How does Ayub Khan-Din portray conflict in the play East is East

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How does Ayub Khan-Din portray conflict in the play East is East

‘East is East’ is a play written by Ayub Khan din. It is autobiographical play based on Ayub Khan-Din’s experiences growing up as a mixed raced family in 1970’s Salford. He conveys to us that there were difficulties and conflicts growing up as an Anglo – Pakistani. The play’s main characters consist of the father George Khan who received a strict Pakistani and Muslim upbringing, the mother Ella who is English and their 6 Anglo-Pakistani children. The main theme of conflict that is based on a cultural and generation clash is made clear from the play – even before we’ve been introduced to it. This is illustrated to us by the title – “ East is East”. It is a reference to the Ballad of East and West, however it is also made clear by the names of the children, as well as where they work. Ironically the Khan family work in a fish and chip shop - a very typical British shop. When explaining how Ayub Khan-Din portrays conflict in the play ‘East is East’ we must first analyse the themes that cause conflict within the play. The significant themes that cause conflict are based on culture religion and generation, and how the children’s opinions on these themes contrast with their father George. In addition, we must also analyse what society in the 1970’s was like on top of its views on immigration and race during this time; as well as look into the background of the author Ayub Khan-Din given that the story is based on his personal experiences.

The play is set in Salford in Greater Manchester. The Khans live in white working class area, running the fish and chip shop. The eldest son Nazir is not mentioned in the play, but there are still six other children. The second eldest son is Abdul, aged 23 - who in the beginning of the play seemed very quiet and not wanting to disturb things, however becomes more assertive of himself later on. The third eldest is Tariq aged 21 who is best described as the rebel of the family. He hates “pakis” and considers himself to be English and associates himself with English culture rather than Pakistani. The next eldest sibling is Maneer who is very religious, and the only of George’s children who follows the religion and Pakistani culture. It is because of this and because he wears a skull cap that his brothers and sister call him by the nickname of “Ghandi”.  The second youngest is the only daughter Meenah who is 16 years old. Meenah is very tomboyish and a bit of a rebel. She loves to bully her younger brother – which bring us to Sajit. Sajit is the youngest child and is 12 years old. He is picked on because he is the youngest in the family and wears his signature parka jacket throughout most of the play – because it offers him security.

‘East is East’ is the first stage play written by Ayub Khan-Din. When all the historical events that formed the play’s background were happening he claimed, “I was living in a parka”. He uses the youngest child Sajit to reflect his emotional problems during this period. He refers to the film as  ‘a film about family tradition verses progress, about the values of the old verses those of the young - and those are themes I think everyone can relate to.’ When Ayub Khan-Din said this he was referring to three themes of the play that have contrasting views between the family – culture, generation and religion.

The issues of the time must be taken into consideration as well. During the early 1970’s there was some hostility from the English towards immigrants mostly due to the influence of the politician Enoch Powell and his famous “Rivers of Blood speech”, which caused much controversy, and provided racial tension. Another political issue of the time that is mentioned in the play is the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971, as George Khan is Pakistani he is obviously biased towards Pakistan.

Moreover, there are a few themes that are portrayed as causing conflict within the play. Culture for example, is a significant theme that causes many conflicts within the play. This is because of George’s traditional Pakistani values, which differ from the modern English values of their children – especially Tariq. It is blatantly difficult for George to give his children the same upbringing as himself, as they were Anglo-Pakistani growing up in an English environment. One of the first examples of conflict due to culture was in Scene 1 on page 5 when he says to Ella “All men think bad, my son having this thing has to be cutting”. This was in response to his discovering that his youngest son Sajit not being circumcised. This is tradition in Pakistani and Muslim culture. Moreover, there is the controversial issue of marriage, and what is acceptable and not acceptable within different cultures. For example, in Islam it is acceptable to have more than one wife, which is what George has. He has a first wife living in Pakistan, which his second wife Ella accepts only when she is not mentioned. This is why Ella reacts angrily towards Georges’ s suggestion of inviting his first wife to England in Scene 1.

“Why is big problem first wife always treat second wife like sister. All live together happy.” “You don’t need to I can read your bleeding mind like the back of me hand, so you can piss off if you think you’re bring her over here” He’s a bastard, sends silk to her in Pakistan and I’m lucky if I can afford a bit of net curtain for the bleeding parlour”. George compares things and society in England to Pakistan a lot especially if it is something that he dislikes or disagrees with. “Why he always go hide in bloody coal shed? Kid in Pakistan no like this.” This emphasises to us that he wants his son Sajit to behave like a normal child in Pakistan rather that to become westernised.

Some of the conflict portrayed in the play is caused because of George’s efforts to establish a traditional Pakistani environment within their home in England, and because of the fact that he expects certain customs and attitudes to remain the same. For instance, a woman’s role within the home. In Scene 1 Ella says to he best friend Annie: “Oh yeah, and when was the last time you saw George washing a baby or wiping a shitty arse? This quote informs us that Ella is frustrated with some of George’s attitudes as she is a born and raised English woman, therefore having different views on equality and the roles of women in society. When meeting Mr Shah, family and Mr Shah greet each other by saying either “Asalaam-a-lekum” or “Walekum-a-salaam”. Mr Shah also tells George that he has a nice family of “all boys, this is very good. God has blesses you”. Further emphasising that in Pakistani culture woman are not seen as equal to men. Tariq – the rebel, considers himself to be English and refers to Asian or Pakistani people as “paki’s”.  This is most likely because he has grown up in a white English area and wants to be considered as the same as everyone else, despite himself being half Pakistani. “I don’t fucking believe this, he can’t do this to me, I’m not gonna marry a Paki.” This highlights to the reader that Tariq hates and wants nothing to do with his Pakistani heritage, most likely because of his father’s ideas on how to bring up his children.

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On the other hand, he does sometimes associate himself with Pakistani culture especially when at home. “Tough. I hate Paki Music, go and make us some chapattis.”

When Tariq says this it puts emphasis on that Tariq is confused about what culture he actually is, and consequently contradicts himself, as he is basically suggesting that he hate Pakistani culture and then associating himself with it by eating traditional Pakistani food. “Paki enough when you want feeding aren’t you?” This further supports the idea that Tariq is confused about his cultural identity and the irony of his love for Pakistani food ...

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