Characterisation of Azhar and Yvonne
The characters presented in the short story “We’re not Jews” by Hanif Kureishi are Yvonne, Azhar, Big Billy and Little Billy, Yvonne’s husband, and his brothers and father. The most important characters in the short story are Yvonne and Azhar.
Azhar
Azhar is one of the most important characters in the short story as the events are depicted through his eyes (they follow his perspective).
His outer characterisation tells us that he is a young school boy and that he is half-English, half-Pakistani. He lives with his extended family: mother, father, sister, uncles, and grandfather. At school, he is a conscientious, bright student: “ ‘Pity we didn’t have time to get to the library. Tomorrow we will. Are you still the best reader in the class?’ She nudged him.” (ll. 25-26)
Inner characterisation
His inner characterisation is focused on the way he perceives his family, being bullied, and the idea of racism and discrimination.
From his flashbacks, we find out that he is deeply bothered by the fact that he is the target of bullying because of his ethnicity: “He looked as if he’d been flung into a hedge and rolled in a muddy puddle – which he had.” (ll. 57-58); “Yet he couldn’t make out what it was with him that made people say such things, or why, after so many contented hours at home with his mother, such violence had entered his world.” (ll. 63-65)
Azhar finds it hard to understand the idea of ethnicity and racism. He struggles to make sense of it, but he cannot and becomes frustrated and enraged. He is particularly concerned that in places like South Africa, policies that encourage racial discrimination are still in place:
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Yvonne
Yvonne is one of the main characters in the short story. Her outer characterisation tells us that she is a British woman, married to a Pakistani man with whom she has two children (Azhar and his sister). Her outer characterisation also suggests that she has a neat appearance, since she wears a “grey perfumed glove” (l. 13) and carried a “scented handkerchief” (l. 95).
Inner characterisation
Her inner characterisation is conveyed in relation to Azhar, her husband, and the two bullies (Big Billy and Little Billy).
In relation to her son, she comes across as a loving yet strict mother. She wants Azhar to act like an adult (makes him pay the conductor, help her with the shopping bags, and asks him not to whine) and to study hard, probably because she wants him to overcome his ethnic heritage which puts the boy in a disadvantaged position in society:
…took some pennies from her purse. She handed them to Azhar who held them up as she had shown him.
‘One and a half to The Fox,’ he said.
‘Please,’ whispered mother, making a sign of exasperation. (ll. 13-16)‘Pity we didn’t have time to get to the library. Tomorrow we will. Are you still the best reader in the class?’ She nudged him. (ll. 25-26)
When she first hears about her son being bullied she does not take him very seriously and she appears “amused by such pranks” (l. 61). She gives Azhar some advice about how to reply to bullying, but when that fails she addresses the headmaster directly, suggesting that she is concerned about the bullying.
The fact that she does not tell her Pakistani husband about these incidents suggests that she does not want the man to feel bad and that she is probably afraid that it will make him more determined to move to Pakistan, something they often fight about:
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