MOBILITY, HYBRIDITY, AND THE CRISIS OF BELONGING: A POSTMODERN CRITIQUE OF MOHSIN HAMID’S EXIT WEST

Abstract

The study aims at exploring the Mobility, Hybridity, and the Crisis of Belonging in Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West especially in the lens of Postmodernism. Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West (2017) presents a narrative deeply entrenched in the experiences of migration, exile, and global interconnectedness, highlighting the postmodern condition of mobility and cultural hybridity. This study examines the novel through a postmodern lens, focusing on the fluidity of borders, the instability of identity, and the crisis of belonging faced by displaced individuals. The analysis explores how Hamid employs magical realism as a narrative strategy to depict the psychological and social ramifications of migration, emphasizing the liminality and transitory nature of human existence in a globalized world. By examining the interplay between mobility, hybridity, and social alienation, this research elucidates the postmodern critique of fixed identities, stable communities, and linear narratives of nationhood, offering insights into contemporary discourses on migration and cosmopolitanism.