Cleft Identities in Japin’s The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi

Abstract

This research concludes that the identities of the two Ashanti princes Kwasi Boachi and Kwame Poku have been lost due to intercultural mixing. African and European culture is incompatible so that to retrieve the cultural loss the princes cultivate into deep memory or nostalgia which is only the source of compensation of loss. Slowly and gradually the African princes start to mimic what the Hollanders do. As a result hybrid identity of the immigrant is formulated. On the other side due to long gap of connection to Kumasi, the princes have forgotten their Twi tone. This research establishes the formation of hybrid identity, nostalgia or memory and amnesia as the major causes to make the identities cleft. This research also concludes that European society or white superior mentality and racial prejudices are the causes to formulate the cleft identities of the princes.