The Dysfunctional Father in Hanif Kureishi’s Novel The Buddha of Suburbia

Authors

  • Walid Messaoudi University of Jordan
  • Samira Al-Khawaldeh University of Jordan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1207.10

Keywords:

the dysfunctional father, family, dress, Hanif kureishi

Abstract

This study seeks to offer a comprehensible understanding of the father figure in family and how the father character in Hanif kureishi’s “The Buddha of Suburbia” becomes dysfunctional to some extent. However, critics, historians or literary figures concentrate less on the structure and more on the description such as a happy family or a sad family, etc. Add to that, writers succeed to depict the image of a ruling father who owns everything inside the family including his wife and children. Also, they may portray a successful mother who manages to take care of her children in the absence of a husband. Nevertheless, fathers as abusive and dysfunctional in particular families are seldom taken into consideration; perhaps because of the patriarchal stereotypes in certain communities. Thus, Fatherhood is the main reason to family destruction and disintegration in contradiction to the patriarchal system that positions the father as the symbol of unity and at the same time of power.

Author Biographies

Walid Messaoudi, University of Jordan

Faculty of English Language and Literature

Samira Al-Khawaldeh, University of Jordan

Faculty of English Language and Literature

References

Allen, J., & Moore, J. (2016). Troubling the functional/dysfunctional family binary through the articulation of functional family estrangement. Western Journal of Communication, 81(3), 281–299. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2016.1250156

Brandth, B., & Kvande, E. (1998). Masculinity and child care: The reconstruction of fathering. The Sociological Review, 46(2), 293–313. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-954x.00120

Butler, J. (1988). Performative acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory. Theatre Journal, 40(4), 519. https://doi.org/10.2307/3207893

Clapton, G. (2017). Scottish Fathers and Family Services. Scottish Affairs, 26(4), 460–477. https://doi.org/10.3366/scot.2017.0210

Cook, S. J. (2013). Reading clothes: Literary dress in William Faulkner and Erskine Caldwell. The Southern Literary Journal, 46(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1353/slj.2013.0013

Corboz‐Warnery, A. et al. (1993). Systemic analysis of father‐mother‐baby interactions: The Lausanne Triadic Play. Infant Mental Health Journal, 14(4), 298–316. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0355(199324)14:4<298::aid-imhj2280140405>3.0.co;2-#

Finch, J. (2007). Displaying families. Sociology, 41 (1), 65–81. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038507072284

Friedlander, S., & Walters, M. G. (2010). When a child rejects a parent: Tailoring the intervention to fit the problem. Family Court Review, 48(1), 98–111. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-1617.2009.01291.x

Kim, A., & Pyke, K. (2015). Taming tiger dads. Gender & Society, 29(4), 509–533. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243215584602

Kureishi, H. (1990). The buddha of suburbia. Faber and Faber.

Larsson, P. (2010). Reflexive methodology: New Vistas for Qualitative Research (second edition), by Mats Alvesson and Kaj Sköldberg. European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling, 12(1), 89–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642531003746857

Lee, K. (2008). Fragmenting fatherhoods?: Fathers, fathering and family diversity (thesis). City University.

McIntosh, C. (1968). Pamela's clothes. ELH, 35(1), 75. https://doi.org/10.2307/2872337

Segal, L. (2007). Slow motion: Changing masculinities, changing men (Third Edition). Palgrave Macmillan.

Sellenet, C. (2005). Les pères vont bien!: Comment Les Hommes Affirment Et Assument Aujourd'hui Leur paternité. . Flammarion.

Stewart, F. (1999).] Book Reviews: Constructing Fatherhood: Discourses and Experiences. Deborah, L and Lesley, B. London, Sage, 1998, VI, 176.[ Journal of Sociology, vol. 35, no. 1, 1999, pp. 97–98., doi:10.1177/144078339903500109.

Watts, R. J. (1991). Power in family discourse. Mouton de Gruyter.

Downloads

Published

2022-07-04

Issue

Section

Articles