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Short introduction on the role of women in literature
Short introduction on the role of women in literature
Gender and roles of women in literature
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The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf
The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf is written by Mohja Kahf and is a coming of age story as the main character, Khadra tries to find her true identity. Khadra Shamy is the daughter of Syrian immigrants who moved to Indianapolis. Khadra grew up in a strict Muslim community and both of her parents were very involved with the Da’wah Center. In the strict Muslim community that Khadra was raised in, all children were brought up believing in one definition of Islam and rejecting all other definitions and practices. Throughout the book we learn how Khadra’s parents lied to her about some of the Islamic teachings she thought to be true during her childhood, which interferes with her search for her identity. There are several examples of social pressures and realities throughout the book that help shape Khadra’s identity, many of which girls of any religion or culture would struggle with in their own way, making this novel relatable across different cultures.
The first life-changing event that Khadra encounters is the rape and death of her close friend Zuhura. Zuhura represented a hybridization, in the sense that she was a strong muslim woman, but also wasn’t afraid to interact with Americans, unlike most of the community. Zuhura was like a sister to Khadra as well as a mentor. Upon the rape and death of Zuhura, Khadra tightened her grip on her religion. She saw Zuhura’s death as what could happen if you try to interact with Americans and don’t abide by the community’s strict Islamic teachings.
Khadra gets married to Jumu’ah al-Tashkenti upon returning from her trip to Saudia Arabia for the Hajj. Khadra marries him because she thinks he is an ideal, strong Muslim man, and that is what she thinks that she ...
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... of a different religious background. She depicts Khadra’s journey not as her breaking free from the strict rules of the Muslim community she was raised in, but rather focused on situational experiences that Khadra had to overcome to find her religious identity. It is in a sense a coming of age story in which the Khadra experiences things that are realistic and relatable because they can happen on a daily basis to anyone. The novel depicts that how you react to the social pressures defines you as well, which is a concept that is often lost, yet Mohja Kahf depicts this clearly. The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf shows how social pressures and obstacles shape your identity and without them, you could be stuck just adopting the same identity as your parents.
Ashley Fleetwood
Word Count: 1,040
Kahf, Mohja. “The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf”. Public Affairs. New York. 2006.
This book differs from most ethnographies in that it was not authored by an anthropologist. Fernea originally set out to accompany her husband as he completed research for his doctorate in social anthropology from the University Chicago. Henceforth, Fernea did not enter the field with any specific goals, hypotheses, or particular interests. In many ways, Guests of the Sheik reads as a personal narrative, describing Ferneas struggles integrating into a society that has vastly different expectations and guidelines for women. Fernea recalls the culture shock she first experienced as well as her eagerness to overcome it. Her goals were mainly of a human nature: she wanted to feel a sense of belonging, to have friends, and to establish a life in El Nahra. The first part of Guests of the Sheik largely mimics Fernea's own journey to feeling accepted as it introduces readers to the various groups of women who soon become Fernea's close friends and confidants, most importantly Laila, who will later introduce many aspects of Muslim culture to Fernea. Throughout the book, each chapter emphasizes a different aspect of life as Fernea discovers it, or details an important event. As such, readers experience Ramadan and Eid, two staples of the Muslim culture, Weddings and marriage arrangements, discussions of monogamy and polygamy, the Pilgrimage to Karbala, and many other customs
In Red Scarf Girl, Ji-li is faced with the challenge of her life when she has to choose between her family, and a family figure, her country, although she really had known since the day she was eliminated from the audition she loved her family more than anything or anyone. She shows her diverging opinions forced by peer pressure throughout the book in the beginning, middle, and end. Her scrambled thoughts have to be pieced back together slowly, and are forced to make detours through the revolution, but finally are able to bubble up to the top and come out to the world. In this way Ji-Li discovers not the mind swept mind of Mao Ze Dong, but her true self, ,and is able to see that she could never do anything to hurt her family, nor break away from it, and that no one could take her family away.
The Red Scarf Girl take place during the Cultural Revolution, Ji-li and her family got caught in the savage change in china of the year 1966. Ji-li went through many hard struggles, as in losing and gaining friends, tough times with family, and because of her family, Ji-li was not allowed to do a lot of actives she wanted to do for examples; being a Red Successor and then a Red Guard. The reason there was a Cultural Revolution was because of Chairman Mao Ze-dong. The citizens trusted Mao with all of their hearts. China’s communities were brainwashed, so what’s good and what’s bad got all twisted around and if anyone contradicted what Mao said, that person would be jailed, tortured, or even killed; so he can keep a tight regain on the unfortunate
Social injustice is revealed throughout the novel and Hosseini really goes in depth and indulges the reader by portraying every aspect of the life of women in Afghanistan at the time period. He also reveals most of the social injustice women still have to deal with today. This novel is based on two young women and the social injustices they face because of their gender. Gender inequality was very common in Afghanistan
On that fall day in 2009, Kirsten did not know that someone as intelligent and articulate as Jack might be unable to read the feelings of others, or gauge the impact of his words. [...] But she found comfort in Jack’s forthrightness. If he did not always say what she wanted to hear, she knew that whatever he did say, he meant. (Harmon 1-2)
Born and raised in a family of storytellers, it’s no wonder that this author, Louise Erdrich became a prolific writer. Louise was born in Little Falls, Minnesota. She grew up in Wahpeton, North Dakota, near the Chippewa Reservation with her mom, who had Native American roots and her dad who was of German descent. Her parents encouraged and challenged her at an early age to read, also to write stories and even paid her a nickel for each one that she wrote. Lorena Stookey states that Louise Erdrich’s style of writing is “like William Faulkner, she creates a fictional world and peoples it with multiple narrators whose voices commingle to shape her readers’ experience of that world” (Stookey 14). Louise writes this moving story “The Shawl” as she is haunted by the sorrows of the generations of her people, the Anishinaabeg. I initially saw this tale as a very complex reading, but after careful reading and consideration, saw it as a sad and compelling story.
Zaru begins the article by addressing the oppression she has faced throughout life. As a Christian Palestinian woman, she experienced judgement in Christianity due to her nationality, oppression
Both el Saadawi and Al-Shaykh both show how perception and expression are both affected within the confines of politics, social opportunities, and male privilege depicted in their stories. Whether the reader is a follower of the feminist movement or not, it is very clear and easy to see that these women are not being treated with the respect that any human being deserves. The misogynistic stranglehold on society, especially in this part of the world, is excessive and avoidable in today’s world but it is very likely that the traditional, conservative ways of the past will continue to control and inhibit women from being able to be fully treated as equals for many years to come, perhaps even after this generation has
The religion of Islam was imposed upon Iranians, whether they liked it or not. Marjane and her classmates “...didn’t like to wear the veil, especially since we didn’t understand why we had to”(Satrapi 3). The young girls were against wearing the veil because they were not practicing
Alsana faces the expectation of fulfilling her proper role as the subservient, good muslim wife; however, she subverts this tradition by actively fighting against her husband Samad and, therefore, maintaining her sovereignty. When Alsana expresses her support for her husband’s motion during a PTA meeting, the other wives look “over to her with the piteous saddened smiles they reserved for subjugated Muslim women” (Smith 110). This perception fails to take into account the conflict that occurs under the surface of their seemingly traditional marriage. Before she finally expresses support for him, “Samad pressed Alsana’s hand. She kicked him in the ankle. He stamped on her toe. She pinched his flank. He bent back her little finger and grudgingly raised her right arm while deftly elbowing him in the crotch with her left” (Smith 110). Physical violence is the hallmark of the power struggle within Samad and Alsana’s marriage; it is the manner in which Alsana expresses her defiance to the proper role that it is assumed she should take in her marriage. This physical violence is so common, in fact, that as they violently fight in their garden, their twins calmly watch, placing bets on who will win (Smith 167). This normalization of the violence further highlights how innate it is to their
In “Araby”, author James Joyce presents a male adolescent who becomes infatuated with an idealized version of a schoolgirl, and explores the consequences which result from the disillusionment of his dreams. While living with his uncle and aunt, the main character acts a joyous presence in an otherwise depressing neighborhood. In Katherine Mansfield’s, The Garden Party, Mansfield’s depicts a young woman, Laura Sherridan, as she struggles through confusion, enlightenment, and the complication of class distinctions on her path to adulthood. Both James Joyce and Katherine Mansfield expertly use the literary elements of characterization to illustrate the journey of self-discovery while both main characters recognize that reality is not what they previously conceptualized it as.
Lastly Khaled Hosseini looks at a Afghan family and how its each family members commitment and strong bond is what is essential in ones future/identity. In the novel it was evident that Pari’s relationship with her family, mainly her brother, Abdullah was Pari’s source of unconditional love and it was that very thing that kept Pari connected to her roots which is the very thing that shaped her future/identity. Pari’s uncle was the very reason why Pari was sold in the novel and the cause of Abdullah being stripped from his only family. In the novel the separation of Pari and Abdullah caused sever pain as Abdullah was not just a brother rather he played the mother and father figure for Pari. In the novel the author, Khaled Hosseini uses many
The book begins with an attempt on Zainab’s life, presumably by Nasir’s forces. Later, the Muslim Ladies Group is banned when Zainab refuses Nasir’s offer to join the Socialist Union. She then engages in secret meetings with Muslims in h...
Mohja Kahf opens the poem by describing women’s state in the society. She says, “All women speak two languages” (2003, 51). First, women speak “the language of men” (51) because of the patriarchal system since women have no voice in the society and cannot express their opinions and thoughts. Second, women speak “the language of silent suffering.” (51). Their stories give them voice especially the stories of inequality and injustice. However, Kahf’s wonderful friends speak a third language, which is the language of queens because they are strong, courageous and wise.
Nawal El Saadawi is an Egyptian psychiatrist, feminist and an activist who has written many books on the subject of Middle Eastern women, and the practice of female genital cutting in the society. Initially, she went to this prison in order to do research in a female inmates, and their experience in the prison. However, after a while she got interested in meeting the woman he who had killed a man and had been sentenced to hanging. She based this book on her encounter with Firdaus and Firdau’s life story. Firdaus story is the contemporary story of sexism, discrimination and sexual abuse that occurs all around the world. She is abused by her father, her uncle, her husband and her one true love. Throughout the book, author shows the difficulty of being a woman in the patriarchal society during 1970’s in Egypt. At the same time, the entire book really perpetuates the stereotype that western culture has about gender discrimination in Middle Eastern nations.