Struggle for Self-discovery in Anita Desai’s The Zigzag Way

Abstract

Anita Desai's The Zigzag Way stands as an outstanding text depicting multicultural strands in postcolonial situation. This work basically focuses on the zigzag journey of one of the main characters, Eric, who tries to establish his identity in an alien culture with his sincere and ceaseless effort. Being an American of Cornish origin, Eric tries to be familiar with unfamiliar culture, meets different people from different origins and asks many questions about the true history of Mexico. But his quest for 'root' for safety, security and identity ends with ghostly reality. Eric's encounter with his grandmother's ghost at a local celebration called La Noche de los Muertos makes him more confused about his identity and puts him in cultural dilemma. Both in America and Mexico, Eric does not realize as 'one' rather he feels as 'other'. So, he is a displaced individual torn between American and Mexican culture. The link between his multiplicity of identity from past to present has no reconciliation. This failure of reconciliation has generated a problem of identity crisis.