Essay on Midaq Alley

“Araby,” is a story of emotional passion carefully articulated by the author, James Joyce, to mark the end of childhood and the start of adolescence. It is told from the perspective of a young boy who is filled with lust for his friend, Mangan’s, sister. He lives in a cheerless town on a street hosting simply complacent families who own brown faced houses that stare vacantly into one another. The boy temporarily detaches himself from this gloomy atmosphere and dwells on the keeper of his affection. Only when he journeys to a festival titled Araby, does he realize that his attempt at winning the heart of Mangan’s sister has been done in an act of vanity. Joyce takes advantage of literary elements such as diction and imagery to convey an at times dreary and foolishly optimistic tone.

The idea of rebellion was treated by each of the authors by the three articles Cairo: my city, our revolution, Lolita in Tehran and Persepolis two. The author of Cairo: my city, our revolution talks about how Egypt is protesting about their country. And the author of Lolita in Tehran talks about the result of Iran taking over their country. And the author of Persepolis two talks about how women should dress.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi is a graphic novel that provides insight into a young girl living in Iran during the hardship of war. Persepolis takes place during the childhood of Marjane Satrapi. It gives a background of the Islamic Revolution and the war in Iran. Satrapi attempts to guide herself in a corrupted world filled with propaganda. She tries to develop her own morality concerning religion, politics, and humanity. Satrapi was blessed enough to have high class status and parents who had an open mindset about the world around them. Thanks to her slightly alternative lifestyle, she is able to reconstruct gender norms that society has set by depicting the different ways women resist them. “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others” by Lila Abu-Lughod is an essay detailing the misconceptions surrounding the veil. Through this essay we can see how colonial feminism, the form of feminism in which western women push for a western way of living on their third world counterparts, has shined a negative light on cultures all around the world - particularly Islamic women. The essay shows how women who don’t conform to American societal structures are labeled as women who urgently require saving. Through this essay one can develop a thorough understanding of the veil itself and the many representations it holds to different entities. Although in Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood Satrapi

Ultimately, Satrapi’s images of the indistinguishable characters accentuate the perception of a western reader to see the Veil as quite oppressive. In America, young teenagers live in a society where clothing and hair is meant to define and express themselves. It is normal for a 17 year old girl to curl her hair and go on a date with her boyfriend. However, in Iran, this is not the case, and as evident in Persepolis, woman are restricted to show her hair or publically show affection to any man who is not her husband. This restriction is something that not many people, especially in predominantly Christian societies are accustomed to. On page 74, Taji, Marjane's mother warns her daughter by explaining one of her experiences, "They insulted me. They said that women like me should be pushed up against a wall and fucked. And then thrown in the garbage. ...And that if I didn't want that to happen, I should wear the veil...” Indeed, Marjane had always been deprived of her individuality, not only as a woman, but as a person. Being a woman in Iran meant Marjane was never able to fully express herself, not only by not

Readers are told the story of Persepolis through the eyes and journey of Marjane (Marji). One example of the social reality of Iran that Persepolis presents to readers is women’s mode of dress. In the beginning of the novel, Marji states, “Then came 1980: the year it became obligatory to wear the veil at school” (1.4). At this time, Marji is only ten years old, yet she still resists the veil and somewhat realizes the gender inequalities present in her reality. Although both boys’ and girls’ clothes change within their separate schools, girls are the only ones who are required to wear the veil. The hijab is a piece of fabric that women are required to wear -- concealing parts of their face and all of their hair. Not only is this a significant part of the social reality, but this is a legal

The Romance of resistance is an article which is written by Lila Abu-Lughod in regard with the different forms of resistance among the Bedouin women and the traditional structure of power among the Bedouin Community in the Egypt's Western Desert. She arrived in late 1970 to begin a fieldwork, and she discovered different forms of resistance among the Bedouin women. In this Article she emphasis on how the Bedouin women resisted the decision of their fathers, uncles, and older brother, how the resisted the sexually segregation, and sexually irreverent discourse. Furthermore, it also talk about how local communities are being incorporated into modern states and integrated into a wider economy.

This paper will discuss the book of Hebrews with an in-depth look at the authorship and Hebrews 11. The book of Hebrews has fallen into a category of its own. The book quotes extensively from the Old Testament. It proclaims that Jesus Christ is superior and Christianity over other religions, including Judaism. The author demonstrates ways for following Jesus. It speaks to anyone who is wondering why they should follow Jesus. For some twelve hundred years from 400AD to 1600AD the book was commonly called the Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews. When we take a look at the letters of Paul. They form some of the most famous yet recognized letters of the New Testament. However, there are another group of eight letters. Hebrews being one of those letters. It is thought that these letters are not truly letters. But a set of tracts or even written versions of sermons aimed at the early Christian communities (Davis, 1998). According to Davis, Hebrews was probably aimed at Jewish converts to Christianity. Because few non-Jewish Christians of the early period would not have understood references to Noah, Abraham, Lot and other familiar Israelites.

The story about a Shi’ite teenager girl who live with grandmother, and she work in a tobacco tent. However, middle of the story her friend Sumayya told her to go to a women’s swimming pool. Her grandmother also allowed to take her into Beirut to see Maryan al-Taweela, thus they are able to figure out the location of swimming pool. Nonetheless, from the story narrator felt that she was separate from the rest of the people, since she started to discover the world outside. She didn’t have any experience of outside, and never saw anything about her village. It literally appeared that she was separated with society, and the world. For instance, “I began to sweat and my heart again contracted as Beirut came into view with its lofty buildings, car

Dreams of Trespass tells the story of a young girl growing up in a Moroccan, Muslim harem and how the world around her affects her childhood. The plot surrounds the main character, Fatima, and her mother’s want for more freedom outside of the harem and the frontiers. The reader gets an insider’s look at the appearance and structure of their home, as well as rules and activities that the women of the harem participated in or were allowed to do. All of this information has one thing in common: Islamic influence. During the time of the story, the 1940s, Islam contributed immensely to Moroccan culture, society, and politics.

Readers are told the story of Persepolis through the eyes and journey of Marjane (Marji). One example of the social reality of Iran that Persepolis presents to readers is women’s mode of dress. In the beginning of the novel, Marji states, “Then came 1980: the year it became obligatory to wear the veil at school” (1.4). At this time, Marji is only ten years old, yet she still resists the veil and somewhat realizes the gender inequalities present in her reality. Although both boys’ and girls’ clothes change within their separate schools, girls are the only ones who are required to wear the veil. The hijab is a piece of fabric that women are required to wear -- concealing parts of their face and all of their hair. Not only is this a significant part of the social reality, but this is a legal requirement of all women in Iran. Men are not legally bound by what they wear, nor are they required to conceal their

The characters portrayed by Leila Aboulela to a great degree vary vastly in their levels of religiosity. This novel showcases a wide spectrum of Muslim identities. Most of the devout believers follow Islam, as they are constantly expressing their faith, thru means of prayer, recitation or other adorations. These religious members are accepting of veil culture, because they have more to value than materialistic objects and western culture. For instance, the young school girls that wore tobes, while Najwa skirts to university. Also, the servants she had back home, as she would be coming home from a party at dawn, they would be make their absolution, “A light bulb came on. They were getting ready to pray. They had dragged themselves from sleep in order to pray. I was wide awake and I didn’t,” this quote from the novel, illustrates a young Najwa understanding the basis of Islam and the importance of prayer (Aboulela, 32) However, this is an evident class divide, illustrating that those with wealth are more secular and those with less are humbled towards their faith. In her time in London, Najwa befriends woman at the local mosque and develops an interest her recitation. Her realization and locality to religiousness triggers her spirituality.

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

In the story of, "Araby" James Joyce concentrated on three main themes that will explain the purpose of the narrative. The story unfolded on North Richmond Street, which is a street composed of two rows of houses, in a desolated neighborhood. Despite the dreary surroundings of "dark muddy lanes" and "ash pits" the boy tried to find evidence of love and beauty in his surroundings. Throughout the story, the boy went through a variety of changes that will pose as different themes of the story including alienation, transformation, and the meaning of religion (Borey).

James Joyce’s short story Araby delves into the life of a young adolescent who lives on North Richmond Street in Dublin, Ireland. Narrated in the boys’ perspective, he recounts memories of playing with friends and of the priest who died in the house before his family moved in. With unrestrained enthusiasm, the boy expresses a confused infatuation with the sister of his friend Mangan. She constantly roams his thoughts and fantasies although he only ever catches glimpses of her. One evening she speaks to him, confiding that she is unable to visit Araby, a bazaar. Stunned by the sudden conversation, the boy promises he will go and bring her back a small memento. In anticipation, the boy launches into a period of restless waiting and distraction

The novel, Midaq Alley, written by Naguib Mahfouz, tells the story of various characters living in a poor alley in Egypt during World War I. Of all the people in Midaq Alley, Hamida is the one who lusts most for an escape from tradition and poverty. She despises her traditional culture, and longs for a life free from the social and cultural constraints that fall upon her. Hamida is introduced as a strong character; however, the temptation of modernization guides her towards a more enticing lifestyle. Hamida’s character portrays how easy it is for one to abandon their culture, traditions and values.