Sameness within difference or difference within sameness?

Abstract

In the era of globalisation and the emergence of multicultural societies the significant issue of who we should become arises. Modern cultural as well as literary models of merging cultural characteristics advocate a vision of overall uniqueness, thus contributing to the creation of a unified, yet diversified world community. The following article concentrates on the motivation of the process of assimilation observed in migrants, which is identified by implementing Rene Girard’s theory of the triangle of desire and Levinas’ hypothesis of the face-to-face encounter. The presented analysis is based on the liaison between characters created by Monica Ali in her novel “Brick Lane”. Moreover, it points to the role of silence as a tool for the superficial preservation of the desired image.