While Nazneen’s perspective is beautifully insightful, I couldn’t help but think of what life was like for their children. As the first generation outside of their previous cultural line, it would be interesting to see how the cultures would develop in their minds’ eye. The adults in their world assume that they’re already adjusted (or ruined) by western culture, but I started to wonder how true that actually is. It became incredibly heart breaking to realize that they, most likely, are lost in both cultural worlds. Which, amoungst themselves they made subculture (or the rowdy gangs being described).
This reflection made me realize that Nazneen is not necessarily lost in culture, so much as her children undoutedly would be… Because she has clear roots settled in her life, something to always consider a comfort zone. Though, she does begin to expand that comfort zone, she does have those around her to relate to her specific situation. Her children have a world of vague truths about them— about tenfold of any average teenager, I would suppose.
Introduction to Literary Studies Spring 2015 