Kanafani uses powerful language to describe how each refugee was a symbol of Palestine. He shows Abu Quais’ character and his deep connection to the land. “Abu Quais rested on the damp ground and the earth began to throb under him and tired heartbeats, which trembled through the grains of sand and penetrated the cells of his body.”[1] He represents that thousand of Palestinians who were born in Palestine and who spent their entire lives taking care of this land. The second refugee Assad is the symbol of desperateness and strength of the Palestinian soul because he lives in a land where he is looked down. The youngest of all three is Marwan who, “wanted to become a doctor. He used to tell his mother that Zakaria would never understand what it meant for someone to get an education because he had left school when he left Palestine.”[2] Marwan is the symbol of the Palestinian children who were stripped of their childhood and education. After the war Palestinians were not granted the right to return and as “the abandoned villages fell into ruin or were bulldozed or settled and as more Jewish immigrants poured into the country and were accommodated in the abandoned Arab homes. The physical possibility of substantial repatriation grew more remote.”[3] The last character and protagonist Abu Khaziaran the smuggler who takes the responsibility to take the three men to Kuwait symbolizes the neighboring Arab States. Although selfish like the Arab states he did risk his life to save the
The translator uses many strategies in framing narratives, including frame ambiguity, to express her point of view. As a result, the researcher here translates the word "اليهود" in Arabic into “Zionists” in English. The translator wants to express the fact that real Jews at ancient time are religious and they have principles unlike the Jews in this context who take a land that is not theirs by force and they continue to use violence and to kill innocent Palestinians with no right. Consequently, they do not deserve to be called Jews but Zionists. To deport somebody means to force him to leave a country, usually because he breaks the law or because he has no legal right to be there .
Completely by different circumstances are the members of the middle generation shaped – Amir, Hassan and Assef. Their childhood covers the transitional part of Afghanistan’s 20-th century history. Of course, the boys are really different in nature, but Soviet occupation is what caused such different roads to be chosen by the three characters. And that huge change in their lives determined who they are going to grow into as adults.
In the novel, Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, the protagonist, Amir, is torn between two truths as he lived associated with different kinds of religious groups in Afghan society: Pashtuns and Hazaras. Each identity played a unique part in Amir’s life. Whether they had a positive or negative effect, both changed his values and beliefs. Individuals also shaped Amir’s character. Baba, Assef, and Hassan were major influences upon Amir’s growth throughout the book; their differences shaped Amir into the man he later became as all three represented a different side of Afghan society.
Iran’s conflict between modernism and fundamentalism can be seen in the novel’s focus on the political prisoners. Marji encounters various men that were incarcerated for holding extreme leftist views, including her uncle, and the consequences they faced. In the chapter “The Heroes” Marji is exposed to the various torture methods induced to make the prisoners betray others who shared their discontent. This can be seen when Marji’s father asks about Ahmadi and Siamk, the newly freed prisoner, tells them, “… Ahmadi was assassinated. As a member of the guerrillas, he suffered hell” (54). In making this comment, Ahmadi shows the intensity with which fierce opponents were persecuted. Additionally, the never ending arrests and deaths of these political opponents show the
The main character described in the novel is Amir. Amir is the narrator and the protagonist in the story. Although an impressionable and intelligent son of a well-to-do businessman, he grows up with a sense of entitlement. Hassan is Amir’s half-brother, best friend, and a servant of Baba’s. Although considered an inferior in Afghan society, Hassan repeatedly
In his novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini depicts his homeland Afghanistan as a host to many different cultures and classes, such as Pashtun and Hazara, Sunni and Shiite, with this dichotomy of beliefs and attributes being powerful enough to shape diverse, sometimes negative relationships amongst the characters of the novel and their behavior to each other, as well as establish that individual’s identity. Each person interprets the impact of the role of belief and social status differently, while all living in the same setting, adding to their complexity and depth as a character in the novel with many different figures tied together by the same geographical and cultural conditions.
He has submitted his own memory of the Israeli forces, of which he was a part, presided effectively over the mass murder. Folman has given a clear view of the state of the soldiers of the Lebanon war. His coworkers (to whom he went to ask about the war to cure his amnesia) tell him fierce stories of what happened to them during the course of war. One of his friend remembers being on a military marine ship, where he was fascinating about a giant naked woman who saved his life by taking him away with her while all others died in a ship blast. Other friend remembers killing a young Palestinian boy who was trying to attack his unit using a rocket launcher. The last friend whom Folman visited was almost killed in disguise. He had to wait at the lake and later on he swam and miraculously rejoined his troop. Peter Bradshaw and some other film critics question about how much of the above really happened?? As Folman is connecting little pieces of information from his colleagues, he comes over the Sabra and Shatila massacre. Naira Antoun talks about the depiction of Palestinians in the film, “ There is nothing interesting or new in the depiction of Palestinians — they have no names, they don’t speak, they are anonymous”. The real and horrifying footage from Sabra and Shatila at the end of the film is an evidence that the only people in the film who are not animated are the
Furthermore, the Israeli occupation of Palestine that the film depicts is a part of the 2000-2005 second intifada between the two nations (Manekin, 2013). Nablus, in Palestine is where Said and Khaled are based, and the mission is to take place in Tel Aviv across the border. A noticeable feature of the movie is the concept of deadness, the two main characters are not suicidal but the life they are trapped in has created a sense of them being dead already (Nashef, 2016) this is represented by the oppression and the lack of opportunity that is present. This theme can be further seen in their town – Nablus. Due to the conflict, the landscape and infrastructure is bleak, destroyed and very much discarded. The depiction of the lifestyle experienced during that period of conflict, highlighted to me potential motivations.
Ever since, Palestinians have had to adapt to new places and cultures in order to survive, which makes it more difficult for them to preserve their own. Said presents several examples of transculturation throughout the essay. For instance, the use of the Mercedes, even though Said describes it in negative terms, the use of the Mercedes has come in handy for Palestinians. Enduring one disaster after another, Palestinian identity is arduous to preserve in exile. It is a struggle of having no country. Our country is a big part of who we are. As we are born, we are destined to become a part of it. It becomes part of our identity. Things that we grew up with meant something to us. We usually treasure things that became part of our lives. Even unconsciously, we take hold of it. Home brings us memories, memories that we want to hold on up to our last breath.
As Gibreel and Burnat walk alongside the barrier, the scenes of dead bodies and pools of blood leave Gibreel extremely unphased. Any toddler, seeing such devastation and horror would normally be shaken, however, for Gibreel this is nothing new. Being born in this conflict has impacted his life, it has hardened him at such a young age. Burnat wants his audience to see the horrific scenes that Palestinian youth encounter on a daily basis as a result of this conflict, something that I hope few children should ever be exposed to during their
As Khalifeh predominantly manifests the Palestinian struggle through the main character of Usama, it gives the reader a very narrow–minded view of the issues faced in Palestine.
Explore the relationship between Mustafa and the narrator in Season of Migration to the North.
One particularly interesting perspective is his opinion on how the conflict has somewhat freed the identity of Palestinians from a shared land, and that for some Palestinians that can escape the occupation, there is a the creation of a transnational, transgressive life. (Suleiman, 2003, 73) Thus exists multiple outcomes from one identity. He further supports this by commenting that Palestine does not have borders, does not actually exist in the sense of geography, but it still has a sense of space. The Palestinian people are this space, and the people are how we define what is, and what is not Palestine. People are separated geographically, but defined by identity and community, and this creates a unique sense of freedom outside of a defined nation-state. (Suleiman, 2000, 96) This lets the definition of this identity be more fluid. He says that in his work he purposefully moves away from a centralized view of Palestinian identity and uses cinema to present the differences in viewpoint, perception, and narration that exist within this conflict. Not only between Israelis and Palestinian's but between all Palestinian's. (Suleiman, 2000, 97) He purposefully moves away from a singular form of Palestinian identity and states “My films are Palestinian because I am Palestinian.” (Suleiman, 2000, 99) This movement from a
As a further means of separating the population into distinct groups, religion acts as a divisionary force between characters and cultures. There are two primary conflicting cultures represented in the novel that are the cause of religious differences: Sunnis versus Shi’ites and secularism versus religious fundamentalism. Similar to the discrimination based on ethnicity, the conflict based on religion is primarily exemplified through Assef and Hassan, who are Sunni and Shi’ite, respectively. As such, any justification for inclusion and exclusion of people not based solely on ethnicity could just be rationalized through differences of religion. With this prevalent culture present, the importance is in the author’s depiction of the “bleak hypocrisies of the Taliban period--the disgusting cruelties performed in the name of righteousness” as stated by David Denby in “Hard Life.” Through the
Although Abulhawa was not there at the time, the events she discussed are true events that have occurred. This novel incorporates literature of apartheid because of how the Israelis were considered to be the majority race in power. Throughout this entire novel, Israeli soldiers have attacked, killed and injured many innocent people because they wanted to ultimately eliminate the opposing race. They would verbally attack Palestinians by saying “Fucking terrorist” and “Get rid of every last sand nigger” (Abulhawa, 2010 pg. 238). It was not until the Israeli soldiers invaded Lebanon, where the most brutal and violent acts against Palestinians were committed. What seemed to be the most shocking of all is the fact that the soldiers who were killing innocent people never seemed to have remorse aside from one who helped and fed Hudda. The protagonist, Amal is the person the readers see through. The most difficult part to read within this novel, was soon after the Israeli soldiers invaded. Amal had witness her older brother Yousef lose the one thing he loved the most, Fatima. On page 227, Yousef stated “They ripped my Fatima’s belly with a knife!! They killed my babies!!”. Amal described how difficult it was to hear such harsh things being said about her country and it was even heavy for her to witness it as well. A lot of the ruthless