Racism, Success, and Identity Theme Analysis

Karim begins his narration by introducing himself as, "an Englishman born and bred, almost." His "almost" refers to the fact that his father, Haroon, emigrated from India twenty years earlier and married an Englishwoman. Because of his Indian heritage, Karim often finds that he's unable to fully embrace his English identity while he's simultaneously forced to confront uncomfortable aspects of Indian culture—or what others believe to be Indian culture.

Karim characterizes where his family lives in the suburbs as a locale that's inarguably English, despite the ethnicity of its inhabitants. To this point, he mentions that Dad spent the last twenty years trying to be as English as possible, and he has no interest in ever returning to India. Because of this, at the start of the novel, Karim thinks of himself as English more than anything else. Furthermore, despite the fact that Dad embraced his new home, Karim finds his father embarrassingly Indian. Dad still struggles to locate himself in the city, despite having lived there for so long, and constantly asks for directions. Karim deems these qualities those of a recent immigrant, and to counteract his embarrassment from his father, Karim mostly rejects the idea of being Indian.

When Karim accompanies Dad to Eva's house, where Dad gives a talk on Eastern philosophy and leads a yoga and meditation workshop, he learns that his father's Indian identity is exceptionally appealing to the white, affluent individuals assembled there. Karim finds this especially interesting because Dad is Muslim, and much of what he's speaking about is either Buddhist or Taoist. This is indicative of the widespread ignorance and flat out racism of the white Londoners in regards to Asia as a whole—they come to Eva's for Eastern philosophy, never mind that not all Eastern philosophy is the same. However, Dad uses their misconceptions to his advantage: these "appearances" facilitate his early romantic relationship with Eva and later provide him the means to leave Mum for Eva. This impresses upon Karim early on that though being Indian can lead to success, it's also an identity subject to a variety of outside thoughts and opinions, not necessarily one that Karim will get to control all the time.

When Karim stumbles into acting, he comes face to face with the more malevolently racist side of England. Eva introduces Karim to Shadwell, a boring but up-and-coming theatre director who is putting on a production of The Jungle Book. Karim, as a half-Indian young man, is perfect for the role of Mowgli. Though Karim is thrilled when he lands his role (Mowgli is a leading role with a reasonable production company, both of which appeal to Karim's vanity and pride), he becomes disenchanted quickly with the way that Shadwell wants to use Karim's Indian heritage to tell a very specific story. Shadwell first insists that Karim cover his entire body in dark makeup, and then asks Karim to speak in an exaggerated Indian accent. The accent in particular angers Karim: because he was born and raised in the southern suburbs of London, he speaks with the corresponding southern London accent. Essentially, Shadwell obscures or erases every English aspect of Karim's identity to create a caricature of an Indian person, something that Karim finds humiliating. The play is successful and leads to Karim's later involvement with the prestigious director Matthew Pyke, which shows Karim that embracing his Indian identity (or what white directors think that identity is) can lead to success. It's worth noting, however, that both Dad and Jamila bristle at Karim's portrayal of Mowgli. Dad insists that Rudyard Kipling is horrible and racist, and Jamila sadly tells Karim that he's playing into white stereotypes.

The end of the novel suggests that, although Karim believes Jamila on an emotional level, there's a certain allure to the financial and social success he experiences when he does portray Indian characters or caricatures on stage or on television. His portrayal of a Changez-like character in Pyke's play leads to an audition for a television show, in which Karim will play an Indian character. Karim recognizes that the production will be a shoddy one and the character is, again, a caricature, though he decides to take the part anyway. In this way, the novel suggests that, though the racism Karim and the others experience ranges in severity from horrific to simply demeaning, the subsequent financial gains that come about from that racism cannot be ignored—even though accepting those financial gains means, for Karim, denying his identity as an Englishman and burying his humanity in favor of success.