Shame Lesson Plan

The narrator remarks that all migrants leave their past behind (60). What is significant about this statement? How is this idea being developed in the text?

This statement is in reference to Bilquis, who must abandon her hometown in order to pursue her marriage prospects in the wake of her father's death (amongst other factors). The statement is also made in reference to the narrator's own experiences immigrating. The statement is significant because it admits the difficulty of immigration, but doesn't seem to make a moral judgment about whether or not this reality is just; it simply is. This sets a tone that novel will likely treat many of these issues without much...