Transcending Geopolitical Boundaries: An Analysis of Liminality in Mohsin Hamid's Exit West

Abstract

This paper explores Mohsin Hamid’s novel Exit West which relates the themes of migration, both physical and cultural, and the ability to belong through the use of Victor Turner’s theory of liminiality. Setting in the magical doors of the novel demonstrates the voyage of the main characters – Nadia and Saeed – crossing and leaving behind the conventional poltical divisions. Analyzing the sampled text and its type of narrative as liminal based on close reading and thematic analysis, this research aims at determining the nature and extent of liminal phenomena in the novel. Published in 2017, the novel’s very essence is an attempt at contesting traditional geopolitical divisions and portraying what Al Sayyad (2006) might refer to as the New World Order’s regime of forced migration as a natural predisposition of humanity. I find Turner’s theory of liminality particularly beneficial in defining the given characters’ transitional states, as the concept accentuates the rather change which is integral to diasporic experiences. This analysis highlights the role of the novel in addressing the viewers to the various experiences in the global migration phenomenon with an understanding and compassion. This analysis highlighted the need to support the writings of authors including prisoners like Mohsin to help develop insight into global matters such as migration. In this respect, the novel speaks about migration in a sensitive and nuanced manner, thus contributing to comic convey of different angles of the topic which is discussed in various mainstream media as a mere issue of people crossing borders. The further application of Turner’s theory enhances this understanding since it shows how the book acts as a reminder that literature can be used to explain and even dissect the society and its phenomena such as migration.