Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Disgraced, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Unintentional Racism and Resentment
Cultural Appropriation
Islamophobia, Oppression, and Institutional Racism
Shame, Anger, and Disgrace
Summary
Analysis
Six months have passed. Amir, looking broken, is packing up the living room, which is now full of boxes. Emily and Abe walk in. Abe is wearing a Muslim skullcap, and Emily explains that he got stopped by the FBI. Abe was Starbucks with his friend Tariq, and Tariq tried to flirt with a barista, who got annoyed. Noticing Abe and Tariq’s skullcaps, the barista asked them what they thought about Al-Qaeda. Tariq got angry and said that Americans created Al-Qaeda, which prompted the waitress to call the police. Abe and Tariq were arrested—and at the station, the FBI was waiting for them.
Amir’s dejected appearance, combined with the fact that he’s packing up the apartment, imply that he and Emily are now separated. Amir’s outburst, the culmination of all the shame he’s internalized for decades, has resulted in the loss of his marriage. Furthermore, the apartment has been an ongoing symbol of the Kapoors’ success and prosperity, so the fact that Amir is now leaving it suggests that he’s experienced a professional and financial fall from grace as well. Meanwhile, Abe’s legal troubles speak to the prevalence of Islamophobia in U.S. society. When Abe and Tariq openly present as Muslim (by wearing skullcaps) and talk about Islam in public, they face discrimination, because others wrongly associate them with terrorism. This situation highlights how difficult it is for Muslim Americans to openly support their own culture and religion.
Themes
The FBI agents interrogated Abe and Tariq, asking them if they wanted to blow something up and if they hated the United States. Then, the FBI threatened to deport Abe unless he became an informant. Suddenly, Emily says that she wants to leave. Abe and Amir implore her to stay, so she goes to the kitchen for some water. Amir calls Imam Fareed’s lawyer and leaves a message for him on Abe’s behalf. He warns Abe that the world isn’t neutral, and that he needs to present himself differently in public if he wants to avoid being interrogated by authority figures like the FBI. Amir worries that Abe will get deported if he doesn’t act smarter.
Amir’s comments are meant to shame Abe for being reckless, but he inadvertently reveals that he knows Islamophobia (the fear that all Muslim people are terrorists) is rampant in the United States. As a result, Muslim people like Abe have to avoid publicly representing their religion if they don’t want the authorities (like the police or the FBI) to discriminate against them. As before, this suggests that it’s difficult for people from Islamic cultures to be visible in American society at all—though Amir doesn’t seem particularly sympathetic to this idea.
Themes
Abe wonders if being deported would be so bad, but Amir tells him that he can have a better life in the United States. Abe quips that Amir’s life isn’t so great—he knows that Amir got fired. He asks Amir how he could hurt Emily in such a disgraceful way. Dejected, Amir responds that he doesn’t know. Amir wonders why Abe was so stupid as to change his name back to Hussein, start wearing a skullcap, and talking about Islam in Starbucks. Abe, disgusted, accuses Amir of hating himself and his own people. He used to look up to Amir, but now he thinks that Amir has just given in. Americans have taken Muslim people’s land and forced them to act like Americans, yet they don’t understand Muslim rage.
Abe calls out the fact that Amir has tried to suppress a part of his identity. Clearly, though, doing so only worsened Amir’s shame and anger surrounding his Muslim background, culminating in him lashing out violently, destroying his marriage with Emily, and losing his job. Abe feels angry (as his comment about Muslim rage reveals), but he doesn’t want to make the same mistake Amir did by trying to suppress a part of his identity. In publicly embracing his Muslim culture, however, Abe experiences discrimination, suggesting that both routes—hiding from or leaning into Islamic culture—present challenges for South Asian Americans.
Themes
Realizing that Emily heard him say this, Abe apologizes for his outburst and leaves. Amir tells Emily that he got the painting, and Emily explains that she didn’t want to throw it away. Amir says that he wants her to take the apartment, but she doesn’t want it. He asks why Emily dropped the charges if she hates him so much, but Emily says that she doesn’t hate him. After a pause, Amir congratulates Emily on her New Yorker review, and he asks if she’s read his letters. Emily was right about him, he says, and he’s finally understanding her art. Emily interjects, saying that her art was naïve. Amir apologizes to Emily over and over again, but Emily stops him. She “had a part in what happened,” and she was selfish—her work made her blind.
Emily’s Islamic-inspired paintings have seemingly brought her a great deal of success in the art world. Meanwhile, Amir, Abe, and Imam Fareed have all been discriminated against for their associations with Islam. However, Emily finally acknowledges that there was something wrong with the way she exploited Islamic imagery for her own personal gain. In saying that she “had a part in what happened,” Emily admits that she thinks her dismissive attitude towards Amir contributed to the resentment and tension in their marriage.
Themes
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Amir looks emotional as he says that he wishes Emily could be proud of him. Emily leaves, telling Amir not to contact her again. Amir starts packing again, and a wrapped canvas leaning against the wall catches his eye. He tears the wrapping off to reveal Emily’s portrait of him. He looks at it for a long time, with a searching gaze.
The way Amir ends up at the end of the play, alone and having lost his entire livelihood, is the result of several different factors. The way he and the other South Asian American characters in the play were treated speaks to both the casual racism and the systemic Islamophobia that’s commonplace in U.S. society. This certainly played a role in Amir’s downfall, as being constantly misunderstood, judged, and discriminated against took a toll on him. But ultimately, Amir’s decisions were his own, and the way his resentment exploded into violence against Emily is a testament to how damaging shame and repressing one’s identity can be. In the end, Amir is left with nothing but Emily’s portrait of him, which portrays him as an ethnic outsider trying to assimilate into affluent white culture. Amir’s searching gaze as he stares at the painting suggests that he’s still trying to figure out who he really is, and what his place is in American society. That the play ends on this note implies that this is a question all ethnic and religious minorities are forced ask themselves—one that doesn’t have an easy answer.
Themes
