Crisis Of Masculinity In The Buddha Of Suburbia

Hanif Kureishi is one of the most charismatic and prominent contemporary Indian-British writers.The fact of being a hybrid played an important role for him in choosing his creative direction.His works tackle some serious issues like marginalized culture,sexual orientation and racial discrimination with a humorous tone.This thesis deals with Kureishi ’s debut novel The Buddha of Suburbia published in 1990.Being honored of the Whitbread Award and translated into twenty languages,it has been acknowledged as one of his most successful works.It relates the story of Karim Amir,a half-English and half Pakistani suburban teenager who struggles to find a position for himself in multicultural London.Paired with the topic of apparently different cultural codes and gender practices,the novel’s frequent portrayal of men’s frustration and decline significantly expresses a crisis of masculinity.Based on Connell’s masculinity study,this thesis aims to explore the reasons for the crisis of masculinity and its reconstruction in contemporary English society through examining the main male characters in The Buddha of Suburbia.Hopefully through analyzing the construction and reconstruction of masculinity in this novel,men especially those in social transformation can be somehow enlightened and find the proper way out of masculinity crisis.Chapter One begins with a brief introduction to Hanif Kureishi and his The Buddha of Suburbia,pointing out that The Buddha of Suburbia is one of his best novels that deserves to study.Then a literature review on The Buddha of Suburbia is in demand in order to find out that masculinity study is a perspective to throw a new light on this novel.Thus the notion of masculinity and Connell’s "three-fold model of the structure of gender" are discussed to function as the theoretical framework.Chapter Two mainly discusses the life stories of male characters in The Buddha of Suburbia in order to demonstrate why their masculinities are said to be in crisis.Judging by the standards of Connell’s "hegemonic masculinity",which is recognized as the most honorable way of being a man,it can be found that men in this novel are feminized physically,defeated in society and isolated in the family.Chapter Three employs the"three-fold model of the structure of gender" put forward by Connell to inquire into the configuration of gender relations so as to dig out the reasons for masculinity crisis.The rise of the feminist movement and countercultural movement largely threatens the legitimacy of patriarchal dominance and traditional hegemonic masculinity.Also,the identity as immigrant mercilessly put immigrant men into the margins of society.Chapter Four discusses the ways male characters use in this novel to reconstruct their masculinity.Haroon’s performance as the Buddha and Karim as a successful actor help them establish their cultural identity thus as a way to confirm masculinity.Meanwhile,women’s involvement in masculinity construction cannot be underestimated.Chapter Five is the conclusion of this thesis.Kureishi portrays Britain in the late twentieth century when various social classes and gender identities were challenged due to the western liberation movements.Men are hard to follow the definitions and expectation of hegemonic masculinity.Kureishi encourages men to construct a more individualized masculinity identity and lead equal relationships with women,which displays his strong concern for not only racial issues but also gender relations.