The theme of "Midaq Alley" cuts to the heart of Arab society. Namely, it shows how a group of characters living in the same slum neighborhood responds to the combined promise and threat of Western-influenced modernization. Midaq Alley is about the Egyptian residents of a hustling, packed back alley in Cairo in the 1940's. The attempts of several residents to escape the alley and move up in status end with dreams broken and unfulfilled. The opening sentences of "Midaq Alley" points to a world bypassed by history: "Many things combine to show that Midaq Alley is one of the gems of times gone by and that it once shone forth like a flashing star in the history of Cairo. Which Cairo do I mean? That of the Fatimids, the Mamlukes or the Sultans?" (Mahfouz 1). The book captures a great slice of life in the Cairo of the first half of this century. The novel does not describes the city, but in offers an insight into its culture, and into the profound social changes that took place during the 20th century. In short order, we are plunged into the reality of Kirsha's coffee shop, where antiquity is being assaulted in all directions. When a "senile old man" begins to play his two-stringed fiddle in accompaniment to a "prayer for the prophet," he is shouted down by the proprietor: "Are you going to force your recitations on us? That's the end -- the end! Didn't I warn you last week?" (Mahfouz 5). Kirsha tells the old poet-singer that he has been bypassed by history. "We know all the stories you tell by heart and we don't need to run through them again. People today don't want a poet. They keep asking me for a radio and there's one over there being installed now. So go away and leave us alone and may God provide for you." (Mahfouz 6). From t...
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...e consequences. In conclusion Midaq Alley, has is no final understanding among the novel's characters about why they suffer or they do the things they do, least of all a political one. But socially their choices appear limited between a kind of blind acceptance of "god's will" and the meager outlets afforded by factory jobs or army bases of the occupying power of the moment. What I have learned from doing the research is that Cairo has a very rich history, but I am not talking about the pyramids, which are beautiful, but they are more like a tourist attraction. Cairo is always changing with the times but one of the things that did not changes is the way it was built, the reason they called it Midiq Alley is because most of the roads of Cairo are alleys. The ever growing population makes Cairo a city that ever expanding, houses are built with out much planning.
“The Great Soberer”, the phrase Standage uses to refer to coffee, dates back to the 15th century with the story of an “Ethiopian goatherd who noticed that his flock became particularly frisky a...
First, political Islam has rogue Egypt and held it down, suffocating the country, not allowing it to stand a chance. President Hosni Mubarak was ousted and people thought that Egypt was getting better. It has not been the case. While Zaki lives in faded luxury and chases women, Bothayna endures sexual harassment while working as a shop assistant to provide for her poor family after the death of her father. Meanwhile her boyfriend, Taha, son of the building's janitor, is rejected by the police and decides to join a radical Islamic group. Egypt is heading towards a bottomless abyss. Everything is controlled by the elite. Jobs are no more; it is preserved for the top. This increases the plight of the people and leads them into committing some of the acts seen in Islam as bad or as a taboo. The political elite are crashing its opponents and ensuring that whoever com...
The novel depicts the story of Amir, an Afghan living in San Francisco who receives a call from his father's friend living in Pakistan, a place which brings back bittersweet memoirs of childhood days spent in Kabul, Afghanistan. Amir narrates his idyllic childhood in Kabul where his father is well-endowed with much financial success, power, and prestige. Amir and his father render housing for their servants or to the socially disadvantaged people within their jurisdiction. As opposed to the wealthy background that Amir has grown accustomed to, Ali together with his s...
In the poem, Harjo portrays the importance of recalling the past to help shape one’s identity. She uses the repetition of the word “Remember” to remind that while the past may be history, it still is a defining factor in people’s lives (l. 1). This literary technique
"Araby", a short story by James Joyce, is a despondent memory of adolescence narrated by a now grown man. The narrator recalls his first love, the older sister of his friend Mangan. He relates to us how he waited for her to leave her house for school before he would leave his house, trailing behind her until their ways parted, then passing her and going on his way. They had not had a conversation, until one day she asked him if he was going to Araby. Araby was the name of a bazaar that took place in Dublin in May 1894 (Beatty et al. 397). The narrator then, due to Mangan's sister's insistence that it would be "splendid" and that she would love to go (Joyce 397), decided to go to Araby, and to get her something there, because she could not attend. Once the idea was in his head, the narrator could think of nothing else, and the syllables of the word Araby grow to envelop the narrator and "cast an Eastern enchantment over [him]" (Joyce 397). The Saturday night of the Bazaar, the narrator's uncle, with whom he lived, returned home late. He was still allowed to go to the bazaar; however, he arrived shortly before it closed, and, as a result was unable to buy anything before it became dark. The setting in "Araby" is described in detail, and is important to the story: it sets the tone, and it helps us understand the characters.
Arabian Nights: Hookah Lounge. (n.d.). Arabian Nights: Hookah Lounge. Retrieved December 13, 2013, from http://arabiannightshookah.com/
“Araby”, is a story that is beginning something new which is another word of saying “initiation”. In this short story the little boy is known to be young and innocent. His crush on Mangan’s sister takes him far away from reality. The little boy’s goal is but her something at the bazaar. When he gets to the bazaar he then realizes the poorness and the ordinary conversation of the people that are working there and the very little money that he has. Something that can be an initiation would be “a creature driven and derided; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger (158).” This quote represents going into to the adult world.
An interesting quotation is, “a book has got smell. A new book smells great. An old book smells even better. An old book smells like ancient Egypt.” Cairo Egypt has a lot of things, like one, its international business, two, the global economy, and three, political/legal and economic factors. Cairo has domestic and international companies. It has what you need to know to be safe and the behaviors, import and exports, and tariffs, embargoes, and the geography. It’s a lot of things that people need to know about Cairo Egypt.
Amir comes from a wealthy family and lives in a beautiful home in an affluent neighborhood in Kabul. Amir is also a Pashtun, a Sunni Muslim. Sunni’s were the majority and they were respected and valued as human beings. On the contrary, Hassan was the servant’s son. He was poor. Unlike Amir, he was a Hazara, a Shia Muslim. Shia’s were not respected. They were degraded by society. Although Amir and Hassan were identified differently, they were raised together and became close friends. Given the setting, Amir and Hassan’s relationship was not approved by everyone. When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, society became worse and their friendship took a toll. Hassan was bullied and insulted for being a Hazara. Assef, the bully in the novel says “Afghanistan is the land of the Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be. We are the true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here” (Hosseini, 40). Assef demonstrates the views of many people in Afghanistan. Those who were not Pashtuns were oppressed. Assef says that Hassan’s people “Pollute our homeland and dirty our blood” (40). Assef represents people like the Taliban. The Taliban were the fundamentalist who acted in violence. They had political movements that caused war. These views caused a division between both social classes and religions. People like Assef and the Taliban did not want the Hazaras to exist, so they turned to violence to try and get rid of them. The social milieu often led to negative events in
From the beginning the reader is introduced to Midaq Alley. Immediately the reader learns that the alley “is one of the gems of times gone by and that it once shone forth like a flashing star in the history of Cairo” (Mahfouz 1). Also, the reader learns that “Midaq Alley lives in almost complete isolation from all surrounding activity…” (Mahfouz 1). Clearly the alley once used to be a bustling and important place but now is an isolated place stuck in times that have long passed. Through these descriptions, Mahfouz is introducing to the reader the main character of the novel, the alley. This detached and ancient alley will serve as the setting for almost the entire novel. All of the events described in the novel are from the vantage point of the alley.
In her novel Woman at Point Zero, Nawal El Saadawi recounts the story of Firdaus, a young woman growing up in Egyptian society. After several years of repression under male figures such as her father, uncle, and husband, Firdaus seeks independence and becomes a prostitute. However, both before and after she becomes independent, Firdaus’ worth is determined by money, which is a commodity primarily held by men in Egyptian society. Through her exploration of the symbol of money, Nawal El Saadawi provides commentary on the superficial aspects of Egyptian society.
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).
Daniels starts the chapter by stating that men historically have had more advantages than women. Men could be writers without being judged while women were unable to do so due to their lack of education. It is because of this that men could express their opinion while women were kept shut. Literature served as an insight of the culture and society of the time period. In Arab literature specifically, women are often portrayed in the familiar cultural stereotypes. Alifa Rifaat, a Muslim feminist, took a twist on the average Arab literature and she instead wrote stories about what it means to be a woman in an orthodox Muslim society in Egypt. In Rifaat’s book, Distant View of a Minaret, she discusses themes of human rights, sex and gender roles in her stories that would allow the reader to come to their own conclusion about such rights, or lack of, regarding women, hopefully in protest of such. Rifaat’s book contains thirteen short stories in which Muslim women are faced difficulties in their arranged marriages. Throughout her stories it is made clear that in Egypt and other orthodox Muslim societies women have little to no say in economics or major decisions, as well as little to no education. Women are expected to be under the control of their husbands, or their older brother if they are single or widowed. A major theme in all of Rifaat’s short stories is the deprivation of sexual satisfaction and lack of emotional attention many of the women suffer from in their marriages in orthodox Muslim societies. This then leads to a tyranny of masculinity that make women passive and unable to fight back. Not only is it the religious rules that have oppressed women in orthodox Muslim societies but it is also the tradition in such cultures. Such rules and traditions have
Nestled between Viman Nagar and Koregaon Park, Kalyani Nagar has emerged as one of the most prominent commercial and residential real estate destination on the Eastern corridor of Pune. This locality is named after Neelkanth Kalyani , one of the foremost industrialists who pioneered the Kalyan Forging company in the early 1960s. In earlier days, it was prominently a residential area, but with the improved accessibility and emergence of many new buildings, shopping malls and IT parks have changed the skyline of this locality. Now it’s one of the most demanded locality in commercial as well as in residential sector.
The book Woman at Point Zero, written by Nawal El Saadawi is a tragic one. Based upon a true story, it focuses on the woman named Firdaus and her life story. Taking place in Egypt during the mid ‘70s, Firdaus’ life is filled with dread and despair from beginning to end. Being a woman is the only thing stopping Firdaus from being the dominant, independant person we learn that she is. Yet the harsh reality is that all women in egypt at this time are treated like objects, used only for sex and slave-like tasks. It is very clear in Saadawi’s book that women are stepped on and treated like lesser beings. In this analysis we will be learning why and how a women are marginalized, excluded, and silenced within the text.