Identity and homeland in Susan Abulhawa's Mornings in Jenin

The present study aims to analyze the concepts of identity and homeland as represented in Susan Abulhawa's novel Mornings in Jenin (2010). By following the story of four generations, the novel portrays the attachment and the sense of belonging to a homeland, exploring the strong connection to the land and the deep sense of identity the characters show amid different traumas and their ramifications on the characters and their bonds to the land and identity, and deeply tracing the emotional effects of diaspora, exile, and dislocation on the characters' identities and ties to the homeland. The thesis examines how the novel illustrates the strong attachment of the characters to the land and their indomitable sense of identity. The novel explores the profound impact of the characters' deep-rooted connection to the land on their sense of belonging and existence, as well as the traumatic experiences challenging them. More precisely, the thesis will approach the novel as a literary narrative charting the impacts of exile, diaspora, loss, and displacement on various characters' sense of home and identity formations. To this end, through the lens of postcolonial literary criticism, Edward Said's theory of Orientalism is employed as an analytical and insightful framework. Postcolonial theory, which accentuates the impacts of external factors on the inhabitants and such issues as homeland and identity and the processes that create societies, can be utilized to interpret and analyze the novel in relation to the conceptualizations of identity and homeland. It suggests that identity is a dynamic process shaped by historical, cultural, heritage, and discursive factors. Said's theory is essential for examining the case of identity, imaginative geographies, and notions such as homeland and identity. Moreover, the theoretical framework is pivotal for a thorough comprehension of the roles of history, cultural heritage, the impact of experiences of suffering, and the sense of loss created by diaspora, exile, and dislocation in identity formation and the relation between the characters and sense of home. The study concludes that experiences of trauma strengthen and crystallize the intrinsic ties of the characters in the novel to the land and their identity. Based on the reading of Mornings in Jenin, the main argument in this thesis is that the novel's characters' steadfast attachment to the land and ancestral heritage shape and determine their identity. However, despite the traumatic experiences that challenge the characters' ties to their roots and sense of home, places, and existence, these challenges have ultimately strengthened and solidified their bond to the homeland and perception of identity, as represented in the novel. Consequently, the novel suggests that the characters' connection to the land plays a pivotal role, even in the face of hardships, in sustaining and maintaining their identity, their being, and a sense of belonging that persists across generations; thereby, the concepts of homeland and identity are interconnected.