All migrants leave their pasts behind, although some try to pack it into bundles and boxes-but on the journey something seeps out of the treasured mementoes and old photographs, until even their owners fail to recognize them, because it is the fate of migrants to be stripped of history, to stand naked amidst the scorn of strangers upon whom they see rich clothing, the brocades of continuity and the eyebrows of belonging..
In Salman Rushdie's "Shame," the experience of migration is portrayed as a profound transformation that compels individuals to leave their past behind. Migrants attempt to bring their memories and belongings with them, but on their journeys, these items lose their significance and essence. The act of migration strips them of their previous identities and histories, leading to a sense of disconnection from their origins.
This loss forces migrants into a vulnerable...
