The Third Space and the Trap of Inferiority in Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced (2012)

Abstract

This paper investigates some of the cross-cultural obstacles that immigrants encounter in the host society, as they oscillate between two distinct cultures. Through an analysis of Ayad Akhtar’s (1970- ) Pakistani-American play Disgraced (2012), the paper explores the characters’ “third spaces”, focusing on the protagonist Amir’s grapple with his fragmented in between identities. It examines how Eastern immigrants could view themselves as inferior, thus conceal their original identities and adopt the new Western culture. Like many minorities in the United States, this is what some Pakistani- Americans do for the sake of economic prosperity and social acceptance. The paper draws on Homi K. Bhabha’s post-colonial concepts of ‘mimicry’, ‘ambivalence’, ‘hybridity’ and ‘third space’ to highlight the extent to which these concepts impact the colonized identities. The paper also explores whether immigrants can create a balanced ‘third space’ by embracing their indigenous cultures or not.