RHETORIC OF DRESS: INTERGENERATIONAL DISCREPANCIES IN QAISRA SHAHRAZ’S SHORT STORY A PAIR OF JEANS

This paper addresses the ongoing tug - of - war between the first and second generation immigrants with respect to dress, and highlights the role played by costume in everyday lives. The predicament of the younger generation squashed between two extremely different cultures - one vouching for a conservative lifestyle and the other edging towards extremity mirrors the ever - changing cultural landscapes all over the world. No matter how much time has flown by, there are certain mindsets that are deeply rooted. Migrants are often compelled to make rapid changes in their overall personalities in order to be fully accepted by the host community. Here dress becomes the most resonant sign language, the spectrum through which cultures assess its members. This short story dramatizes precisely the desperate position of women who are forced to put on a mask to please the rest of the lot so as to secure their space in the social order.