Hanif Kureishi's "The Buddha of Suburbia" and the Topic of Racism

Term Paper , 2015 , 19 Pages , Grade: 1,3

English Language and Literature Studies - Literature

I am interested to find out within Hanif Kureishi's "The Buddha of Suburbia" if Kureishi made racism a topic in the novel and if it is intended or if he might think along different lines.

To find an answer to these questions I will start with a definition of racism. Therefore, a short look into the history of the term will lead us to the current understanding of racism and the topics connected to it. When the understanding of racism within the bound of this work is defined, the work on the novel starts and I will quote different passages where racism becomes obvious.

The third part of this work examines if Kureishi intended to write about racism or if it happened unintended. To find an answer for this part I will focus on Kureishi’s biography to find probable parallels, and at the society in London at the time, as well as the politics. After these three steps a conclusion will be drawn to answer the question of the beginning.

Table of Content

Introduction

1. The Term of Racism
1.1 Racism and the Term of Race
1.2 New Racism, Cultural Racism and Racism Today
1.3 The Ideology of Racism
1.4 The Understanding of Racism for this Work

2. Introduction of the Novel and the Main Characters

3 Passages of Racism Expressed in The Buddha of Suburbia
3.1 Racist Discrimination and Attacks
3.2 Immigrants and their Racist Ideas
3.3 Racism and the Police

4. Parallels between the Biography of H. Kureishi and The Buddha of Suburbia

5. London – its Society in the 1970’s and Racism

Conclusion – Racism: an Intended Topic of the Novel?

Bibliography

• College: University of Erfurt (Literaturwissenschaft)
• Course: Multicultural Britain: Class & Ethnicity in Recent Fiction
• Grade: 1,3
• Author: Karolin Liebig (Author)
• Publication Year: 2015
• Pages: 19
• Catalog Number: V321406
• ISBN (eBook): 9783668206823
• ISBN (Book): 9783668206830
• Language: English
• Tags: literature, racism, Rassismus, London, Kureishi, englische Literaturwissenschaft