The modern nomad in Laila Lalami’s hope and other dangerous pursuits

Abstract EN

This paper examines the concept of “nomad” in Laila Lalami’s Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits (2005).

The novel’s popularity anchors in the new depiction that Lalami devotes to the illegal immigrant.

The article seeks to show whether illegal immigration can be considered as a form of nomadic existence.

In contemporary theory, the concept of nomad gains much consideration because of the phenomenon of globalization and mass migration.

Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, respectively a philosopher and a psychoanalyst offer the term ‘nomad’ a special attention.

They aim at extracting this term from its old conceptions.

Consequently, the term ‘nomad’ is used to define a new and different situation.

Through implementing this new definition of nomad, the study reveals that nomadism is not strictly linked to physical crossing of borders.

A nomad is a person who manages to voyage through thoughts.

For Deleuze and Guattari, physical movement does not define the nomad.

The nomad is the individual who transforms his or her demeaning existence into a new and creative exploration through ‘becoming’.

The article probes into the concept of becoming that is presented as an alternative sociality for the novel’s characters Becoming is an enabling outlet for the pressures erected by the characters’ society.