ADOLESCENT EXPERIENCE OF UNITY IN DIVERSITY: A MULTICULTURAL APPROACH TO JULIA ALVAREZ' RETURN TO SENDER

Abstract

Multiculturalism celebrates diversity in different cultures and ethnic groups. This study analyzes multicultural tenets/debates in Julia Alvarez’ novel, Return to Sender (2009) in the light of Charles Taylor (1931) and Bhikhu Parekh's (1935) theoretical framework of multiculturalism . Alvarez (1950), who works for the recognition of Mexican culture in the U.S, is a LatinoAmerican author. Her works explore the themes of quest for identity and assimilation in multi cultural settings like America. Return to Sender is her young adult novel, which deals with the experiences of a Mexican immigrant family in America. Exploring the nuanced aspects of identity crisis and misrecognition of different minority groups, the study investigates the complexities and challenges of individuals in a multicultural society which demands equal status and dignity for all majority and minority groups. Being qualitative in nature, the study chooses to analyze the select text through close reading and exegesis. The broader impact of the study signifies the complexities and real-life-problems of multicultural thoughts that are directly associated with multicultural rights, socio-economic status, and the role of young adults—in establishing their individual as well as national identities in multicultural settings like America.