Maya from the novel Love, Hate and Other filters by author Samira Ahmed clearly teaches readers a lesson of self identity. Chapter one, page four Maya states “Maybe I should give my mom what she wants tonight, the dutiful daughter who is thrilled to wear gold jewelry and high heels and wants to be a doctor. But the high heels alone are so uncomfortable I can only imagine how painful the rest of the act would be.” This quote is significant to the story since it sets a mood for the rest of the novel, considering the quote is mentioned earlier within the story. This quote is important as it allows readers to understand first hand how Maya thinks, and can be broken down into two main points. To begin, Maya states “Maybe I should give my mom what she …show more content…
However, in the second half of the quote Maya states, “But the high heels alone are so uncomfortable I can only imagine how painful the rest of the act would be.” This piece of evidence displays Maya feels uncomfortable wearing this “mask” concealing parts of herself, faking her identity in order to make her mother proud of the daughter she has become; Maya cannot imagine her whole life to be like this. This quote actively displays the battle between being herself vs making her parents proud, Maya wants the both of these worlds but struggles to identify what she wants herself, or who she is; Maya understands the responsibility and the high standards she is expected to have in order to bring respect in her household and towards her parents. Maya teaches readers later on in the novel that she will be herself at the end of the day even in the circumstances with her parents, attending the university she wants to attend and pursue her career in film and disobeying her parents which leads to Maya getting kicked out. Maya from Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed is the only character who truly makes the book worth