Abstract:
This study is based on Kamila Shamsie’s novels Salt and Saffron and Burnt Shadows. It reveals the
fundamental factors that construct the identity of the characters in the selected novels and their
struggles in maintaining that identity. A hybrid identity is an identity made by distinct cultures,
nationalities, classes, and societies. The hybrid identities do not have a stand to be represented and
they continuously struggle in the numerous phases of their lives. The researcher has explored
Shamsie’s characters, who have been influenced by these distinctive factors while struggling to be
identified. It also explores shifts in the identity by analysing Shamsie’s novels. The hybrid nature
of the characters and their associations with the struggles has been brought to surface. The study
has been focused on various instances, the characters, plot, structure, and content of both novels.
Bhabha's interpretation of hybridity as a model has been followed to interpret the very concept of
this dissertation. The study concludes that the struggle for identity can have diverse effects on the
characters presented in the selected novels and how the characters are struggling to be identified on
various grounds.
