In Exit West, Mohsin Hamid constructs a unique geography of exile through mysterious doors that connect spaces of war with spaces of surreal. Framed by the juxtaposition of these spaces, this paper focuses on protagonist Saeed’s escape path traversing these doors. It analyzes how his trajectory-from the blood-soaked battlegrounds to the ordered utopia of the West-constitutes a liminal experience. The violence endemic to the war-torn space stands in sharp opposition to the alienation pervading the surreal space. Functioning simultaneously as a physical passageway and a psychological fissure, the door both enables a privileged escape and remains an unhealable symbol of trauma. By deconstructing the duality of the door and the paradoxical nature of the exile path, this paper critiques the Western-centric myth of salvation inherent in traditional exile narratives. It elucidates how Hamid employs spatial politics to rewrite the global refugee epic.
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Share and Cite
Zhao, B. (2024) Doors and Divergent Paths: Escape from War Zone to Liminality in the Surreal Space of Exit West. Scientific Research Bulletin, 1(6), 7-13.