"...in these trees now were dark bodies too, children who climbed and played among the boughs, like little monkeys, not because to be dark is to be monkey-like, though that has been and was being and will long be slurred, but because people are monkeys who have forgotten that they are monkeys, and so have lost respect for what they are born of, for the natural world around them..."
Throughout Exit West animal analogies are prevalent. From comparing Saeed and Nadia's love to a fox or migrants to hunted animals, Mohsin Hamid relies on a comparison between humans and animals. On the one hand, comparisons to animals dehumanize characters perhaps reflecting the way in which they are received by natives after arriving through the doors. However, often Hamid uses animals in order to demonstrate a greater depth of the human experience.
This seemingly contradictory function of animal analogies in fact provides the key to a theme of the story. Rather than dehumanizing people like the traditional usage, it instead provides readers a greater understanding of the characters as human beings. In the response of the natives to the migrants is the lack of recognition of them as human beings in need of help but rather an unwelcome threat. This fundamental lack of compassion in the response of natives to migrants must be solved through a recognition of humanity. For example, as Saeed and the preacher's daughter grow closer, or Nadia and the cook, we can see the power of developing relationships and recognition. In the same way by turning the purpose of animal analogies on its head, Hamid supplies readers with an element of human connection otherwise missing from the story.
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ReplyDeleteI think that Hamid's use of animal imagery is another one of the ways that he breaks down the social constructions dividing us. Hamid's world, and ours to a large extent, is based on borders and their supposed significance. When Hamid introduces this monkey idea, he acknowledges that he is crossing a line. Through this, and other encounters that migrants face in the book, he continuously breaks down the walls that separate societies in a hope that his characters and the audience will see their common humanity.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Will, Hamid uses different metaphors and motifs that are very universal so that it connects with everyone instead of targeting a specific person.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting point that I didn't really think of as I read. I agree that his use of analogies relates to the basics of being human rather than being dehumanizing.
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