This paper investigates how the Arab-American writer Naomi Nye addresses the dialectic between borders and multiculturalism in her award-winning young adult novel Habibi （1997）. Critiquing the essentialist view that...This paper investigates how the Arab-American writer Naomi Nye addresses the dialectic between borders and multiculturalism in her award-winning young adult novel Habibi （1997）. Critiquing the essentialist view that presumes fixed boundaries for a culture, Nye promotes the alternative view that assumes individuals＇ power of defining and redefining their cultural identities in a multicultural society. The author argues that Nye＇s position is that borders/boundaries and geographical demarcations are flimsy, arbitrary and create divisions, animosities and hatred between people and nations whereas multiculturalism engenders feelings of reconciliation, friendship, and understanding. Though borders and boundaries can be divisive, cultural variety and hybridity can be inclusive. To counteract the argument of borders/boundaries, Nye posits the argument of multiculturalism. In this paper, the author intends to examine the assumptions of the physical and the cultural borders rhetoric in comparison with the multicultural approach narrative. It is the dialectic of these two opposing forces that shapes the events and the final outcome of the action and events of this novel展开更多
文摘This paper investigates how the Arab-American writer Naomi Nye addresses the dialectic between borders and multiculturalism in her award-winning young adult novel Habibi （1997）. Critiquing the essentialist view that presumes fixed boundaries for a culture, Nye promotes the alternative view that assumes individuals＇ power of defining and redefining their cultural identities in a multicultural society. The author argues that Nye＇s position is that borders/boundaries and geographical demarcations are flimsy, arbitrary and create divisions, animosities and hatred between people and nations whereas multiculturalism engenders feelings of reconciliation, friendship, and understanding. Though borders and boundaries can be divisive, cultural variety and hybridity can be inclusive. To counteract the argument of borders/boundaries, Nye posits the argument of multiculturalism. In this paper, the author intends to examine the assumptions of the physical and the cultural borders rhetoric in comparison with the multicultural approach narrative. It is the dialectic of these two opposing forces that shapes the events and the final outcome of the action and events of this novel
