Because of the laws prohibiting individuals from working anywhere but 'home' and the fact that the war he fought in was supposed to be for a national identity and home, home provides such a potent, gripping force for Halid that he does not leave his own town, even though he knows his 'friends' desire to kill him. The idea of friends is now confusing, as the Christians he once called friends before the war now loathe the sight of him. Thus the skill of Homecoming is that it shows the paradox of national identity. The power that we invest in the concept of home and national self-determination often kills us, and kills our sense of self, even though it is supposed to provide these essential elements of our character. National identity and familial ties are not so powerful that they can erase the memory of wartime atrocities committed on a...
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