Navigating Global Migration: An Analysis of Exit West through Appadurai’s Five Scapes

The rapid surge in global migration today is deeply intertwined with shifts in the political and economic structures of the late twentieth century, characterized by the dominance of globalization and transnational capital. These shifts, while rooted in the historical legacies of colonialism, have assumed new dimensions as globalization reconfigures the movement of people, capital, and ideas. In Exit West, Mohsin Hamid connects the personal experiences of migration with larger global forces, using magical doors to metaphorically illustrate the fluidity and unpredictability of global migration patterns. This paper employs Arjun Appadurai's five "scapes," which are ethnoscapes, technoscapes, financescapes, mediascapes, and ideoscapes, to examine how Exit West reflects and critiques the dynamics of globalization, migration, and identity formation. Hamid highlights how technological advancements facilitate movement while simultaneously revealing the inequalities that persist under the guise of globalization. Through the journeys of Saeed and Nadia, the novel reveals the fragmented nature of global flows and their impact on personal and collective identities.