Outline the autobiographical information given by Joseph Azam.

Examine the significance the author’s names have for him.

You are taking part in a workshop titled “Displacement and Identity in Literature.” You have to hand in an article about the struggles of integration, discussing the statement “It is not easy to be stranded between two worlds, the sad truth is that we can never be completely comfortable in either world” by the novelist Sharon Kay Penman.

Write the article, also referring to the text at hand and materials studied in class, such as the short stories by Lahiri, Levy, Pandit, and Shahraz.

Joseph Azam is an Afghan-born writer whose family fled Afghanistan in the early 1980s when he was still a baby. Before settling in the United States, the family lived in India and Germany.

Growing up in the U.S., Azam struggled with his first name, Mohammad, because he feared that it would make him stand out as different. At school he preferred to use his middle name, Yousuf, instead of his first name. When he entered high school, his father officially registered him as Joseph Azam to help him fit into American society. Although this made life at school easier, Azam felt guilty because he thought he was distancing himself from his family and his cultural background.

After graduating from high school, Azam attended college, graduate school and law school before pursuing a career in corporate America.

At the age of eighteen, during the process of applying for U.S. citizenship and a passport, he had to decide which name to register. Instead of choosing either his Afghan or his American name, he combined them and registered as Joseph Mohammad Yousuf Azam. In this way, he accepted both his Afghan heritage and his American identity.

Throughout the autobiographical text, Joseph Azam’s different names symbolize the conflict between his Afghan heritage and his wish to belong to American society. Their significance changes as he grows older and finally comes to accept all parts of his identity.

As a young child, his first name, Mohammad, becomes a source of fear and insecurity. Every new school year, he worries that his teachers will pronounce it in front of the class because he expects it to mark him as different from his classmates (ll. 1–12). For him, the name represents his immigrant background and makes him feel like an outsider. To avoid unwanted attention, he asks teachers to call him by his middle name, Yousuf (annotation to ll. 4/5). Unlike many of his friends, however, he does not choose an English name himself because he believes this would be dishonest and would disappoint his parents (ll. 8–12). This shows that even as a child he feels torn between fitting in and remaining loyal to his family.

When his father registers him as Joseph before he starts high school, the new name initially seems to solve his problem (ll. 14–20). Joseph is an ordinary American name that allows him to blend in more easily and frees him from constantly worrying about how others perceive him. At the same time, however, the name change feels like “a death” (l. 21). It seems to erase an important part of his past, including his family's journey from Kabul via India and Germany to the United States (ll. 22–26). Consequently, Joseph begins to associate his American name with guilt because he feels that accepting it means abandoning his family’s history and the name his grandfather carefully chose for him (ll. 27–30).

Throughout high school and beyond, the author experiences an ongoing identity conflict. While the name Joseph helps him succeed in education and later in his professional career, it also makes him question whether it is worse to appear foreign or to hide his true identity behind an alias (ll. 31–36). Thus, his names come to represent two conflicting aspects of his personality rather than offering him a clear sense of self.

The decisive turning point occurs during his U.S. citizenship interview. When he has to complete his passport application, he realizes that he must decide how he wants to define himself (ll. 46–52). Looking at the different official documents, each connected with a different version of himself, he recognises the fragmentation of his identity (ll. 57–64). Instead of choosing either his Afghan or his American identity, he combines all his names into “Joseph Mohammad Yousuf Azam” (ll. 65–69). This final decision symbolises the reconciliation of his different identities. Rather than rejecting one part of himself, he embraces both his Afghan heritage and his American life. The closing sentence, “This was my American name” (l. 70), underlines that he no longer sees being American and being Afghan as mutually exclusive. His full name therefore becomes a symbol of a multicultural identity that includes all parts of his personal history.

Stranded Between Two Worlds – The Challenges of Integration

"It is not easy to be stranded between two worlds, the sad truth is that we can never be completely comfortable in either world." Sharon Kay Penman's statement reflects the experiences of many migrants and refugees who have to build a new life while remaining connected to their cultural roots. Although migration often creates opportunities, it can also lead to uncertainty, discrimination and questions of identity. Joseph Azam's autobiographical essay and the literary texts studied in class show that integration is a complex process that affects every individual differently.

Joseph Azam's essay illustrates how deeply identity can be connected to something as personal as a name. Growing up in the United States after his family fled Afghanistan, he feels ashamed of his first name, Mohammad, because it immediately marks him as different. He first chooses to be called Yousuf and later officially becomes Joseph in order to fit in more easily. However, instead of solving his problems, the name change creates a new conflict. While his American name helps him integrate into society, he feels guilty because he believes he is distancing himself from his family and his cultural heritage. Only when applying for U.S. citizenship does he finally embrace all aspects of his identity by choosing the name Joseph Mohammad Yousuf Azam. His story suggests that successful integration does not require abandoning one's origins but accepting different parts of one's identity.

A similar idea is explored in Jhumpa Lahiri's The Third and Final Continent. After emigrating from India to the United States, the narrator gradually adapts to his new environment while remaining connected to his cultural background. Rather than choosing one identity over another, he combines elements of both cultures. Lahiri therefore presents integration as a gradual process that allows people to preserve their roots while building a new life.

Andrea Levy's Loose Change highlights another aspect of migration. The narrator initially judges a homeless man based on his appearance but later discovers that he had once successfully rebuilt his life after arriving in Britain as a refugee. Levy criticises superficial judgements and stereotypes, reminding readers that every migrant has a unique personal history. The story also shows that displacement can leave emotional wounds that remain long after people have found physical safety.

Questions of belonging are equally important in Shereen Pandit's She Shall Not Be Moved. The story explores how migrants often struggle to reconcile their cultural traditions with life in a new society. The characters experience prejudice and exclusion while also facing expectations from their own communities. Pandit demonstrates that integration is not only about adapting to a different country but also about negotiating different identities.

Likewise, Qaisra Shahraz's The Escape focuses on the conflict between individual freedom and cultural expectations. The protagonist has to choose between following family traditions and shaping her own future. Shahraz illustrates that migrants and their children are often caught between different value systems, making it difficult to develop a clear sense of belonging.

Nevertheless, Penman's statement should not be regarded as universally true. Although many migrants experience life between cultures, this does not necessarily mean they can never feel at home. Joseph Azam's decision to unite all his names demonstrates that identity does not have to be limited to one culture. Instead, people can create a multicultural identity that reflects their entire life experience. Similarly, Lahiri's narrator eventually finds a sense of belonging without rejecting his Indian heritage.

In conclusion, the texts discussed in class demonstrate that integration is rarely straightforward. Cultural conflicts, prejudice and feelings of displacement often shape migrants' lives. At the same time, they show that identity is not fixed but constantly evolving. Rather than remaining permanently trapped between two worlds, people can combine different cultures and experiences into a new sense of self. Perhaps the real challenge is not choosing between two worlds but finding the confidence to belong to both.