Blood of The Sun Triology: "Maps" Summary
Nuruddin Farah's "Maps" one of his novels from the Blood of The Sun Trilogy was the coming of age story of a young boy name Asker. Asker who was orphaned as a child found as both his parents were killed. Asker is raised by Misra (an Ethiopian outsider) and he becomes to see her as his "birth-mother" forming a bond with her that he believes can never be broken, a bond that can similar to that of twins,a cosmic bond but when the Ogaden war breaks out Askar is separated from Misra. As Akser grows into adulthood he struggles with his identity, ethnicity and his loyalty; Asker is constantly asking himself: should he stay loyal to Misra, the one that protects him and raises him as her own or stay loyal to his people.
The central theme of Maps is identity – personal, familial, and national. Nuruddin Farah uses all three narrative perspectives (first person, second person, and third person) throughout the novel to examine the theme of identity. Farah constructs this multilayered central theme of identity in various expressions: personal, familial, and national. Throughout the novel, Askar endeavors to comprehend his identity in a complicated environment of multiple and often times, transforming identities.
Read more about this topic: Nuruddin Farah
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