Otherness and Identity in Daphne Palasi Andreades's Brown Girls

Abstract

The article explores how Daphne Palasi Andreades presents the impact of assimilation and racial otherness on the immigrants' identity in her novel Brown Girls. First, the article explores theoretical approaches connected with immigration, with special attention paid to the processes of assimilation, acculturation, and collective identity. Subsequently, the analysis of the novel presents how the process of assimilation alters one's identity as well as disrupts interpersonal relationships. With the use of immigration and identity theory, the paper presents how individual identity clashes with collective identity and shows that an individual can become "the other" to those with whom they once formed a community. The article explores the fictionalized version of the immigrants' experiences, allowing for more in-depth analysis due to access to individuals' thoughts and emotions. The results of the analysis correspond with the findings of the presented theoretical approaches thus illustrating that fiction mirrors real life and allows non-specialists to understand complicated concepts connected with immigrants' identity though the act of reading fiction.