The book “Three Cups of Tea” gives the reader an inside look into a world very few have had the opportunity to see. The story involves and unsuccessful mountain climber named Greg Mortenson who works on and off as a Registered Nurse. It was during the descent of the mountain know as K2, that Mortenson got disoriented and lost his way back down. Being exhausted and weak he stumbled across a small village in the northern region of Pakistan called Korphe. It was in this village that Mortenson was invited to be a guest by the chief elder whose name was Haji Ali. The friendship that was forged between Haji Ali and Mortenson would completely change this small village as well as the direction of Mortenson’s life. Mortenson was curious about the …show more content…
Even in his high school back in Minnesota “Gregg attended the school, swimming happily in a sea of cultures and languages. The divisions between different nationalities meant so little to him that he was upset when they fought with each other.” (Mortenson and Relin 36) Throughout the book he made an effort to learn the local traditions and cultural norms of each local village he visited. It was through this respect shown to the elders and various leaders that continued to give him favor with the people. Almost every village he came in contact with heard about his work in getting schools built, that it took on a life of its own. Shuange Liu, showed us that “personal attributes such as self-concept, open mindedness, non-judgmentalsim, and social relaxation also constitutes parts of the affective process of intercultural competence.” (Shuang Liu 8) The more Greg saw, the more he knew the importance of building schools. This was during the time of radicalization of young people into Taliban fighters. Providing a nonreligious education was a way out of the life of poverty that these villagers had experienced for decades. Not only was it important for these schools to be built, but it opened up opportunities for young girls in the area to attend school for the first time. Greg knew the buy-in to this culture would be to keep your promises, and that is what he did.
Greg’s world view
In the autumn of 1971, Mr. Pirzada comes to Lilia’s house to dine each night. Mr. Pirzada is from Dacca, then a part of Pakistan. He left behind his wife and seven daughters for a fellowship to study the foliage of New England. Since his fellowship provided for only a meager dorm room, he comes to Lilia’s home to eat with her parents and to watch the news of the Indo-Pakistan War. Dacca had been invaded by the Pakistani army and torched and shelled. Thousands of people were tortured or killed. Although Mr. Pirzada writes a letter to his family each week, he had not heard from them in six months.
Education had been completely banned for girls, and boys limited to learning the Quran when the Taliban entered Afghanistan. Latifa and her friend Farida had ‘lived this closeted life’ in which they do ‘nothing at all’ and they both thought they should pass on the knowledge they had acquired. Inspired by the bravery of their former teacher Mrs Fawzia who had set up a secret school but was then caught by the Taliban in the middle of teaching (her pupils were beaten, and she was thrown down the stairs causing her leg to break and then thrown into jail), Latifa, Farida, Maryam and another one of their friends (unnamed) set up a school where they teach mathematics, reading, writing, history and English in their own homes. The girls, their families, and neighbours all work together to ensure the school runs safely and smoothly, each person contributing one way or another, from gathering school supplies to keeping lookout for the Taliban. The creation of the school shows incredible bravery and resilience of the families’ human spirit in that they decided to all work together to give an education to their children, even though they could be caught and executed by the Taliban. By creating the school, their lives were transformed for the better because they had a focus and a purpose in their
Brown, more people flooded into his school. Mr. Brown’s school not only taught them how to speak and read in another tongue, but “from the very beginning religion and education went hand in hand” (pg.182).
Do you remember what I told you that night? That if I hadn’t seen the doctor pull Amir out of my wife, I’d never believe that he is my son? Well, that thought had been crossing my mind a lot these past weeks. Just yesterday, I took him out to watch the yearly Buzkashi tournament. Before we had left, I had sensed a sign of discontent from Amir, but I shrugged it off as if he were tired. Buzkashi was Afghanistan’s passion. It was not possible that an Afghan was not interested. While we sat in the upper bleachers, Amir often looked confused or bored. He would look up at the chapandaz then back down at his fingers. I had told him the sight of a book at the Buzkashi was unbearable, and that he could last a few hours without burying his face in one. Although his eyes were on the horses, I knew by his gaze he knew next to nothing about Bazkashi. So I decided to point out my long time favourite chapandaz, Henry Kissinger. Before Amir had time to respond, I saw his eyes dart to the far end of the stadium. A chapandaz fell off his saddle and was crushed under the hooves of the horses. Slowly, Amir’s face changed from shock to mournful. How is it that this is my son? This rather quiet, bookish, feminine
Her third marriage was to Vergible “Tea Cake” Woods. This marriage was a choice and Janie was highly cautious before deciding to be with him. Similarly to Joe she did not know what to expect from being with Tea Cake. Janie went into this marriage having hopes of achieving true love and her idea of marriage. She hoped that she would be able to put her values first and that she did. “Tea Cake and Janie gone hunting. Tea Cake and Janie gone fishing. Tea Cake and Janie gone to Orlando to the movies. Tea Cake and Janie gone to a dance. Tea Cake making flower beds in Janie’s yard and seeding the garden for her. Chopping down that tree she never did like by the dining room window. All those signs of possession. Tea Cake in a borrowed car teaching Janie to drive. Tea Cake and Janie playing checkers; playing coon-can; playing Florida flip on the store porch all afternoon as if nobody else was there. Day after day and week after week.” (Hurston 129). Tea Cake was about 12 years younger than Janie, which is probably why he was so free and adventurous. He was not as traditional as Logan and Joe. Tea Cake allowed her the freedom and support she needed. He allowed exploration of her self-identity. Unlike her other husbands, Tea Cake was encouraging. He encouraged her to follow her own interests and with that she was fulfilled. Although she was fulfilled with Tea Cake and able to openly explore her values, he was similar to her other husband’s in many ways.
The Rugmaker of Mazar-E-Sharif Conflict by Najaf Mazari and Robert Tillman is a novel about Najaf's memoir of having to live with conflict and of enduring its in-depth consequences. Melbourne-based fiction writer and biographer Robert Hillman helps Najaf tell his story and also the representation of the author in the novel. Hillman's collaboration with Najaf on The Rugmaker of Mazar-e-Sharif continues Zar-e-Sharif his literary preoccupation with the hardships and triumphs of ordinary people caught up in war and political unrest. The background of the book depicts Najaf's homeland that has a long history of violent and bitter armed conflict that spans centuries. This is partly due to the region's geography. As Najaf says, 'just look at the location of Afghanistan on a map of Asia and the Middle East, with neighbors' and near-neighbors' like Russia, Pakistan and Iran' (p.34). The area has enormous geographical and strategic significance. Foreign powers, from the ancient Macedonians through to the colonial British and communist Russians, have striven to secure territory or allies there, with little regard for the desires of the local people. This essay will give us an analysis of The Rugmaker of Mazar-E-Sharif's characters Najaf Mazari, and Gorg Aliant plus the plot of the book. The Rugmaker of Mazar-e-Sharif traces an Afghani refugee's extraordinary journey from his early life as a shepherd boy in the mountains of Northern
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer can be understood as a text that criticizes glossing and those who gloss. In this case, glossing a text is the comments, explanations, and interpretations one infers from reading the piece of literature and the understanding that can be taken away from it; this is different for every individual who reads the written word. I believe Chaucer wrote some of these tales as a critique of certain figures in his society. The question one should ask when reading, or being read to, is what is the meaning behind the text and where does the meaning lie. When, directly, reading a text one can determine the meaning of the author through one’s own interpretation. When one is being read to, they are being given the information in a biased form; this prevents one from being able to interpret the text for oneself and leads to the audience being glossed, as well as the text, and Chaucer criticizes the crowd’s contentedness to be glossed at and to.
In 2011, 24-year-old Joe DeNenno traveled to Afghanistan with the intent to change the lives of the children in the Zhari District. He teamed up with the local security forces and government officials to build new schools throughout the district to improve the education for local children. One billion dollars went towards the funding of schools and rise of education in Afghanistan. But nearly four years later, one would not be able to see a difference between the schools and a town that's been hit by a category 3 hurricane. From leaky roofs to cut up doors, the schools were no longer a place for education but rather a place for warlords to inhabit. Over 50 American funded schools were now battlefield provinces. These runned down schools were
Hosseini utilises Structure, Symbolism and Dialogue throughout chapter 6 to explore the characters and their relationships along with the central ideas of truthfulness and Afghanistan Culture.
“The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his remarkable humanitarian campaign in the Taliban’s backyard” is the introduction given to Greg Mortenson’s readers before even opening his book, Three Cups of Tea. This phrase slapped on the back cover of the millions of books sold in America prepares readers to not only buy into Greg Mortenson’s heroic story but even support his cause. “One song we hear too often is the one in which Africa serves as a backdrop for white fantasies of conquest and heroism”(Cole). The problem with Mr. Mortenson’s “song” is that it provides a single view of the religion of Islam. At first glance of Mortenson’s book, “[Greg’s] mission to Promote Peace… One School at a Time” is an
The autobiographical tale, The Rugmaker of Mazar-E-Sharif, depicts the harrowing true story of protagonist and co-author Najaf Mazari. Najaf recounts his journey from his home in war-ridden Afghanistan all the way through to the immigration and detainment systems of Australia and finally to freedom. The conflict that Najaf has witnessed has been one of the key subject matters in this book. Conflict has seemed to follow Najaf wherever he goes, all through his life, this has changed how he thinks, feels and ultimately who Najaf is as a person.
Amir’s misadventures begin as a boy living in an affluent Afghanistan world. On the day of his birth, his mother hemorrhages to death. Robbed of any feminine influence or comfort, he goes to his overshadowing Baba for love and acceptance. His father denies his only son the tenderness he desires, leading Amir to believe his father despises him. After all, Amir’s
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny,When governments fear the people, there is liberty.”
Social conditions are what shape a country. Over the years, people, not only in Afghanistan, but around the world create norms that define people’s roles in life, their future, and how they should be treated based on their gender and beliefs. Khaled Hosseini’s first novel, The Kite Runner, comments on the social conditions of Afghanistan through telling a story about the lives of two Muslim boys; a privileged Sunni Pashtun, Amir, and his long-time friend and servant, Hassan, a loyal but disadvantaged Shia Hazara. Hosseini expresses Amir’s uncertain feelings toward Hassan which form the decisions he makes throughout the book. These choices result in Amir destroying his relationship with Hassan. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini is a commentary on the social conditions in Afghanistan as shown through the roles of women and men in society and the ideals of Afghan culture. Unfortunately, these problems are still active in most of Afghanistan.
“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” This inspirational saying by Malala Yousafzai helped my understanding of what has been happening in Pakistan and many other countries all over the world. It shows us how important the littlest things can be and how by ourselves, we can make an impact on the world. In the book, I am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai, Malala explained how as a child, she was denied education because of the Taliban (a group of terrorists) and she chose to do something about it: she spoke out against them. When they tried to retaliate, even more people joined her cause for justice. In a similar case, Arnold (Junior), in the book The absolute Diary of a Part TIme Indian, was a boy living on a North American Indian reservation (rez) where unlike Malala, he was able to go to school, but his schools were very bad. Mr. P, his teacher, told him that if he does not leave the res, that he will not get any further in life. He decided to transfer to Reardan, a school outside of the reservation, where he knows that it will not be easy. He faces discrimination and he is exposed to more and more of the terrible things that happen in the world. And even though we learn from him that living on an Indian reservation is not a walk in the park, and that even living there does not compare to going to school at Reardan. Unfortunately for these two characters, they have both faced hardships that have deeply affected their lives. These stories show that when someone is in an environment that makes them lose their innocence, sometimes they also lose faith in humanity; when that has happened to someone, they might want to stand up for the other people with similar struggles.