The Buddha of Suburbia Essay Questions

Karim and other Indian people in his neighborhood fear being attacked or having their properties destroyed. Why?

Karim mentions that his neighborhood has changed drastically over the past few years. This is primarily due to the rise of the National Font, a far-right extremist group that gained momentum in the mid-1970s. A major component of the National Front's platform included capitalizing on a growing concern surrounding South Asian migration to Britain. During this time period, there was an upsurge in hate crimes and violent attacks targeting South Asians and South Asian communities. In the novel, members of the National Front party throw a pig head through Anwar's store window, symbolizing the mockery of halal foods. Additionally, people claiming to be from the National Front violently beat Changez in the street.

Music is a recurring motif in the novel. What does it represent, and why is it important?

Considering that The Buddha of Suburbia is partially based on Kureishi's own experience growing up in 1970s Britain, music was an essential part of the cityscape and the culture for youth during this decade. The 1960s were an important decade for British music; it overtook the rock-and-roll world stage. In this way, rock culture was seductive and appealing to many teens in the 1970s. It represented a lifestyle of fun, adventure, and fandom.

In addition, the 1970s was an important decade for the emergence of punk music. Punk music is a genre rooted in its political and anti-establishment lyrics. It allowed musicians and audiences to vocalize government frustrations and protest injustices. In addition, punk shows were a gathering space for the subculture. They offered a safe space for people to hang out and organize politically.

How is the novel a coming-of-age story?

In The Buddha of Suburbia, the reader follows the protagonist, Karim Amir, over the course of nearly a decade. At the beginning of the story, Karim is quite innocent. He has many dreams, fantasies, and visions of a freer life. As the story progresses, Karim's worldview expands. He begins to realize that many of the things he held on to so certainly are called into question, and he learns to assess things more critically.

Karim's innocence is first broken when he witnesses his father's extramarital affair firsthand. This prompts Karim to re-evaluate his ideas of family, fidelity, responsibility, and trust. In addition, he begins to see his parents beyond their role as his guardians. Instead, they are regular people that are flawed and also trying to figure things out.

When Karim's dream of acting in the theater finally comes true, he realizes that it is not at all what he had hoped it to be. His experience prompts him to realize that many of the people in the industry that he admired are power-hungry and racist. Karim must try to carve out a place for himself in the art world, and this challenge causes him to mature quite rapidly.

The final "chapter" of the story involves Karim's trip to New York. While there, he has a brutal confrontation with Pyke, his theater director. He also reconnects with Charlie, and he realizes that superstardom is not all that it's cut out to be. The experiences that Karim has in New York pave the way for his decision to move back to London and pursue new acting opportunities. Karim realizes that throughout the story, his friends and loved ones have grown too. Ultimately, Karim is able to recognize the strides he has made by admiring the progress of those that he loves.

How is race explored in The Buddha of Suburbia?

Karim, the novel's protagonist, is mixed race; his mother is white, while his father is Indian. Although Karim has been born and raised in the UK, he feels that he is too brown to be British and too British to be Indian. In this way, Karim carves out space for himself at the intersection of these two identities.

Karim's budding career as an actor further complicates his own relationship to his racial identity. He is typecast as Indian or brown characters, and at times he is belittled and forced to perform these roles in caricature-like depictions. He is often humiliated, discouraged, and reminded of his outsider status in the white-dominated world of 1970s theater. Haroon, similarly, struggles to find his place in the professional sphere. While his yoga guru sessions are successful and somewhat fulfilling, he also finds himself playing into tropes of a stereotypical Indian character. In these two examples, the audience can analyze the connections between capitalism/wealth generation and racism/identity politics.

How is Jamila's arranged marriage ironic?

Jamila's father, Anwar, arranges for his daughter to marry after he sees her growing progressively more politically involved and radical. In alignment with the Indian traditions he was raised to respect, he hopes for his daughter to marry a wealthy and upwardly-mobile Indian man. It is ironic that the husband-to-be is Changez, an unambitious and unaware character with a mild sex addiction. Anwar hopes that Changez can take over the family store, but Changez blatantly refuses to work, explaining that he isn't "that kind of immigrant." In addition, he and Jamila work out an agreement in which they are housemates and friends instead of a couple. Although this unconventional path is at first difficult to follow, Jamila and Changez learn to develop respect for one another and obey the boundaries they have put in place. In these ways, Anwar's choice truly comes back to bite him.