life. He resents his father for living an interesting life in India butthen forcing his son to grow up in a racist London suburb. However, Karimchooses to lose himself in sex and drugs and ultimately - unlike Christopher -progresses from his childhood. The serious nature of Haroon's affair with Evais softened by the narrator's use of humour, as are many other incidents whichwould otherwise be emotional and traumatic.
Karim's brash and sarcastic tone particularly enables him to present racial issues, which results in giving the reader a better understanding of prejudice in London at the time. Although we find Karim a likeable character, we do not feel immense sympathy for him, and this is a direct result of the use of humour. For example, when Karim and Jamila have abuse shouted at them, we are left with the image of Jamila sprinting after the cyclist rather than the actual emotional effects of such a racist comment.
Both Karim and Christopher experience lifeas outsiders, in a society where they are not part of the majority. Lewis, inhis study of Kazuo Ishiguro, sees the character of Christopher as a displacedperson - 'one of the many in the twentieth century of exile and estrangement' -and in this respect, similar to Ryder of The Unconsoled. Christopherconstantly has to alter his behaviour in order to belong. The futile nature ofsuch behaviour is apparent when he talks to Akira about disharmony between hisparents.
He is told by his friend that this may be a result of him not being English enough - 'not behaving sufficiently like an Englishman (WWWO, p93); Akira is worried that his parents are also upset that he is not acting Japanese enough. There is the suggestion that a person can alter their cultural appearance, and this is often forced by the opinions of others. As a result Christopher requests the help of his Uncle Phil in becoming more English. The fact that both boys are led to believe they are behaving incorrectly with regard to their nationality and culture implies that such feelings may arise regardless of location.
Cultural identity also has significance forKarim, who constantly aims to blend in with his school friends and clearly doesact and look just like them, 'I had to study the Melody Maker and New MusicalExpress just to keep up' (TBOS, p8). The very beginning of the first chaptermakes a reference to Karim's affinity with his identity as an Englishman, 'Myname is Karim Amir, and I am an Englishman born and bred, almost.' (TBOS, p3).
However, despite the fact that he is born and bred in the country, the presence of the word 'almost' introduces the issue of the attitudes of others and the fact that he is not accepted by English by all. The way that Karim is treated by members of the public and other children at school brings us to the words of Christopher's Uncle Phil - 'It'd be no wonder if you grew up a bit of a mongrelPeople need to feel they belong to a nation, to a race. Otherwise, who knows what might happen?' (WWWO, p97).
Although Uncle Phil is trying to put Christopher's mind at ease, he actually succeeds in presenting quite an ominous and fatalistic thought. Indeed, both Christopher and Karim do not have one nation to which they belong: Karim has an Indian father and an English mother, while Christopher lives in Japan with English parents. Both experience feelings of being the minority and having to alter their behaviour accordingly, as Karim observes 'to the English we were always wogs and nigs and Pakis and the rest of it' TBOS, p53).
Christopher masters the art of fitting in, as shown when he enters English school and quickly takes on the mannerisms of other boys. Although Karim is adored by many because of his Indian appearance, he largely attempts to fit in as an Englishman. It seems that the nature of the Indian culture is only used for personal gain, as in the case of Haroon, who Karim overhears 'hissing his s's and exaggerating his Indian accent' (TBOS, p21) obviously for the benefit of Eva. Despite the racial tension of London, it does seem to be the place where cultural identities can be exploited as well as transformed.
Both novels seem to suggest that theconcept of 'home' is not particularly connected to one location. The characterof Stephen believes that orphans are linked as a result of wandering from placeto place searching for parents, for a connection to their past, 'But for thoselike us, our fate is to face the world as orphans, chasing through long yearsthe shadows of vanished parents' ( WWWO, p393) The first time that he showssigns of contentment are when Sarah presents him with the opportunity of movingaway 'As soon as I said this, I could feel a massive weight lifting off me, somuch so that I may well have let out a loud sigh.' (WWWO p269)
This suggests that he is more at home in the process of transition. As time passes Christopher comes to regain the desire for genuine human companionship, but even with this change, the sense of 'home' as something that is not related to location, is still apparent. The novel ends with Christopher's recognition that he may well need a close relationship with his adopted daughter. At this point, Mr. Ling's comment rings true - 'Blood is important. But so is household' (WWWO, p244).
What family stands for is more important than the biological relationship. As Christopher contemplates taking Jennifer up on her invitation, there is a sense that they are creating a genuine family. The importance of family history is clear in both novels, with both narratives interspersed with stories from the past. Christopher's search for the answer to the mystery of his parents' disappearance comes to be a metaphor for the connection of personal identity with previous generations.
Lewis suggests that as the central protagonist, Christopher acts as 'a mariner of memory, trawling for clues in his consciousness to help explain who he is' (Kazuo Ishiguro: Contemporary World Writers, p147). As he unravels the mystery he comes face to face with the truth behind his memories, as well as missing parts of the stories. This newfound knowledge comes to allow Christopher to finally start his life in England and contemplated becoming a proper part of a family.
Both When We Were Orphans and TheBuddha of Suburbia show the experiences of young men in isolatedpositions. In the case of Christopher this leads to a fascination with thoseexperiencing opposite fortunes, particularly the 'well-connectedness' of hisfriend Osborne. He notes that this interest in Osborne's family and sociallife 'had to do with what I then perceived to be my complete lack of connectionwith the world beyond St Dunstan's' (WWWO, p7).
Christopher and Karim deal with their peripheral positions in society in very different ways but both suggest that a stable cultural identity comes from a stable home life. When Karim's parents separate, he is left with the choice of five places to stay and his old home becomes the least like home out of these choices. It seems that the concept of home is relative and extremely changeable. Lewis suggests that When We Were Orphans, as well as Ishiguro's other novels deal with a tug-of-war between a sense of homelessness and being at home' (Kazuo Ishiguro: Contemporary World Writers, p3).
Feeling 'at home' is transitory in relation to circumstance and is unfortunately is also influenced by the opinions of others. As a result, Karim can be rejected as an Englishman, despite being born in the country, and Christopher, an Englishman, can feel more at home in Shanghai, China than in London, England.
Bibliography
Ishiguro, Kazuo When We Were Orphans(Chivers Press, 2000)
Kureishi, Hanif The Buddha of Suburbia(Faber and Faber, 1990)
Lewis, Barry Kazuo Ishiguro:Contemporary World Writers (Manchester University Press, 2000)
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