Disgraced

by Ayad Akhtar

Amir’s Mother Character Analysis

Amir’s mother, who died some time ago, was a Pakistani Muslim woman who hated non-Muslim people. She instilled antisemitic, racist, and sexist views in Amir, to the point that she spat on him when she found out he had a crush on a Jewish girl named Rivkah. Amir seems to have been traumatized by his strict religious upbringing and is deeply ashamed of the values that his mother raised him with. As an adult, he tries to distance himself from these hateful beliefs by rejecting and hiding his cultural heritage.

Amir’s Mother Quotes in Disgraced

The Disgraced quotes below are all either spoken by Amir’s Mother or refer to Amir’s Mother . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Unintentional Racism and Resentment Theme Icon
).

Scene 1 Quotes

So Rivkah and I’d gotten to the point where we were trading notes. And one day, my mother found one of the notes. Of course it was signed, Rivkah. Rivkah? my mom says. That's a Jewish name […] So I tell my mom, No, she’s not Jewish. But she knew the name was Jewish. If I ever hear that name in this house again, Amir, she said, I’ll break your bones. You will end up with a Jew over my dead body. Then she spat in my face […] Next day? Rivkah comes up to me in the hall with a note. Hi, Amir, she says. Eyes sparkling. I look at her and say, You’ve got the name of a Jew. She smiles. Yes, I’m Jewish, she says […] Then I spit in her face.

Related Characters: Amir Kapoor/Abdullah (speaker), Emily Hughes Kapoor, Hussein (Abe Jensen) , Rivkah , Amir’s Mother
Page Number and Citation: 16
Explanation and Analysis:

White women have no self-respect. How can someone respect themselves when they think they have to take off their clothes to make people like them?

Related Characters: Amir Kapoor/Abdullah (speaker), Hussein (Abe Jensen) , Amir’s Mother , Emily Hughes Kapoor, Imam Fareed
Page Number and Citation: 17
Explanation and Analysis:

Scene 3 Quotes

I was horrified by it, okay? Absolutely horrified. […] That we were finally winning. […] It's tribal, Jor. It is in the bones. You have no idea how I was brought up. You have to work real hard to root that shit out.

Related Characters: Amir Kapoor/Abdullah (speaker), Amir’s Mother , Jory , Isaac , Emily Hughes Kapoor
Page Number and Citation: 63
Explanation and Analysis:
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Amir’s Mother Character Timeline in Disgraced

The timeline below shows where the character Amir’s Mother appears in Disgraced. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Scene 1
Islamophobia, Oppression, and Institutional Racism Theme Icon
Shame, Anger, and Disgrace Theme Icon
...his last name (Kapoor) will be on the building soon. He knows that his dead mother would have been shocked to see it up there with all the Jewish names—even if... (full context)
Shame, Anger, and Disgrace Theme Icon
...first crush, a girl named Rivkah: they exchanged notes in their sixth-grade class, and Amir’s mother saw one of the notes. She got upset because Rivkah is a Jewish name, and... (full context)
Shame, Anger, and Disgrace Theme Icon
Emily is surprised, since Amir’s mother was always nice to her. Amir explains that Emily won his mother over—but Muslim people... (full context)