MIGRATION AS A THEME IN TEJU COLE’S OPEN CITY AND MOHSIN HAMID'S EXIT WEST

ABSTRACT This project explores the theme of migration as portrayed in Teju Cole’s Open City and Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West, examining how each novel engages with the psychological, political, and existential dimensions of human displacement. While both works center on protagonists navigating urban landscapes shaped by transnational movement, they approach migration through markedly different lenses—Cole through introspective realism and Hamid through speculative allegory. Open City follows Julius, a Nigerian-German psychiatrist in post-9/11 New York, whose solitary wanderings unravel layered histories of migration, memory, and identity. In contrast, Exit West uses magical doors as metaphors for border crossings, following Saeed and Nadia’s flight from civil war to global refugee life, thereby universalizing the migrant experience. The project analyzes how both authors challenge conventional narratives of migration by focusing not only on the external journey but also on the internal fragmentation, alienation, and reconstitution of self that accompanies movement across borders. By comparing these two novels, this study reveals how literature captures the complexities of modern migration, reflecting broader socio-political realities and the emotional landscapes of those in transition.