Ethnic Minorities and Mechanisms of Survival in Selected American and Iraqi Narratives

Abstract

This paper aims at investigating the individual’s mechanism of survival in ethnic writings; it takes as examples for the study the American novel I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou and the Iraqi novel Hither and Thither by Inaam Kachachi. The paper starts with introductory remarks on the concept of “ethnicity” and its relation to the Other, in the light of Colonialism and hegemony. Stereotype characteristics of ethnic minorities, which are often presented in mainstream literature, are outlined. Then the paper moves to examine certain patterns of behavior, that spring from the survival instinct detected in African-American characters in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. This is followed by investigating the devices of survival of Iraqi Assyrian characters in Hither and Thither. The paper ends with a conclusion that summarizes the final findings of the study in which the necessity of enhancing values of fraternity and humanity in multicultural societies is stressed in order to disarm the spirit of hostility and prejudice that threaten security and peace.