An Unknown Girl — Moniza Alvi

Read the prescribed text in the official Pearson anthology (printed page 27).

Explore how Alvi presents the complexities of the speaker's relationship with Indian cultural identity in An Unknown Girl.

In your answer, you should consider:

• the speaker's participation in the scene
• the different cultural influences within the bazaar
• how the speaker's thoughts and feelings develop

Evaluate how far the poem presents the speaker as belonging to the culture of the bazaar rather than observing it from outside.

Support your answer with close reference to the text, including brief quotations.