We Need New Names, And The Inheritance Of Loss

Novels reveal the influence of culture and allow audiences to develop a greater sense of empathy for the experiences of others. Both NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names (2013) and Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss (2006) explore the migrant experience with the purpose of creating a deeper understanding of the difficulties of assimilation. We Need New Names examines the choice for a successful assimilation into American society over retaining cultural heritage, while The Inheritance of Loss evokes empathy through the protagonist’s failure to assimilate as a result of a lack of support to integrate his culture with mainstream society. Therefore, both texts reinforce the idea of culture and its influence on migrant experiences and assimilation
It is demonstrated through contrasting the protagonist, Biju, and his initial optimism upon arrival from India with his gradual decline of enthusiasm after attempting to settle in America. This is also shown through his experience of looking for work. He was “willing to start at a menial level”, working at any restaurant or food establishment that was willing to hire him, despite the lack of papers. By taking up these employment opportunities not found back home in India, he also discovered his willingness to assimilate by working alongside people of different cultures, despite centuries of cultural hate and disgust drilled into him, especially about those from Pakistan: “Pigs, pigs, sons of pigs.” Insults like this convey the fact that the derogatory tone used will, in the long run, hinder the process of assimilation. When Biju finds himself working in New York, his thoughts, “Unholy cow. Brigitte’s served only one menu: steak, salad, fries. [Indians] do not eat beef, nor can we cook it. It is an insult to our gods otherwise”, highlights personal values conflicting with that of what his employment expects. He decides to remain faithful to his cultural heritage by resigning and ensuring that his future employments do not involve searing steaks. However, Biju’s loss of desire to integrate into American society is depicted through his decision to leave America at the end of the novel, muttering that “[I] cannot fit in this country. There is nothing that will ever be accepting of [my] culture and religion”. Through the use of epiphany, Desai forces the reader to examine how the loss of individual willingness can lead to an undesirable migrant experience and a failed assimilation, and hence, society loses a valuable, hardworking member. Thus, Bulawayo and