Yasmina Khadra And De Niro's War Analysis

The Middle East is a place often portrayed by violence and terrorism. Often times we allow the media to misconstrue our minds and we fall into and believe the typical stereotypes imposed on us. To say you truly understand the conflicts and issues that occur in the Middle East, I believe you must have had to physically been there or have experienced it. In the fictional novels, The Sirens of Baghdad by Yasmina Khadra and De Niro’s Game by Rawi Hage, we are given two different portrayals and views of the lifestyle that goes on in the Middle East. Although the stories are fictional, many would say that there is some truth behind there “stories”. The Sirens of Baghdad tells the story of a young man, a university student like us, who has been subjected

Maybe it is because I am American, and have been subjected to these common views my entire life. Although I do not agree with all the actions of the American troops, I can understand them. I feel that Khadra tried to only show us the brutality of the American troops, without giving both sides of the story. When the American troops shot the mentally disabled man, they did it to protect themselves. Our soldiers are trained to respond when they feel that there life is threatened. When they shoot, they aim to kill not to injure. That action is justified. These men are being deployed into another country, leaving their loved ones behind to guarantee us our freedom. When someone approaches them, like the mentally ill man did in The Sirens of Baghdad, they need to protect themselves to come home to the ones they left behind. Had that man been a terrorist armed with weapons, or a suicide bomber, the twists and turns of that narration would have been much more tragic. The lives of Arabs could have been put at risk, as well as those of the American troops. When the Americans ransacked the home of the narrator they were only following commands. As the Arabs listen to the commands there given, the soldiers listened to theirs. They were given an order and did as they were told. In Western society, we don’t see this as an act of humiliation. We see the police come to our door, and we let

The two boys George and Bassam were best friends as children, but that quickly changed as they grew older, and were exposed to the violence occurring with Lebanon’s Civil War. The two boys whom seem to be different and choose different paths are distinctively almost identical. Although George goes into the life of crime and violence, Bassam, the narrator, tries to tell us that he wants something different. I feel that this novel truly demonstrates the saying “you reap what you sow”. It demonstrates just how strongly the influence in which the world you live in deeply molds you and who you become. What I got from this novel is that it basically depicts what is more commonly known as “survival of the fittest”. The boys had to become the violent men they turned into or flee. I felt that George was cruel and pitiless. Bassam, although committing a crime of theft, still felt bad about it. Both Bassam and George end up murdering people. That demonstrated to me that although we are in two different countries, with completely different cultures, there are still similarities in ways that shows that violence is basically contagious. In the City of Los Angeles, there is a lot of violence. There are many gangs that roam the streets of Los Angeles. Although this comparison isn’t exactly correct, it is what gave me the connection to understand De Niro’s Game.