Cultural Hybridity in The Buddha of Suburbia

Resumen

The aim of this academic paper is to analyse the conflict of identities, what is
known as cultural hybridity, in the contemporary novel The Buddha of Suburbia. The article
examines different situations the main characters experience and that influence his
identification with one culture or with another. First, it clarifies relevant post-colonial
concepts, such as Hybridity, Diaspora, Englishness and Britishness, that enable the
understanding of the further analysis. Secondly, it explains the immigration phases to the
United Kingdom and the conflicts and racism derived from them, in order to understand how
the current British society has been constructed. Thirdly, a biographical approach of the
novel has been carried out to reveal the parallelisms with the author’s life and finally, the
analysis of the novel applies the concepts explained to show the conflict of identities. The
results reveal that the influence of cultures to which an individual is exposed derives into a
hybrid identity. I came to the conclusion that the conflict of identities and hybridity arises
from the prejudices and discrimination of the British society which does not accept the main
character, Karim, as an equal for being descendent of an Indian. Therefore, hybridity
emerges as a new form of identity in multicultural societies and it is characterised by a multiorigin.