Homeland Elegies: A Novel

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Introduction

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Themes

The Illusion of the American Dream

Ever since its conception, America stood as a beacon, inviting people from across the world to pursue the immortal concept of the American Dream—the belief that any person can achieve their goals. However, this dream is but a myth, and those it was once meant to inspire are often the ones left out in the cold.

Ayad’s immigrant parents come to America to escape the brutality and hardships of their native Pakistan. To them, America does seem like a beautiful utopia compared to their home country, but it doesn’t take long for Fatima to see the truth: America’s promise of success is nothing but an illusion. Sikander, however, sees nothing but opportunity. He sacrifices his identity as a Pakistani Muslim to assimilate into American culture, trying desperately to become like the successful American men he sees on television. It takes the corporate takeover of his medical practice to prove to him that the “dream” is dead—that he was only “playing a role” (333) for most of his life. If the “dream” is that the common man can make a life for himself in America, then such takeovers prove that America is nothing but a ruthless economy set to make the rich richer.

This idea is perpetuated and proven by Ayad’s friend, Riaz Rind. To Rind, the concept of the American Dream is only available to the rich; the poor and working class are only servants to those higher in social stature. Without money, the dream does not exist—ironic considering the concept of the American Dream is building something from nothing. With enough money, one can buy legal favors and curry favor in general. Money equals control, and money controls those whom society deems inferior. Mike Jacobs, another friend of Ayad’s, supports Rind from the perspective of the Black minority in America. Both of these men open Ayad’s eyes to a grim reality: America is “designed through and through to keep [people] down” (227), making the American Dream nothing but an illusion all along.

The Search for Identity

It is difficult to embrace one’s identity when said identity is feared by many others, but this is the reality Ayad faces as he becomes a man in America. Though Ayad thinks he is secure in his identity in the beginning of the novel, the rest takes him on a journey to discovering his own place in the world.

Ayad transforms from a young boy who “felt American security and strength” (xvi) at every turn to a man who tries to hide his identity so people won’t fear that he is a terrorist. Though “every atom of [his] blood [was] formed of this soil, this air” (xix), he is still questioned by a state trooper in Arizona as to the origins of his name. Ayad’s fear of answering incorrectly or making a wrong move speaks volumes to the treatment of Muslim Americans post-9/11. Suddenly, he feels the need to (subconsciously) apologize for acts of which he is not guilty. In addition, Ayad’s fear of being a brown-skinned man in New York is only exacerbated by his Muslim faith, which leads him to wear a Christian crucifix around his neck as a safety measure. This confusion manifests in Ayad’s sexual encounters as well, as he looks at white women with both disgust and a desire to control—a representation of his discomfort with his own skin. Race and prejudice define his subconscious desires, and he must play the game, even as a victim of it.

The constant pull between who Ayad is and who he is expected to be grounds the novel, and readers can easily feel his pain and frustration. The journey—which takes him from proud American, to disgusted American, to resigned American—ends where he began, back in a college classroom with Professor Moroni. Only now can Ayad clearly see who he is and what he wants: He is an American, for better or for worse, and he “[doesn’t] want to be anywhere else” (343).

The Effects of Islamophobia

For a country that prides itself on being a melting pot of different cultures, Ayad sees that American citizens, especially those in the white majority, often rebel against what they fear—and this fear leads to dangerous circumstances for anyone deemed “different.”

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 drastically changed the mentality of Middle Eastern men and women in America. Suddenly, they became subject to false associations between American citizens and dangerous terrorists. Ayad feels this prejudice firsthand when he tries to give blood on 9/11 and is told “we don’t want your Arab blood” (201) and “we should have killed you all when we had the chance” (202). This vitriol, spoken in the heat of anger after a national tragedy, immediately draws a line between white American citizens and dark-skinned American citizens. Being born in America is no longer good enough—Ayad must become more, leading to his decision to wear a Christian crucifix to ward off attention, fundamentally changing his understanding of his identity and self-worth.

One would think that this viewpoint would change with time, but Ayad and Sikander’s encounter with a racist at a gas station in 2017 proves that Islamophobia is ingrained in American culture. When the racist tells them to “learn how to drive in this country” and calls them “monkeys” (306) among other derogatory terms, he implies that Ayad and Sikander (both American citizens) do not belong in America due to their skin color—which in turn, implies that America is only a place for white men to live safely. Such encounters drastically shape Ayad’s opinion of himself and his worth to American society.