An Existential Scrutiny of Cultural Displacement and Identity Formation in Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Admiring Silence

This paper explores how Abdulrazak Gurnah’s novel Admiring Silence depicts the emotional and psychological impact of cultural displacement using John W. Berry’s Acculturation Theory. It deals with the migrant narrator’s move from Africa to England that leads to identity struggles and emotional isolation and the different acculturation strategies he undergoes and how he adopts the values and practices of another culture in the course of his stay in a new country and also retains his original identity often ending up feeling marginalized and silenced. It also delves into themes of alienation and the quest for meaning in a new culture. Ultimately, displacement is an ongoing psychological challenge, not just a temporary phase, and highlights how memory and identity are repeatedly negotiated in the migrant’s experience.