A Map of Home

Content Waring: This section of the guide includes discussions of domestic abuse and racist slurs.

Nidali’s multicultural identity lies at the heart of A Map of Home. As a girl with Egyptian, Palestinian, and Greek heritage, an American passport, and a childhood spent moving between countries, Nidali’s sense of identity constantly fluctuates. Throughout the novel, Nidali grapples with questions of where she belongs and what home means to her. In particular, her father’s experiences as a Palestinian refugee heavily influence her sense of home on multiple levels: geographically, politically, and emotionally.

Nidali’s geographic sense of home is shaped by her constant movement between different countries and cultures. As her family moves from place to place, she witnesses the varied terrain of the Middle East as well as America, and she orients herself according to the changing landscape. Apart from the physical landscape, the motif of the map also illustrates Nidali’s geographic sense of home and homeland. In particular, maps are strongly tied to Baba’s sense of home, and he tries to impart this to Nidali. As Nidali grows up, Baba lectures her on the importance of her heritage, insisting that she practice Arabic and understand her Palestinian roots and forcing her to draw a map of Palestine over and over again.