Diaspora and its effects on marginalised characters' identities in Lainy Malkani's Sugar, Sugar and the works of Milton Murayama.

Abstract

This article combines the ideas of Lainy Malkani’s Sugar, Sugar (2017) with those of Nisei author Milton Muruyama. Using Muruyama’s celebrated All I Asking For Is My Body (1975) as a touchstone, the article presents ideas related to the economic and political impact of diaspora and its existence within colonial infrastructures. The article uses examples from both texts to forge links between colonialism, diaspora and the individual, concluding on the effects of these overarching power structures on identity.