HIERARCHY OF NEEDS: A PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDY OF SHAMSIE’S KARTOGRAPHY

Abstract

This study maps the hierarchy of needs, a psychological pyramid, in Kamila Shamsie’s Kartography. Shamsie, a British Pakistani novelist, minutely examines the hybrid identities of Diaspora communities in her novels. The model, hierarchy of needs, devised by Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist, has five stages of needs: Physiological, Safety, Belonging and Love, Esteem, Self-actualization, which culminate into its last stage of Self-Transcendence. These deficiency needs and growth needs trigger mental and physical displacements, stimulate action in all the characters of the novel and transform them to accept/reject themselves and the society. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs theory provides a useful lens to examine the characters in Kartography where the characters' motivations and actions are driven by their needs at different levels. These needs are ranked in a hierarchical order, where each level must be fulfilled before the next one can be achieved. For instance, Raheen's search for her true identity and her desire to uncover the truth about her family history can be seen as a pursuit of self-actualization, the highest level in Maslow's Hierarchy. In contrast, her mother's overprotectiveness towards her can be explained by her need for safety and security. Moreover, the Capability Approach provides a complementary framework to Maslow's theory by examining how differential access to resources impacts an individual's ability to achieve their goals and fulfill their needs. By using this approach to analyze the setting of Karachi, we can assess how transportation infrastructure affects individuals' capabilities and opportunities in a society. The high and low levels of needs connect past with present and exhibit how both build human personality.