Woman At Point Zero By Nawal El Saadawi

Marriage is important in human society. Marriage is “the customs, rules, and obligations that establish a special relationship between a sexually cohabitating adult male and female, between them and any children they produce, and between the kin of the bride and groom” (Arenson, and Miller-Thayer 520). Most of the cultures are used to seeing only female and male getting married but looking deeper into the society; we can see there are more to it. There are many different types of marriages. In an ethnography called, Guest of the Sheik, by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, she talks about her experiences in a small rural village of El Nahra in southern Iraq. Ethnography is “comprised of the writings of the anthropologist, detailing the life ways of a particular culture, investigated by means of direct fieldwork” (1). As she gets accepted by the women of the villages, she gets a more inclusive view of the culture.

Nobody fully understands what drives people to undertake a mission, but it often causes people to take many risks. For example, Farah Ahmedi climbed a mountain on a prosthetic leg with a sick mother just to reach freedom. Rikki-Tikki fought for his life to save his family. John Steinbeck eavesdropped on people's conversations just to get material for his book. These stories show different people who had each set a goal for themselves. Ahmedi and Rikki-Tikki fought for their lives to survive and save their loved ones. While Steinbeck traveled to great lengths to write his book. Their goals may be different but they all had set a goal and they all eventually accomplished their goal.

In the poem “It’s a Woman’s World,” Eavan Boland uses many poetic devices such as alliteration, simile, and enjambment in order to explain life from a woman’s point of view and how women have lived the same since the beginning of time.

The Portrayal of the Plight of Women by the Author, In Their Particular Period of Time

"The eyes are the window to your soul," In not being able to see Mr. Hooper's eyes, the congregation becomes distressed and uncomfortable. The eyes make it possible for others to discern your feelings and emotions. Mr. Hooper creates an impenetrable solitude that makes it impossible for people to relate to him. The body is but a shell; the eyes are the gates to the real self. From the first day of the veil dropping over the minister's face people's opinions changed of him. He becomes a mystery, unreachable and feared. In reality the minister hadn't changed at all. He is the same gentle man with

Pain is something that few can resist showing, because on some level their survival depends on releasing some anguish. The eyes show all too readily the blunt realities of our world. They do this through more than tears, because some people have seen things so horrible and wretched that they have forgotten how to cry. One has but to look deeper, and the sparkle of his eye will tell a thousand stories far greater than with what the Arabian Nights ever enchanted its audiences.

The idea in this novel of a woman threatened by the seduction of a womanizing male figure takes on the body of a political entity. “The threatened seduction of a woman mirrors the vulnerability of a new nation, independent yet virginal, as she tries to find ways to behave in a society of other, older nations”

She begins with the metaphor “new eyes” (Allison 115) to describe her fear that her lover might think of her differently after meeting the family, “I was afraid that she might see me through new eyes…” (115). Allison reemphasizes this by using the same metaphor in the following paragraph to describe the confirmation of her fears, “My lover did indeed see me with new eyes.” (115). The feeling of freedom she describes in her

Holding Onto the Air an autobiography by Suzanne Farrell takes the reader backstage in the dramatic life of the world-renowned Balanchine ballerina. From her childhood in Cincinnati to her retirement from ballet in 1989, Farrell's story is truly a remarkable one. The book describes at length her time with the New York City Ballet as well as her complex relationship with the legendary Balanchine. Although Mrs. Farrell goes a bit too far into the ballet descriptions, her beautiful imagery allows reader to experience the joy of performing on stage.

In the book “Unbearable lightness: a story of loss and gain”, author Portia De Rossi takes her audience through her life explaining how she dealt with Anorexia and Bulimia while trying to achieve her dreams in the public eye. She takes you into her mind and lets you know her thoughts and goals. She shares what herself and thousands of other people struggle through everyday. She explains how her constant need for perfection almost ruined her life.

This shows that the significance of books changes from escape to wealth when Firdaus realizes that they were mainly reserved for rich men. Essentially, men have the upperhand in most matters, even in access to literature, as they generally have more money than women. Although she manages to buy her own books, she only affords them by submitting to men’s power through sex, which frustrates her. Money is another symbol that supplements the main idea of men’s power over women. In the beginning of the book Firdaus’ uncle has the cash; therefore, has the control. He decides that Firdaus needs to stop school after she gets her secondary school certificate, because it is too expensive. Simply because men have the primary capability to earn piastres, women are made to do as the men please. Firdaus feels very put down as she has a strong desire to continue her education or to search for a job. Originally, she wants to earn respect by being financially independent, which relates to when she attempts to get another job later on. In both attempts men take advantage. Firdaus stays with Bayoumi, who ends up raping her, as she has no money for housing. She can’t escape men overpowering her solely because she has no piastres to call her own. In this sense, she feels trapped. She notes, “...men force women to sell their bodies at a price, and that the lowest paid body is that of a wife. All women are prostitutes of one kind or another” (99).

What society thinks about yourself becomes important when you feel that people treat you in a different way. It is not about what you do, it is about how society judge you. In the article, “Beast of Burden” by Sunaura Taylor we have a story of a disable person who narrates how was her life since her childhood until now. On the other hand, there is another article, “The Arab Woman And I” by Mona Fayad which tells us about a lady who had to experience the opinions of others, society suppose her to be someone even when she does not want. The authors include examples, personal experience and rhetorical strategies to give us a better understanding. This text provides information of how is that society is the one who had been involved with the fears of people as time goes by.

To establish of whether Firdaus is a flat character or a round one, we would first have to come to terms with the multiple, overlapping network of knowledges which continuously disrupt any singular reading of her. What I mean by this is that Firdaus, the text which she resides in, and the author that has produced her are situated within discourse the West (and the East as its ideological shadow), the Arab world (specifically Egypt), and the feminist subject that both strive to produce; that these discourses work in many ways to contest each other brings into question of their validity. It is to this point which I argue that flat or round characters are not static ontologies but produce alternative reading of effaced or obscured by other in

“Are you even listening?” Her once, shimmering, sea-green eyes that enrapture men due to their natural allurement, transform into forest-green, and ominous eyes.