“Asher Lev, an artist is a person first. He is an individual. If there is no person, there is no artist” (Chaim Potok). An individual with different characteristics has a different mindset, attitude, confidence and respect from those around them. In Asher Lev by Chaim Potok, Asher is a Ladover Hasid who grows up in a Hasidic community, who is deeply committed to his Jewish faith and finds difficulty between the expectations of his traditions and his gift. He is an individual with a broad mindset, who wants to do things inversely. He does not try to mold himself into the society because he knows he would lose his identity; therefore, he constructs his attitude towards himself, which helps him improve as an artist. His father, Aryeh is the leader of the Ladover Hasidic community who dislikes his son gift, which brings disruption and distress to the community. His Mother, Rivkeh Lev, which fascinates me, torn between her husbands and son’s love. As a woman, I am drawn to her character in the novel. Throughout the story, she is dealing with Asher and Aryeh disputes instead of her own misery. It is very hard for a woman to follow her own passion and dreams, especially in such stereotypical culture. There are very few who have achieved their dreams, but have lost respect in the society. In addition, Religion makes a great deal of difference in the lives of women too. The religion of Judaism relates to Islam because their culture and religion go hand in hand. This story relates to my struggle being a woman in such society. I belong from a community in Islam, where I have a different set of rules to follow because I am a woman and there are certain that I cannot do, it is off-limits. A woman has brought up with a belief system that she ...
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...ople. It is heart breaking to see how few women contribute, compare to what they can contribute to the society for the moral and prosperity of the country. Islam teaches tolerance and sacrifice for both men and women because we are one under God’s eye. Women are not the only one to learn tolerance, sacrifice and serve men. It is important for people to educate themselves and find the purpose in making this world a better place for women and children. In addition, I wish to make every woman aware of their individuality that they are worthy in and of themselves and not by the men in the society.
Works Cited
Ibsen, Henry. "Quotes." The Honest Courtesan. Wordpress, n.d. Web. 3 May. 2014.
Potok, Chaim. My Name Is Asher Lev. London: Penguin, 2009. Print.
Potok, Chaim. “Asher Lev, an artist is a person first.” Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May. 2014.
"If you were a genius in mathematics, I would understand. If you were a genius in writing, I would also understand. If you were a genius in Gemorra, I would certainly understand. But a genius in drawing is foolishness, and I will not let it interfere with our lives. Do you understand me, Asher?" (Potok 136). The struggle begins for young Asher Lev, a talented artist who tries to convince his father and the rest of his family of his artistic ability, when his father refuses to recognize his talent. Set in a tightly knitted Jewish community in Brooklyn, Chaim Potok successfully depicted a young boy torn between his orthodox Jewish tradition and his passion for art in his best seller My Name is Asher Lev. Asher Lev knew from a young age that he was destined to draw. Unfortunately, his friends and family simply discarded his gift as foolishness or mere childishness. His struggles were so great that he became a virtual outcast. The cost of being an artist was so immense as to affect the life of Asher Lev in profound ways.
The first religion and its views on women that will be discussed in this essay is Islam. Islam is a religions founded in Saudi Arabia almost two thousand years ago, by the prophet Muhammad. In fact, Muhammad dedicated much attention towards women in the Koran, the holy book of Islam. However, even though much was dedicated to women in the Koran, it was not dedicated to them in the sense of equality. Women in Islamic culture were apparently much lower on the totem pole than men, "The men are made responsible for the women, since God endowed them with certain qualities, and made them the bread earners...If you experience opposition from the women, you shall first talk to them, then [you may use such negative incentives as] deserting them in bed, then you may beat them (129)." Excerpt...
In My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok writes about a young boy in a Landover Hasidic community in Brooklyn who is an excellent artist. Asher travels through childhood hanging onto his art, but when his art interferes with his religious studies, Asher's two worlds of art and Torah collide. Potok deliberately chooses the extreme icons and symbols of secular life, such as the world of art, on the one hand, and of Judaism, Hasidim, and the Rebbe, on the other hand, to intensify the contrast between them, because he wants to mold the characters into visions he has, and to show how different the two worlds are and how they conflict and interact.
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok, is about the life of a Hasidic Jew and famous artist, Asher Lev. Potok makes it clear from the beginning of the narrative that creating art is what Asher was born to do. The narrative takes us through various stages in Asher’s life, from child to adult and young artist to master painter. Even at a young age, Asher tries to draw everything he sees around him. His artistic impulse drives him to do certain things of which others in his community don’t approve of. Throughout the book, Asher has to decide between his precious arts or the community of his parents.
The contentious little book titled Women, Power, Politics maintains politics to be devalued, acknowledging the fact that only few people do vote, and women are unable to achieve within the realm of Canadian politics. Sylvia Bashevkin, the author of the book argues that Canadians have a profound unease with women in positions of political authority, what she calls the "women plus power equals discomfort" equation. She evaluates a range of barriers faced by women who enter politics, including the media's biased role of representing the private lives of women in politics, and she wonders why citizens find politics is underrepresented in Canada compared to Belgium. In clear, accessible terms, Bashevkin explains her ideas on how to eliminate “low voters turn-out,” “devaluation of politics,” "gender schemas," and "media framing.” She outlines some compelling solutions to address the stalemate facing women in Canadian politics which are; contesting media portrayals, changing the rule of the game, improving legislative quotas, electoral reform, movement renewals, and so on. This response paper would addresses the reality of a political mainstream, actions which should be taken against the oppressive elements of reality, and the awareness it brings through economic, social, and political environment.
“Women’s empowerment results from a process where women can freely analyze, develop, and voice their needs and interests without them being predefined or unwillingly imposed by religion, government, or social norms and where their influence and control extends women’s familial/kinship circles” (Haghighat, par.6). There is an ongoing fight for women’s rights everywhere around the world. Men have been getting more power than women such as economic and political power and their rights are not limited as women rights are. There are not any limits with men whereas women are limited to many things. “When voting rights were given to women in the late 1800’s to 1920 it was a decisive moment in the women’s right movement in western Europe and North American democracies” (“Women’s rights”).”Women’s rights groups in the second half of the twentieth century focused on greater legal equality in terms of wages and credit, reproductive rights, family law, and education” (“Women’s rights”). Women’s rights are limited to them and it’s time to give women more rights to have equality because women should have equality in every aspect of their lives. They are unable to have self empowerment due to the rights not given to them. Empowerment is increasing spiritual, political, social, educational, gender, or economic strength of individuals or communities. It is about achieving your goals to the best of your ability with your potential.
Goldwater, Robert and Marco Treves (eds.). Artists on Art: from the XIV to the XX Century. New York: Pantheon Books, 1945.
Is there something that recognizes an artist as the creator of an artwork? Of which rules the distinctive connection of authorship, to the extent that the work must be understood in relations of the artist’s significances (or at least in relation of significances the artist might have had) is composed of? Notoriously, the concept of the author fell into inquiry in the 20th century with theorists like Roland Barthes, who finishes his tribute of the author with the idea that the origin of the reader should be at the price of the demise of the Author. Michel Foucault approves, claiming that the notion of the author is an oppressive one that does no m...
Contrary to popular belief, Islam is a religion that respects the rights of women. I was raised in a devout Muslim household, and I was raised to believe that women in Islam are amazing and powerful creatures that deserve respect, and this has had a massive impact on the woman that I aspire to be.
Middle Eastern women need to stand up for their rights and get educated to reverse the notion that they are servants and properties of their men. Furthermore, they need to rise up to their potentials and prove beyond doubt that they are equal to men. This practice would lead the path for future generations to follow and protect the inalienable rights of women. Finally, these women need to break the cycle of oppression by addressing these deeply rooted beliefs, gaining the tools to fight back, and joining forces to make lifelong changes.
Her powerful voice to the Islamic world says. Her ideal asserts that education for both girls and boys is a critical step towards becoming a country in which gender equality exists in everyday life.
From the very first page of "A portrait of the artist as a young man",
In conclusion, the media is representing Islam/Muslim women stereotypically: weak, dependent, and oppressed. Though Patel provides the fact that women do have rights as the Prophet Muhammad had introduced, society will not be accept the untraditional women role. The stereotypical views of woman are not accurately reflecting the civilization of the religion because Muslim/Islam society always treat men as the dominant sex, and since the women is the minority they do not obtain the opportunity to be contributing to a role that sets her as an equal to men because she will not be heard by the public.
If we want to maintain our self-esteem and honor then we should not keep away our female children from higher realization of our society and Islamic norms and values. (Editorial, 2012)
I hope that with this understanding in mind, Muslims and non-Muslims, both men and women can start a process of communication and dialogue in order to remove misconceptions, suspicions, and fears. So as you can see, there are many challenges for today's Muslim woman whether in the westernized world or in traditional societies. Through internal and external dialogue, I am confident we will find the ways to remain true to the Shariah and Sunnah and contribute to the world today.