I am a junior currently enrolled in the AP Language and Composition class. For our summer reading assignment, incoming juniors were required to read the famed novel, Zeitoun, written by Dave Eggers. Zeitoun is a non-fictional story about a Muslim-American named Abdulrahman Zeitoun who resides in New Orleans during the events of Hurricane Katrina. Throughout the story, the audience learns to sympathize, while also builds up an instantaneous affection towards Zeitoun. Although, initially I had sympathized for Zeitoun before, the profuse amount of controversy surrounding the truth makes me reconsider why I have ever evoked a strong sense of sympathy for this man. Others argue that Zeitoun should be continued to be read because of the main intention …show more content…
that can affect the way people see people, but, I am here to outline the major complications regarding this novel that would demonstrate its vulgarity and inaccurate representation. I truly believe that Zeitoun should be prohibited from reading because of his destructive personality and his lack of integrity editing the book. Dave Eggers’ overall purpose is to convince the audience that Abdulrahman Zeitoun is a compassionate and kind-hearted person who aids people to safety through his striking munificence, which defies all cultural stereotypes including the stigma, “All Muslims are terrorists.”. His selflessness towards people is genuine, however, readers would be shocked to discover his genuine persona. After the publication of Zeitoun, there have been allegations regarding Zeitoun’s domestic violence. Kathy, Zeitoun’s wife, had revealed that she had been suffering from abuse since the beginning of her and Zeitoun’s marriage in 1994, long before the catastrophic Hurricane Katrina and that Zeitoun attempted to murder her in 2005. This unveils the true intentions of Zeitoun and substantiates the fact that Zeitoun had not become aggressive due to the traumatizing Hurricane Katrina, but rather, he has always possessed a trait of hostility. The disturbing information depicts Zeitoun’s true character which makes people question whether or not Zeitoun is an actual hero like how Eggers portrays him to be in the supposedly accurate story. It’s understandable that Hurricane Katrina might have been the source of Zeitoun’s post traumatic stress, but his bitter behavior should not be an excuse for him to execute brutal activity. Zeitoun promotes violence which should not be encouraged for students because it will influence them to make poor decisions and possibly affect their behavior negatively. It also will advise students that it is acceptable to abuse people, especially people they love and will motivate them to begin to mistreat their families in order to have a sense of contentment within themselves just as Zeitoun had. Zeitoun’s attempted murder of his wife invalidated everything Eggers had said up to then and made me retract any sense of pity or sorrow that I had initially towards Zeitoun. As a female and an opposer of violence, I truly abhor the idea of Kathy being a target of Zeitoun’s abuse and being struck with a tire iron immediately made me reconsider my feelings towards him. Zeitoun went as far as hiring a hitman to assassinate her and her son, Zachary, during his time in jail! Could you imagine the constant fear of knowing that your family was bound to be killed due to vengeance? As a matter of fact, students at Mills High School could be the victims of domestic assault. Studies have shown that high school students are most likely to be diagnosed with depression due to familial complications and exposure of stress, domestic brutality is a key component. Being allowed to read a false representation of an abusive person could cause students who have dealt with brutalities to further develop a lack of trust in humanity and be reminded of the horrendous event that is hauntingly etched into their minds. Additionally, In the article, Did Dave Eggers get “Zeitoun” wrong?, Victoria Patterson discusses the faulty assumption that the protagonist of his story, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, is a good-natured and honest person.
Patterson expressed, “When he (Eggers) finished chapters, he’d send them to Zeitoun for accuracy, and they went over the manuscripts ‘six or seven’ times”. This statement raised an important question, “If you had editorial privilege over your own story, would you whitewash?” How would I know if Zeitoun was the man who everybody adored or if he was the man who everybody saw as a liar? Knowing that Zeitoun was authorized for constructing the final edits of Zeitoun, I drove myself to believe the worst due to the allegations set upon him, it made me speculate whether Eggers’ depiction of Zeitoun was actually true or if Zeitoun himself altered the story to make him seem more heroic to appeal to the audience. Prior to Zeitoun’s recriminations, Zeitoun instantly captivated our hearts with his impressive humanitarian actions. I was emotionally connected to the idea of a heroic man who is kind to everybody and I was blinded by his heartwarming actions to believe that he, a savior, would be involved in felonious …show more content…
activity. Although reading Zeitoun delivers an intellectual learning experience for students and educates us of the effects of racial profiling, it is not the book to commit to.
Zeitoun contains flaws which would be detrimental to students’ trust and behavior. The imperfections of Zeitoun undermine the true intention of the book and should be banned. We would be idolizing a criminal who was thought to have done good and deceived by everything that we read and see in the real world. Education is taught with the intent to leave students with an understanding of valuable life lessons, but that goal can not be succeeded if the material students are learning weaken the main intention with the amount of deceit, much like
Zeitoun.
The play Kamau by Alani Apio exhibits a very strong example of the dramatic difference between the ways that local and non-local people view the value of land. The main character Alika is much attached to the land that his family has lived on for years, as the land that they’ve lived on has become their undeniable home. Alika works for a tour company that takes tourists around the island and gives a brief history of things that have happened on the island. However, Alika’s boss, Jim, is employed at a company that has just bought the land that Alika and his family live on and this company plans to build a resort in place of Alika’s home. The land in question has two very different meanings to two very different people. The struggle and
In the Lilies of the Field by William E. Barrett, Homer and Mother Maria both display straightforward, hardworking, and stubborn character traits. Firstly, Homer and Mother Maria both display a straightforward personality by being brutally honest about their opinions. For example, when Mother Maria asks Homer to build a chapel, Homer speaks his mind by telling her he does not want to build it. Mother Maria shows her straightforward behavior during Homer’s stay at the convent. One morning, when Homer sleeps in late, Mother to becomes extremely upset and is not afraid to show how she feels about him. Secondly, both Homer and Mother Maria display a hardworking spirit. Homer is a hardworking man because after finally agreeing to build the chapel,
The definition of compassion: sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others. As this definition shows compassion shows concern for other that every person would love to have. In The Chosen written by Chaim Potok, Mr. Potok really presents compassion in his book. Not only does he display compassion in one of his character but in every single one he gives them compassion that is expressed in different ways. He goes into detail example of compassion with each of his characters and really emphasizes the true meaning of compassion. Three main character that he shows compassion through in different ways are, Reuven, Mr. Malter and Reb Sanders.
Laura Hillenbrand’s novel Unbroken incorporates the improbable life of the main character, Louie Zamperini. She introduces both the inspiring and powerful journey that Louie encounters in his life as he grows up. Hillenbrand looks to and successfully does catch the versatility of the human soul. Zamperini’s story including his involvement in World War II gives a persuasive stage in which the author demonstrates numerous qualities of Louie. Leaving readers to appreciate his courage, quality, grit and above all else, his bravery. “Confident that he was clever resourceful, and bold enough to escape any predicament, [Louie] was almost incapable of discouragement. When history carried him into war, this resilient optimism would define him.” Louie
Most outcasts of history had a particular, exclusive life; full of struggles against the society ever since birth and grew up with a heart made out of steel from the harsh criticism they have endured. They differ from the community within their beginning to their end, and many of their stories end up becoming legends and gaps of the past that nobody will be able to reincarnate. China’s first and last female emperor, Wu Zetian, was one of these exclusives. Ever since birth, her history of tactics to the people around her; in order to ascend the throne, juxtaposed towards society’s attitudes of women at the time; through her breakdown of gender stereotypes and quick knowledge, and offered a new perspective to the world of just how cruel and beautiful women can be. She successfully destructed all accumulated views of women in the Tang Dynasty, and created her future in the way she wanted it – on top of every man in her country. She was an outcast – somebody who juxtaposed against the demands of her. She was history.
The play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry has many interesting characters. In my opinion, the most fascinating character is Ruth because of her many emotions and captivating personality. She goes through extreme emotions in the play such as happiness, sadness, anger, stress, and confusion. Ruth is very independent, firm, kind, witty, and loving.
...ailable in public libraries, parents or guardians should monitor what their children are reading anyhow. If I were a teacher I would not teach or read about this book in my classroom. There is no knowledgeable information in the books; they are for entertainment purpose only. I would also not suggest that any of my students read the books. If they find them on their own that would be perfectly fine.
Much about Kogawa's novel makes it difficult not only to read but also to classify or categorize. First, Obasan blurs the line between nonfiction and fiction. Kogawa draws from actual letters and newspaper accounts, autobiographical details, and historical facts throughout the novel, but she artistically incorporates this material into a clearly fictional work. In addition, Kogawa's narrative operates on multiple levels, from the individual and familial to the communal, national, political, and spiritual. Stylistically, the novel moves easily between the language of documentary reportage and a richly metaphorical language, and between straightforward narrative and stream-ofconsciousness exposition. This astonishing variety in Kogawa's novel can, at times, become bewildering and unsettling to the reader. But as many readers and critics have noted, Kogawa's style and method in Obasan also constitute the novel's unique strength. Kogawa writes in such a way that ambiguity, uncertainty, irony, and paradox do not weaken her story but instead paradoxically become the keys to understanding it.
In class we read the book Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O’Brien. I chose Ann Burden as my character because she portrays different personalities throughout the book. At the beginning of Z for Zachariah, Ann was generous and kindhearted, but at the end of the book, you saw her tough and courageous side. The three adjectives I chose to describe Ann were clever, courageous, and generous. I think these three adjectives accurately describe Ann Burden throughout the book. Generous describes her at the beginning of the book when she welcomes Mr. Loomis into the valley and generously takes care of him. Clever describes Ann in the middle of the book when Ann is hiding from Mr. Loomis and plotting to steal the suit to leave the valley. Courageous describes
In the novel Z for Zachariah there are two main characters Ann Burden who is sixteen and John Loomis who is in his mid-thirties. A nuclear war broke out, and killed all of humanity except for the two survivors Ann and Loomis. Loomis worked in a secret laboratory with Professor Kylmer on an important discover called polapoly. Since he had the safe suit he was able to find the valley that Ann Lived in. The only reason the valley was not poisoned by the radiation was because it was a meteorological enclave. Once Ann and Loomis met each other Ann had to take care of him while he was sick with the radiation poisoning. Once Loomis was better he became delirious, and wanted control over the whole valley, including Ann. At the end of the book Loomis
Hurricane Katrina, the third strongest hurricane to touch the United States, caused the displacement of thousands and wreaked havoc in New Orleans. In the nonfiction memoir Zeitoun, Dave Eggers reveals the story of a muslim couple that struggled through the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in 2005. The book comes four years after the disaster and reflects on how one of the main character’s stubbornness to leave led to many issues. The book is geared towards muslim americans and people involved in natural disasters. It points out the severity of the situation in New Orleans and the inefficiency of the government’s response. The characters represent a well known muslim family, the Zeitouns, with the main character being a Syrian. The family owned several properties affected by the storm and were well liked by the customers of their painting business. The author demonstrates a reflective tone through the language strategy of reflecting on prior events and exposes the characters throughout the story by reflecting on their childhoods. The allusions to prior times are directly connected with the actions of the characters and the plot.
5.) Sally Ann: She seems to have direction and does not need anyone holding her responsible for anything. Since she has a job she will be able to pay for her part of rent. We wouldn't really even worry about seeing her that often since she seems to be pretty busy.
Abdulrahman Zeitoun has two identities, one as a Katrina hero, and the other as an abusive husband and father. The first identity is preserved in the book Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, while the other is revealed shortly after in the real world. After this information was released, one can only reevaluate the Zeitoun presented in Zeitoun. Although this new information does not change the actions of Zeitoun during hurricane Katrina, it is impossible to not view Zeitoun differently. The Zeitoun preserved in Zeitoun is described as loving, heroic, and credits his wife with much of his success. After learning the truth, one cannot help but wonder if the Zeitoun described in Zeitoun is a lie. The mind grapples with thoughts that suggest that the abuse began prior to Katrina, and that the man displayed as a hero and loving husband has always been a villain. As how can a man who credits his wife with his success attempt to kill her later?
Joy Kogawa and Tim O’Brien: two authors that have wielded their mastery of the English language to yield literary masterpieces that reflect not only their own struggles, but the hardships of multitudes around them. In her acclaimed Obasan, Joy Kogawa illustrates the intense discrimination that was faced by Japanese-Canadians during World War 2, and provides many reflective anecdotes to give the reader some insight on her personal situation. Tim O’Brien accomplishes basically the same goal in The Things They Carried by giving the reader many brief stories about his time in the Vietnam War. These two books- though incredibly different on the surface - share a plethora of themes and symbology, as well as many similar events. They do not, however, emphasize or present these ideas in the same way. Each of these authors has a unique way of incorporating their own themes or values into their writing, which gives the reader an entirely different view of what may be happening.
In some ways, Sebastian seems to personify everything you'd imagine about the Faustian demon. He's handsome, charming, and sly, able to easily manipulate and lead people as he wishes. He's ruthless and quite clearly considers humans nothing more than something that exists for his amusement and meals. But at the same time... He's also a very odd demon. While he may be suave and charming, on the other hand, he's also a borderline neurotic perfectionist that takes the duties of a butler very seriously and loves cats enough to keep thirteen of them in a closet to save them from being outside. He may be a demon, but he's not exactly the cool, flawless being that he may seem to be on the surface.