Global and Local: 21st-Century British Fiction.: The Power of Perception

Monday, April 13, 2015

The Power of Perception

Throughout her novel, Brick Lane, Monica Ali addresses a variety of issues that today’s society is constantly battling. The story Ali tells covers gender roles, racism, and even crises involving natural original or ethnicity identity. In one form or another, each of these problems deals with perception: because one group of people sees another group of people in a certain way, there is an immediate reaction, and oftentimes a negative one. However, it is also important to look at how Ali highlights the misperceptions between two individuals, specifically those who are supposed to know each other intimately. Not only do these characters see each other in a warped way, they tend to not see themselves as they truly exist.

One of the most obvious examples of these misperceptions can be seen between Nazneen, the main character, and Karim, the young lover she has taken. Once Karim starts spending time more consistently at Nazneen’s flat, she decides to finally question why he has chosen her, what does he like about her. Karim responds, “You are the real thing” (321). During their conversation, Karim elaborates that Nazneen is not overly westernized, but she also is not overly religious. She is essentially just right for him. However, it is clear that Nazneen does not feel that way about herself. In that moment, she clearly gets uncomfortable and drops it on Karim that her husband, Chanu, is planning on taking his family home to Bangladesh.

Later on in the novel, Nazneen reflects a little deeper on how she and Karim saw untrue versions of each other. When she is finally breaking the affair off, Nazneen closes the conversation by saying, “But there was always a problem between us. How can I explain? I wasn’t me, and you weren’t you. From the very beginning to the very end, we didn’t see things. What we did – we made each other up” (382). With the passing of time, Nazneen became increasingly aware of herself and the situation she found herself in. When she finally started seeing things as they actually were, she was able to make the decision that fit her life the best.

Nazneen has a similar revelation as Chanu prepares for the departure back to Bangladesh. Throughout the novel, it remains unclear if Nazneen and Chanu truly love and understand each other. For a large portion of the novel, they seem to be just a man and a woman, having a family and growing older together with nothing really between them. However just as the family is set to leave for Bangladesh, Nazneen and Chanu discuss the upcoming trip. Up until the last moment, they go about packing and talking, fully aware Chanu will be alone without saying it aloud. Finally, they talk about it in as few words as possible, but both completely understand each other (402). Just as with Karim, it took Nazneen sometime to become aware of herself and the person she was involved with. Thus, Ali is pointing out that the truth that lies beyond the misperceptions is necessary to understand oneself and the world around.

1 comment:

UnknownApril 19, 2015 at 9:54 AM
The relationship Nazneen has with Karim is one based on false perception. As Elizabeth quoted in her post, Nazneen and Karim made each other up. The opposite relationship can be seen between Nazneen and Chanu. They are not ideal for each other, but with time are able to understand each other. Through that understanding comes love.
When Nazneen is telling Karim why she doesn't want to marry him she wonders how she perceived him. "How had she made him? She did not know. She had patched him together, working in the dark. She had made a quilt out of pieces of silk, scraps of velvet, and now that she held it up to the light the stitches showed up large and crude, and they cut across everything" (382). Nazneen had blindly created this persona of a man she wanted to be with. When she finally begins to understand Karim and what his ideals are she realizes that he is not what she wants in a man and she is not what he wants in a woman. As Karim and Nazneen begin to truly understand each other, their love fades.
The opposite can be said for the relationship between Nazneen and Chanu. In the beginning of their relationship, Nazneen sees Chanu as an ignorant child who only thinks of himself and is delusional about the future. However as their life together progresses, Nazneen begins to understand Chanu and his actions more. She realizes that though his actions are misguided, and his life is not exciting, Chanu has done the best that he can given the situation he has been placed in. She does not expect him to be a handsome, successful man and she loves him for who he is and what he has done to provide for the family. "'What is all this Big Man?' she whispered in his ear. Sadness crushed her chest. It pressed everything out of her and filled the hollows of her bones. 'What is all this Strong Man? Do you think that is why I love you? Is that what there is in you, to be loved?'" (402). With the understanding of her husband, Nazneen develops a love for him. This love is more stable than the love Nazneen had for Karim. Instead of breaking down when she comes to know him, Nazneen's love for Chanu is strengthened because she comes to know him.
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