Narratives of Identity : An Exploration of the Multi-Generational Sense of Belonging and Identity Construction of Migrants in the Novels Piccola Sicilia and Jaffa Road by Daniel Speck

Abstract: This thesis explores the identity construction of migrants in different generations andcircumstances as they are represented in the novels Piccola Sicilia and Jaffa Road by DanielSpeck through narratives. Through an ethnographic narrative analysis with a focus onstorytelling, macro, meso and micro-structures of identity formation are identified to gain insightsinto the identity construction in relation to familial history of three main characters. In doing sothis thesis uncovers how narratives of family history are used in the continuous identityconstruction of migrants in and between generations and how the macro, meso and microstructures influence these narratives of identity. This study therefore provides a comparativeanalysis with a focus on change over time and throughout generation, as well as in differentcontexts that are however interconnected through a single family history. Special attention will bepaid to the construction of senses of belonging and unbelonging within individual identitiesconstructed in the third space, where migrants and their children negotiate their identities throughboth values from home and destination cultures and societies, to explore the concept of hybrididentities of migrants and their families.