Themes Of Agha Shahid Ali

There are so many different cultures and people in the world and every one of them have a unique viewpoint of the world and it is impossible for one person to fully understand every culture. However, it is possible to glimpse into what they see, feel, and experience by looking at the different art that they create. Juan Pablo Villalobos novel, “Down the Rabbit Hole”, shows the reader the distorted worldview that the son of a Mexican drug king-pin holds. The American Iraq war veteran Brian Turner shares his experiences through his poetry in the book “Here, Bullet”. Karolin Klüppel gives the reader insight to the remote village of Mawlynnong, India and the Khasi people through her photo essay “Mädchenland”. A reader can successfully experience and gain unique a perspective of events and cultures around the world by reading and looking at

It is possible to understand certain pieces of literature outside its historical context; however, it is more beneficial if the reader has background knowledge. Taha Muhammad Ali was a Palestinian poet that was born in 1931. He grew up in Saffuriya, Galilee which is located in the Middle East. Ali was self-taught through his readings of classical Arabic literature, American fiction, and English poetry. Ali then began to write poems in the 1970s. He wrote a poem entitled “Meeting at an Airport” which is based on his personal experiences. Without knowing his background information and history, it is unclear about what exactly is meant by this poem. This piece of literature elicits the sense of reconnection and the exact same feelings for each other just like the first time they met. In the poem, “Meeting at an Airport” written by Taha Muhammad Ali, historical context is needed to understand this piece because it emphasizes the theme, the purpose of the poem, and establishes credibility (“Poetry Foundation”).

Furthermore, we have the use of first person, where the almost universal effect is to have an in-depth look into the character and their immediate response to a problem or dilemma. This poem no different, where in the first stanza we are ushered in with the use of anaphora in lines 2, 3 and 4 with the repetition of the word ‘’and’’. This specific use of anaphora is used to create the mindset and intelligible deduction of the traveller to the events and dilemma prescribed to him. Insofar as his immediate reaction be being presented with a choice. It shows his reaction of regret in that he is ‘’sorry he could not travel both’’ and explains what he wish he could do ‘’be two travellers’’ but also how he initiates his decision making process ‘’looked down one as far as I could’’. Also, the use of first person is used to connect with the reader, enforcing the affore-used notion that the reader substitutes their own personal truth into a positive

“For me America was a place to bury my memories, for Baba, a place to mourn his” (Hosseini 129). Once again, Hosseini shows that, even after moving across the country, Amir is still trying to shake his past. Rather than dealing with the past he often tries to block it out, but as he said, “the past always claws its way out” (Hosseini 1).

America was definitely different than what Amir and Baba were used to. Baba and Amir were at the top of the social status pyramid because of their abundant wealth. Their house was very large and they had servants to take care of them daily. When Baba and Amir moved to America, their eyes were opened to a see that people were even more wealthy than they were in Afghanistan. This makes it ironic that in America there are “homes that made Baba’s house in Wazir Akbar Khan look like a servant’s hut.” Baba’s home in Afghanistan was known as one of the best in Kabul, but when Baba and Amir moved to America they were no longer living like kings. The two men did not expect their once lavish home in Afghanistan to be able to be compared to what their

As they reach America at last, Amir’s wife introduces herself to Sohrab sweetly, but he just, “shift[s] on his feet and look[s] away” (358). Sohrab does not say much, do much, or move much at all. Imagery presented in this stage of the journey is quite gloomy, what with Sohrab’s blandly colored clothes, sallow face, and plain room. Amir and his wife seem gloomy as well, as they are always whispering, crying, or wondering what went wrong. The saving grace and the real transformation happens at the celebration of the Afghan’s New Year’s Day. After a day of muteness that has become regular, Amir and Sohrab finally connect through the kite flying contest. This is something to which Amir and Hassan dedicated their lives when they were children. Amir is overwhelmed with joy to see that, “one corner of his mouth had curled up just so. A smile” (370). It seems like nothing, but this truly is a breakthrough with this child. If it were not for Hosseini’s descriptive words that lend to pure joy and elation, the reader would not even realize what a momentous occasion this is. Hope may seem lost when traveling a guilt filled path, but if one’s intentions are honest and efforts are useful, forgiveness will find its way

What seems like an innocent childhood friendship, it is taken by a tragic turn becoming a complex relationship when one betrays the other. Amir and Hassan share a strong bond of friendship inspite of being members of conflicting social classes in Afghanistan. The story banks upon the themes of extreme loyalty and intense guilt, played out by an unfortunate circumstance, followed by a series of reflective incidents. Hosseini's engaging novel brings out of the depths of self-condemnation in a phenomenal manner.

In this essay I am going to compare the main characteristics of the two most important characters of this book. They were both born in Afghanistan but each of them was raised by totally different families. In spite of not having the same social background after several years they meet one another and live together, as wives of their strict husband Rasheed who refuses modern rights for women.

In the NPR interview with Abdul Ali and Shahem McLaurin, they express their views on political issues through their poetry. Poetry is unique because the readers of the poem are forced to create the image themselves instead of the image being created for them. Poets use this method to create sympathy in political issues. In the NPR interview in 2015, Ali says, "We are looking at poetry as a feel for social awareness and political change.” Poetry is the way for people to express the problems in the world and allow the poet to make the reader feel sympathetic for them and what they are going through.

Amir had settled in America and had cut off all connections of himself with Afghanistan. The physical journey helps Amir to establish his identity. Amir’s confrontation

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.

In the poems “The Wanderer” and “The Dream of the Rood,” anonymous authors give way to the idea that an Almighty God will solve every problem a person has by doing two things: 1) drawing upon the memories of a warrior who has lost everything near and dear to him due to war, and 2) entering the dream of a man who has been exiled and isolated. Each piece takes its reader through the trials and tribulations that one may not relate to in this era, yet the reader is still there alongside the character wanting them to find peace with their world and themselves. Initially, it is believed that the characters will overcome their hardships and achieve the happiness they seek. However, as the reader delves deeper into the character’s story, there is an overwhelming sense of incompleteness. What actually happens at the end of each piece is not written in stone - telling us the story is not whole - nor has a conclusion been reached. The intrapersonal thoughts being shared with the reader reveal the obstacles that keep an overall wholeness from occurring.

Love makes people become selfish, but it is also makes the world greater. In this poem, the world that the speaker lives and loves is not limited in “my North, my South, my East and West / my working week and my Sunday rest” (9-10), it spreads to “My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song (11). The poem’s imagery dominates most of the third stanza giving readers an image of a peaceful world in which everything is in order. However, the last sentence of the stanza is the decisive element. This element not only destroys the inner world of the speaker, but it also sends out the message that love or life is mortal.

The work of literature “Midaq Alley” by Naguib Mahfouz introduces the audience an Arab culture through his descriptions of different characters. Each character is used as an analogue, representing people in the alley with different beliefs and ambitions. Moreover, the characteristics of Mahfouz’s characters also draw international readers’ attention concerning how westernization takes place.

The present study is based on the idea of displacement as the major theme of the selected short stories of Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Interpreter of maladies”. The book contains nine short stories and each one of them deals with the question of identity, alienation, and plight of those who are physically and psychologically displaced. But I would like to limit my studies to the three short stories from the collection viz. “When Mr. Pirzada came to dine”, Interpreter of Maladies”, and “Mrs. Sen’s”. The migration has become one of the most important issues of the contemporary world. Jhumpa Lahiri is also a diasporic writer like Salman Rushdie, V.S Naipaul and Bharati Mukherjee. The characters in the prescribed stories are citizens of more than one country