Cultural Identity in Kureishi

In The Buddha of Suburbia, both Charlie and Karim are exposed to more than one culture. However, they react differently to this cultural blend. Karim has been surrounded by Indian culture because his father is from India. His family lives around London, so Karim has grown up amidst English culture. In addition, he takes an extended trip to America and lives in New York City for a while thus adding American culture to Karim’s life. Charlie, on the other hand, is English and born to a family from England. He gains fame, settles in America, and handles his exposure to a new culture differently than Karim does. The two characters are very different from one another but both make interesting adaptations to multiple cultures.

Karim seems troubled by his cultural make up as a young person. He recalls being picked on at school and wanting to fit in. Karim seems to feel mostly English which makes sense, as he has been raised in and around London for his whole life. However, he is exposed to Indian ways through his father and especially through Anwar and his family. Karim is content to be living in England and becomes very excited at the prospect of living in London. He is not sure what he wants from life, but feels that the city offers him the best possibility of finding out. As he grows up, Karim gets involved in acting. He gets to live and work in the city of London and meets many people. In one of his most interesting experiences on stage, Karim portrays a version of his Indian friend Changez for an English audience. Karim is constantly aware of his dual identity as an Englishman from an Indian family. To further complicate things, Karim takes a trip to America to perform a play and stays for a while with his soon to be stepbrother Charlie. Though Karim enjoys his time with Charlie up until the end of his stay, it is clear at this point that he considers London and its culture to be what really defines him. He is eager to return to London and happy to be back after his return.

Charlie differs from Karim in many ways. He fits in with any group he wants to get involved with and ends up as a famous musician. Karim always admires Charlie and seeks his acceptance, perhaps because Charlie gets along with others so easily while Karim struggles due to his multicultural background. Charlie spends his entire childhood living in England and moves to America once he has already become famous as an adult. Karim notices how the Americans really seem to admire Charlie and his music, and Charlie clearly has no problem attracting women. While Karim tried to de-emphasize his Indian identity and fully assimilate in England, Charlie has emphasized his English accent to make himself more interesting and notable in America. Karim sees that the people like Charlie’s Englishness and that Charlie has no trouble fitting into American society despite his English background. While Karim struggles to find his place in the world, Charlie is able to become a part of any group he chooses. Karim downplays his background when Charlie accents his. In very different ways, these two characters show how exposure to different cultures adds various layers to a person’s identity.