Being Israel’s third largest city, Haifa is one of the most diverse and unique cities in Israel. Haifa as a city is a mosaic that has been defined by a variety of qualities that have been portrayed through literature, in particular poetry, ranging from a time period beginning in the early 20th century to the late 20th century.
Haifa’s proximity to the sea and its active port, one of the largest in the Mediterranean, contribute to its prominence, drawing merchants, shoppers, and tourists from all across the world. The Port of Haifa has been a major factor in regards to the demographic diversity of the city. This diversity has lead to a form of cultural diffusion within Haifa in regards to both religions and customs, and thus for this reason, Haifa has been long considered the perfect model of coexistence between Jews, Muslims, Christians, and believers of the Baha’i faith. The Baha’i faith in particular is a perfect example of cultural diffusion within Haifa, as the religion combines the different customs and beliefs of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. The Baha’i faith is a monotheistic religion that is based upon both union and harmony. Haifa, being the center of the Baha’i religion, is home to one of the most important shrines of this unique faith, the Baha’i Gardens. Mid 20th century poet Roger White gives a vivid description of the shrine and its surroundings in his poetic journal “Notes Postmarked: The Mountain of God”. Roger White’s first poem within his journal, “Visit to the Shrine of the Bab”, describes the beauty and exquisite details of the shrine, “attar of rose becomes his oxygen…petal-strewn threshold…the inner chamber screened by golden mesh.” (Haifa: A Poetic Journey, White, pg. 52) The description of the fragra...
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... death”, emphasizes the sense of despair that the Jews felt in having already made a new enemy after having just recently escaped from an old one. Those Jews that were caught by the British soldiers and deported to Cyprus are described to be in an even greater state of despair, “To Jews on this earth…But at Cyprus, the red earth…there is no hope; in all of this world…we think; but hope, in dread”. (Haifa: A Poetic Journey, Jarrell, pg. 17) The historical struggle that the Jews had to overcome in order to migrate to the city of Haifa is one the most important reasons as to why Haifa itself is considered by many to be one of the most important cornerstones in the creation of the state of Israel itself.
The variety of poems compiled by Shunit Cohen in her book “Haifa: A Poetic Journey”, help illustrate the mosaic of Haifa that has gradually been created over time.
Anson Rainey and R. Steven Notley are the authors of The Sacred Land Bridge, which is an Atlas of the biblical world and includes maps, pictures, and historical cementation as to the significance of this region. The biblical world that this atlas focuses on is defined as the eastern Mediterranean littoral, or more commonly called the Levant in modern archeological discussions. In my critique of this book I will be focusing on pages 30-34 which will define the boundaries and explain the importance of the Levant.
Late into the 19th century, Zionism (a biblical name for Jerusalem) started to rise when Theodor Herzl published an article that concluded Jewish assimilation and emancipation could not work in Europe. It was this that started plans for the creation of a Jewish statehood. During this time, the population of Jews were spread out across different countries, and in each of these countries, they had represented a minority. Throughout this period, they had longed for a state in which they called Eretz Israel, the land of Israel. Herzl’s proposed solution was for the revival of a Jewish homeland where they could set up a state belonging to themselves. Following his publishings, the First Zionist Congress was held in Switzerland. The program state that “The aim of Zionism is to create for the Jewish people a homeland in Palestine secure by public law”. Much of the Jewish community at this point held mixed views about this movement but it was this time period of the late 19th ce...
Israel was created as a haven for persecuted Jew as a result of the Holocaust, however, it was soon run by the military. “The new Israel seemed to be a nation where the military ruled ignoring the will of the countr...
Norris, Margot. "Blind streets and seeing houses: Araby's dim glass revisited.," Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 32, (1995) : Summer, pp. 309(10).
In this paper I will discuss two poems by Sharon Olds. They are both taken from her collection “The Dead and the Living” and are entitled “The Eye” and “Poem to My Husband from my Fathers Daughter.”
“Culture belongs to the imagination; to judge it rationally is to misunderstand its function” (Wilson 79). In “The Butterfly Mosque” by G. Willow Wilson, she acknowledges culture and explains why cultures can differ so greatly. She emphasizes why its highly inconclusive to try to find a meaning behind ones culture. As a young American Muslim women she is faced with cross cultural ironies as she tries to find her identity and where she fits in. Her conversion to Islam brings into light her internalized prejudice and the different perspectives of Westerners towards the Middle East and vice versa. In her memoir, she depicts both positive and negative aspects of both cultures and, her struggle to find a common ground between the two.
“Araby”, a story told by a mystery narrator that ensnares the reader in an interesting and complex line of desires and disappointments. The story starts as the sister of the speaker's friend becomes the object of the narrators affection. He attempts to dazzle her with a gift from the Araby bazaar which is brought in to depict the idea of breaking free of the convening Dublin neighborhood. Thus through the uneasy setting and diverse range of characters, James Joyce let's the reader know that the theme of the narrative is centered around the conflict of an individual and the refusal of the reality of the world around him.
The Ghetto’s Fighter House Institution is located outside of Akko, Israel. This institution includes Jewish artworks, photographs, and writin...
Joe Sacco’s graphic novel, Palestine, deals with the repercussions of the first intifada in Israel/Palestine/the Holy Land. The story follows the author through the many refugee camps and towns around Palestine as he tries to gather information, stories, and pictures to construct his graphic novel. While the book is enjoyable at a face level, there are many underlying themes conveyed throughout its illustrated pages and written text.
Joyce, James. “Araby.” The Norton Introduction to Literature, Shorter Eighth Edition. Eds. Jerome Beaty, Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays. New York: W.W.Norton.
On one hand "Araby" is a story of initiation, of a boy's quest for the ideal. Although the quest ends in failure, it results in an inner awareness and the boy's first step into manhood. On another hand the story consists of a grown man's remembered experience, for the story is told in retrospect by a man who reflects back to a particular moment of intense meaning and insight. James Joyce's fascinating double focus: the boy's first experience, and the man's reflection to the unforgotten moments of his childhood provides for the dramatic rendering of a simple story of first love told by a narrator who, with his wider adult vision, can employ the sophisticated use of irony and symbolic imagery necessary to open a window to his soul telling us more about him now than about the child that lives in his memory. As such, the boy's experience is not restricted to youth's encounter with first love. Rather, it is a portrayal of an ongoing problem that he faces all through life: the incongruity of the ideal, of the dream as he wishes it to be, with the austerity of reality.
Norris, Margot. "Blind Streets And Seeing Houses: Araby's Dim Glass Revisited." Studies In Short Fiction 32.3 (1995): 309. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.
Joyce, James. "Araby." 1914. Literature and Ourselves. Henderson, Gloria, ed. Boston, Longman Press. 2009. 984-988.
Araby is about escaping into the world of fantasy. The narrator is infatuated with his friend's sister; he hides in the shadows, peering secluded from a distance trying to spy her "brown figure"(Joyce 38). She is the light in his fantasy, someone who will lift him out of darkness. I see many parallels to my life as a boy growing up in the inner city of Jersey City. We looked for escape also, a trip uptown to Lincoln Park, or take a train ride to New York City where we would gaze at the beauties on 7th Ave.