Introduction
It is worth noting that, in the novel Maps by Nuruddin Farah, the writer examines the problems of national identity through a gender-oriented interpretation of the history of Somalia. In particular, the author portrays the country through the image of a woman who is persecuted by several men, from whom she later gets pregnant but experiences miscarriages in three cases (Farah, 2012). It is important that this allegory represents the five lands of Somalia. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the issue of national self-identification raised in the novel.
Discussion
The author builds an interesting line of narration in which the general story is transformed into a personal one, and topographical features are narrated at the physiological level. One of the heroines, Misra, is followed by five men and, in consequence, they betray her, and the woman becomes a victim of patriarchal tyranny (Farah, 2012). Through the biological rhythms of the heroine, the reader can draw conclusions about the fate of the nation. Meanwhile, Askar (the main character of the novel and Misra’s son) can interpret the political destiny of the nation through the behavior of his mother.
Interestingly, Askar is the son of Somali patriots who gave their lives for the freedom of Ogaden, and his character embodies the striving for nationalism and independence. Moreover, he is a symbol of the liberation of the country from colonialism; however, it is crucial to understand the context in which this symbol is developed. Askar forms his national aspirations in the camp of the enemy. When he was a child, he lost his mother, and Misra decided to take care of him (Farah, 2012). Notably, she was neither his biological mother nor did she belong to the same ethnos as he did.
The national identity of the woman is also quite complicated since she was the daughter of an Amhara nobleman and an Oromo woman. She lived in Ethiopia in a Somali family and was perceived by Somalis as Ethiopian. Nonetheless, Misra had more in common with people living on the captured land rather than with the invaders (Farah, 2012). The complexity of her identification was aggravated by the fact that she felt herself a prisoner in the country and, at the same time, in Ethiopia, she was a slave in sexual and social terms. At the end of the book, Misra was brutally murdered, and her body was dismembered into five parts, just like the territory inhabited by Somali tribes.
In his book, Farah touched upon an important issue, which is the clash of the morality of the patriarchal society with the new worldview (Farah, 2012). The fate of the main characters reflects the writer’s attempt to comprehend the peculiarities of the collective consciousness and the individual behavior of people who belong to different social categories in a changing socio-cultural environment. Through the fate of Misra and Askar, the author seeks to explain both to the reader and himself what is happening in the country.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that the novel by Farah is a mirror that reflects the life of Somali people. According to the author, the history of Somalia is made up of different human fates. Through the main characters of his book, he shows the complex feelings experienced by people who try to achieve self-identification in a country facing political and economic instability and pronounced patriarchal tyranny.
Reference
Farah, N. (2012). Maps. New York, NY: Arcade Publishing.