An American Brat

An American Brat, by Bapsi Sidhwa is a coming of age novel of one Feroza Ginwalla, a 16-year-old Pakistani girl. Feroza is sent to America by her parents as precaution to the fundamentalism that is overtaking Pakistan and their daughter. Feroza is sent to stay with her uncle Manek. From immediate arrival in the United States Feroza is bombarded by cultural shock and difference. This is made very evident by Sidhwa in how Feroza, while in customs, is nearly 'attacked' (verbally) by the security check guard. This instance was the first of many cultural shocks that Feroza experiences while in America. At first Feroza is very apprehensive to give into the new society of American culture and sticks hard to Pakistan beliefs and ways but she slowly adapts and accepts Maneks views of how Pakistan has affected their lives.

There are three points during this novel that show big change for Feroza. These three times are of course tied to when Feroza moves locations. The first move is of course when she comes to America. The second time is when she is presented with the opportunity to attend a Morman college and moves away from her uncle. The third is when she moves from college to Colorado with her newfound friend. Over each transverse of states Feroza becomes more enthralled and drawn into American ideals and her overall freedom which she possesses. This freedom Feroza uses as an opportunity to define herself and what she wants, all the new opportunities which she capitalizes on really lead to her character development. Feroza goes from a hesitant view of acceptance towards America to the overall yearning to define herself and separate from Pakistan, done through her romance with David, but still live a Pakistani life.

This novel seems to be a great representation of what it is actually like for an immigrant to be traveling through a country of which they know little to nothing about besides stories. This novel makes me intrigued by what I might experience this summer while I backpack through Europe. I don't think that I will find anything as extreme as Feroza for the cultures are not as different but the people to people interactions that I experience might bring about some form of culture shock.