An American Brat

An American Brat, by Bapsi Sidhwa was an interesting read. I was suprirsed with this novel becasue I expected another novel similar to The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf. This novel explored the life of Feroza as she left her home in Pakistan and traveled to America. The trip was orginally thought to be a short vacation or holiday, but ended up as a study abroad opportunity. Feroza's parents originally intended for her to travel to America because they thought that she was "'becoming more and more backward everyday'" (9). Her parents hoped that Feroza would realize her values and morals and become more "forward" in America and the experience that would come along with it. It seemed, though, that just the opposite occurred. When Feroza first came to America, it did seem as though she would resist being Americanized unlike Manek, especially with some of her more unfortunate encounters. A description of her first feelings and impression is explained when the author writes, "Feroza hugged the adventure of her travel to America to herself throughout the flight. As she hurtled through space, she became conscious of the gravitational pull of the country she was leaving behind" (52). She realized that she was leaving her traditional lifestyle behind, but felt its presence still after she left. Feroza was at first resistant to Manek and his American "teachings". Throughout the novel though, Feroza's own experiences Americanized her in more ways than Manek could and in more ways he was himself. This change could mostly related to Feroza's roommate Jo. The quote in the novel that sums up their relationship states, "Feroza felt that living with Jo helped her much to understand American's and their exotic culture - how much an abstract word like "freedom" could encompass and how many rights the individual had and, most important, that those rights were not active, not, as in Pakistan..." (171). Feroza took this influence and teaching and applied to her own life and Americanized herself with her relationships and her activities in everyday life by getting a job as a bartender and her relationship with Sashi. It is interesting that she assumes and describes the American culture as "exotic." The novel does not state how Jo felt about Feroza's culture, and if she felt the same thing. It is probable to assume that Jo, like most other Americans perceive Feroza's culture as more exotic. The experience of "freedome" in America is what appears exotic to Feroza, but what about the Indian culture appears exotic to Jo, or the other Americans? Feroza finds this type of life "unnatural" especially if it were transposed into her culture.

Another interesting point throughout the novel was the theme of sexuality and how femenism affected the lives of the women. Feroza was able to see the differences in the culture through Jo. Jo was a very sexual and "free" human being. Feroza saw Jo as being the exact opposite of her own culture. Jo's lifestyle was a lifestyle that Pakistanian women could only live through marriage. This is shown in the novel when it is stated, "The denial of even her most insignificant wish was followed like: "You'll reign like a queen in your husband's house. You can do as you wish once you're married."... Their marriages would unshackle them, open their lives to adventure and knowledge of the world, give them the freedom that is each individual's due" (219). Jo lived this freedom without being married. Even with marriage, the women in Pakistan were still under their hunband's house. There were untold and unconscious similarities in America and with Jo that perhaps Feroza and the Pakistan culture though that Feroza did not realize. Jo, for example, seemed almost enslaved by her cycle that went through and evolved around the various men in her life. Her relationships determined her current mental state. In this way both cultures are heavily influenced in negative ways by men. Another interesting thing to point out with Feroza's quote about marriage is that the idea of freedom was something that every individual had in America, and in Pakistan women could only have freedom if married to a man. Is this freedom that women experience in America more of a myth than reality that Feroza believes it is? Feroza fails to see the impact that men can have in American culture.