This paper applies the post-colonial theory to three novels—Crescent by
Diana Abu-Jaber, Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran, and The Hundred-
Foot Journey by Richard Morais—to show the role that ethnic food from
“home” plays for diaspora immigrants. To do so, it applies the concepts of
ethnicity, cultural dominance, the third space, exoticism, stereotypes, the
subaltern, Radhakrishnan’s concept of three phases of migration, Bhabha’s
concepts of hybridity and imitation, and Said’s concept of exile.
The paper consists of four sections. The Introduction focuses on the three focal
writers and their representation of ethnic food, explores post-colonial theory, and
adopts related concepts for the analysis of the three novels. Section 1 applies the
abovementioned concepts to Abu-Jaber’s Crescent, considering ethnic food in
the context of diaspora. Section 2 focuses on Pomegranate Soup by Mehran,
and how cultural background affects the characters’ identities in relation to food.
Section 3 explores Morais’s The Hundred-Foot Journey, focusing on the character
of Hassan, who was exposed to Indian food and its aromas from the moment he was
born. Section 4 aims to compare the aforementioned three novels in regard to their
treatment of immigrants and the connection between ethnic food and their identity. It
also links the authors with their characters.
Key words: Food Literature, Comparative Literature, Diaspora, Hybridity, Ethnic Food and Post colonialism
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