A Street in Marrakech Review Essay

When first read by the reader many different things could be going through their minds, one assumptions could be that the “Indians” that the author is

The general perception of the west as advanced and civilized, with the east as savage and illogical is one we see, but never notice, in movies and literary works regularly. With a common theme of colonialism/post-colonialism, two in particular are, Steven Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and book one of “Midnights Children” by Salman Rushdie, “The Perforated Sheet”. Orientalist and colonial/post-colonial imagery is present throughout both Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and “The Perforated Sheet”. Though the plots of these two stories differ drastically, both are set in India around the time of colonialization/post-colonialization; showing components of orientalism.

Moreover, this construction as the foreign eastern country as feminine is the typical western view of the orient. This view of the Orient is connected to Edward Said's concept of

The writings of various ethnographers and anthropologists are intended to inform and educate the reader by imparting awareness and understanding of unexplored cultures. The value of such a work is directly related to the author’s familiarity with the culture. For instance, an individual intimately acquainted with a situation have different insights, but also different biases than an outsider. Elizabeth Fernea’s work "Guests of the Sheik" is a combination of the two perspectives. It documents her immersion into the society and culture of El Nahra, a village in Iraq, during the first two years of her marriage to Bob, an

Disney’s Aladdin is a fit example of misrepresentation of diverse cultures from a Westernized perspective. Disney is famous for lending representations of world from a Western viewpoint. According to Edward Said, orientalism is a way of expressing Arab peoples and Islamic cultures as compared to Western or European society (Palestine Diary). Said’s explains orientalism is the framework that we use to

Orientalism, as termed by Edward Said, is meant to create awareness of a constellation of assumptions that underlie Western attitudes towards the Eastern societies. While some of these opinions show the cultures in a positive light, the majority of them are biased and emphasise on depicting negative aspects as perceived by strangers to the Eastern culture.

Every person in the world belongs to a culture. Many times people categorize a person’s culture based on his or her ethnical orientation. Often these cultures clash and can end in violence, but the United States has often been called the “melting pot” of cultures and ethnic diversity. Although there is a high range of diversity, often time’s cultures tend to segregate themselves from others due to different values, societal rules, and beliefs. The novels The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie both show two very different cultures that are present in the United States. The individualistic values present in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and the collectivistic ideals present in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie show the difference in cultures and how each character challenges how their culture believes they should act as young adults.

It is typical for Americans and the world in general to judge people from North Africa, particularly Arabs. This they do without actually walking in their shoes and living their lives. In particular, after the wave of terrorism that hit the United States and the world at large since the turn of the century, there has been a negative perception towards North Africans and the Arab world at large. It is for this reason that Julia Clancy-smith took a trip to Algeria and Tunisia in order to give the world an unbiased view of the world in which North Africans live (Clancy-Smith 50). The author focused on the political and religious actions of those considered the Muslim and their followers. Additionally, she gives a detailed analysis of the accommodation and resistance to the colonial rule. She rejects the popular position that Tunisians and Algerians were victims of colonial aggression from the west and argued instead that Muslim notables actually understood the complications of the outside world and were therefore, able to manipulate the changes that were taking place around them. This paper is focused on reviewing this book in the context of the twenty first century.

Said explains that the orientalism first occurred when the Europeans started to imperialize lesser developed eastern countries. Therefore Said argues that the reason the Europeans divided into the East and the West or into the civilized or the uncivilized was because this led to the concept of the Europeans (West) who are superior over the Middle Eastern countries (East). (Said 2) Orientalism is ubiquitous. For example, ever since the 9/11 attack, people have looked at Middle Eastern people in a different light and viewed them as all terrorists-the enemy. Orientalism is not only about stereotypes based on race but also by gender as well.

As a result of Western imperialism circa 1900, throughout the Middle East things began to change. European writers and tourists flooded into Middle Eastern countries and developed a very exoticized view of the men and particularly women who lived there. Ultimately the general consensus was that Middle Eastern women were oppressed by Middle Eastern men. Through the Western lens this perceived oppression was indicative of the “uncivilized” and stunted nature of Middle Eastern society. Western influence was forcefully pervading Middle Eastern society. Imperialism via tourism, travel literature, European schools as well as other vehicles, changed how people both within the

Even the name of the city translated into English means “very strange.” To introduce the city as barbaric and strange automatically induces a feeling that this place is unfamiliar, peculiar and full of bloodthirsty Arabians who will dismember body parts without reason. This stereotype is not just incorrect, but it draws a hard line between Eastern and Western culture, labelling the East as “the other” and thus

"Stereotyping of Arabs by the U.S. Ensures Years of Turmoil" Stereotyping of Arabs by the U.S. Ensures Years of Turmoil by Edward Said (1935-2003) is an argumentative article that illustrates Americans preconceived notions about the Arab population. Edward Said, a renowned Professor of Literature at Columbia University provides a background for this essay with his most famous work, Orientalism. Orientalism revolves around the concept of orientalist thinking and Said believes that the Americans portray this sort of thinking which entails generalizations and prejudices when it comes to the Arabs. The author provides a balanced view point within his article. Having been born in Jerusalem and having served as an advocate for the Palestinian cause, Said has been exposed to different viewpoints regarding Arab Stereotyping and thus strengthening the credibility of his article.

The Voices of Marrakesh was a unique telling of a westerner’s time in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh. Elias Canetti is no anthropologist, and this is reflected in the ways he interacted with the locals in the city. Unlike some of the other accounts we’ve read, Elias Canetti embraced his role as an outsider during his visit to Morocco. He made no effort to learn any sort Arabic and it seems he didn’t care to much about defying cultural stereotypes. He limited his spoken languages to French and English, which allowed him to fully interact with a only small subset of people. Due to his preoccupation with the women of morocco and his mysticizing of certain events, I was not the biggest fan of his account. Some things that he did do well, I don’t

The novel often talks about the setting, time and theme in Egyptian culture through stories of various characters. The culture describes in the novel restricts the readers’ views on

Orientalism is a study of language and traditions of the people and their culture in the Middle East. These studies are mostly done by people outside of the culture that is being looked at, and mostly the studies are being performed by white western men. Edward Said believed that there was a problem with the way in which other people were studying and writing about his culture. He was upset and spoke up when he wrote a booked called “Orientalism,” in his book he points out many reasons why the study of orientalism is hurting the cultures in which they are studying. The study of other cultures and countries better known as the Orient has become a popular discussion since Said’s book on orientalism was published. This paper will take a look