Family, Slavery and Displacement in "Paradise" by Abdulrazak Gurnah (eBook)

Essay from the year 2022 in the subject African Studies - Literature, grade: 13, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen (Anglistik), course: An Introducton to African Diasporic Literature in English: Mobility, Migration, and Cultural Shifts, language: English, abstract: This paper deals with the themes of patterns of travel and mobility, the role of religion and Islam and the role of narrator/family/slavery and his displacement. The author Abdulrazak Gurnah is a member of the Muslim-Arab minority in Zanzibar with Swahili as his mother tongue. He arrived in Great Britain as a refugee in 1968.

The book "Paradise" got published in 1994 has 447 pages and is narrated from an authorial perspective. This novel unfolds the tale of Yusuf. Left by his father to settle debts, Yusuf becomes the ward of the Arab merchant Aziz. The narrative follows their trading expeditions, offering insights into the interior of Africa during the era of German colonialism in East Africa. Beyond the theme of travel, the novel delves into crucial subjects such as identity development, slavery, and the concept of "displacement."

Each topic has been written in the form of an essay and works closely with the novel "Paradise". Excerpt from an essay that deals with the topic of "Patterns of Travel and Mobility in Paradise": This essay seeks to investigate the patterns of travel and mobility in Paradise by alluding to a number of examples from Paradise. It is absolutely crucial to address this topic since it is omnipresent in the novel. There are, in fact, a number of patterns of travel and mobility evident in the novel. Paradise is wrapped in several different narrative models that imply movement.

For the most part, the trade and movement have a strong bond, as the merchants can move freely with their caravans and visit the most remote places in the interior. Furthermore, an internal journey, or rather a metaphorical travel, takes place, namely the personal journey of Yusuf. He grows up during his travels from a child to a man.

Another pattern of travel and mobility is the condition of the diaspora because many people have been displaced. For example, there are Europeans, Arabs, or even Indians who came to Africa for specific reasons, such as economic or political reasons. In addition, many characters represent travelers, slaves, slave traders, explorers, or emigrants whose borders are constantly shifting or even disappearing. Besides, many of the characters are caught between clashing cultures and territories. Yusuf's identity is also altered when he is torn from his parents and home and made a slave.