Disgraced Sparknotes

In Ayad Akhtar’s play Disgraced, the religious and cultural tensions that arise between family and coworkers allude to greater societal conflicts in America. The main character, Amir, attempts to navigate and balance his Muslim faith with his “Americanness.” At the beginning of the play, it seems as though Amir has struck a delicate balance, prospering in America as a Muslim man, albeit one who tries to obscure his cultural background. His eventual unraveling appears to be the product of repressive external forces of a prejudiced society. However, as this essay will demonstrate, much of Amir’s downfall is due to his own inability to reconcile his Muslim and American identities. Amir’s attempt to gain freedom through submission in American society ultimately
This causes his identity to become fractured and ultimately deprives him both of his American and Muslim identities.
Amir’s childhood story of spitting in Rivkah’s face instills within him how integral religion is tied to a person’s existence. After his mother adamantly forbids him to associate with Rivkah, Amir said he “couldn’t imagine God could have hated this little girl. So I tell my mom, No, she’s not Jewish.” Rather than asserting that Rivkah is not bad because Jewish people are not bad, Amir instead resorts to pleading that Rivkah is not Jewish; when he spits in her face, he epitomizes his inability to tolerate her faith. He looks on this anecdote to criticize Islam, but it also cements within him the idea that names are a source of huge import; the Rivkah he used to love is