Confused Identity in Selected Novels by Diana Abu-Jaber: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Abstract

This thesis is constructed as a productive dialogue between cultural studies especially identity and Critical Discourse Analysis in order to study in depth the insights and analytical abilities of these two fields. In fact, CDA is concerned with uncovering ideological disguises and demystifying power relations in discourse within socio-political context. At the same time, language plays an important role in manifesting the hidden ideologies and justifying social actions. Therefore, the present thesis attempts to explore the language used by Arab-American immigrants and Arabs in exile to express their own identity and at the same time to unravel ideologies encoded in their discourses. This thesis has two objectives. First, it is clear that the history of humanity abounds with a social, cultural and anthropological need for the research into the discursive construction of identity that reflects the individual dynamic exposure in everyday aspect as illustrated by Lifton (1993) "[w]e are becoming fluid and many-sided, without quite realizing it, we have been evolving a sense of self appropriate to the restlessness and flux of time" (p.1). Second, this thesis demands a critical approach as Wetherell (2001) notes that identity is understood as "a set of culturally available performances sanctioned through power relations" (p.187). She emphasizes that the discursive construction of identity is under the control of those with dominant power and maybe it is the result of forms of manipulation and abuse. The present study focuses on the discursive construction of identity of Arab-Americans and Arabs in exile which is circumscribed by various forms of power abuse, domination and mainly confusion. In fact, the Arab diaspora in the United States encompasses a large number of immigrants who left their countries for different reasons. Their motivations range from the search of a better life to being forced to abandon their home countries because of wars as refugees. They may also have left their countries in search of a better income, or to obtain more religious freedom, or merely in search of adventure, or better educational opportunities. The Arab community in the United States is known for its diversity, which is evident in its ethnic, racial, linguistic, religious, sectarian, tribal, and national identities. Urea Segal (2002) states that “while migration occurs as a response to crisis, it can at the same time be a search for opportunity” (p.3). The experience of each immigrant is influenced by the reasons he or she leaves the country of origin, the resources, and the attraction to the country he or she has chosen to immigrate to.