Population: 38.4 million. Currency: Dinar. Geography: Northern Africa. Size: 2,381,741km2. Algeria may seem like just another country for most people in the world, even one they didn’t know existed or had maybe mistaken it for Nigeria. What they don’t know are all the hidden wonders and sights that define Algeria as truly beautiful. Algeria means unconditional love. It’s when I don’t visit for a whole year or two, but right when I pull up to the familiar aged, white-stone house that belongs to my grandmother, an immense feeling of comfort washes over my visage. I open the worn front door and am immediately greeted by my chubby-cheeked, wide-eyed cousins running towards me, smiling from ear to ear. Their capacious laughter drowns out by the time my grandmother comes to meet me. She opens her supple arms, strong from the many years of supporting grandchildren, and I embrace my Mimi. “Was the trip long?” she asks, in our native Arabic. I think back to the previous twelve hours, three planes, and multiple delays that frequently tested my patience and simply reply, “not that bad”. The distance seems so small now that I’m here and nothing can compare to the adoration of my family with just one look even after years of not seeing each other. Algeria is adventure. It’s when I venture out into the Bled1 of my hometown, Tlemcen, and see all the various scenes that make it one of my favorite sights to experience. The culture of it all hits you right when you drive into the hustle and bustle of the Bled. The loud and thick Arabic can be heard from multiple men and women trying to bargain their way through purchasing a ripened orange as well as the horns of a big Mercedes Benz trying to get through a tight street where people cross whenever... ... middle of paper ... ...the multiple children and great-great-grandchildren. It’s an amazing experience to see the world through her eyes and all that we, as a family, have accomplished because of her. Although I live thousands of miles away from Algeria or the fact that I still get mildly annoyed when asked why I’m white if I’m African, I still get a strong tug of emotion and reverence from my memories there. Whether it’s my Mimi and cousins, who love me even when I’m not frequently with them, the energy of the Bled, a sense of belonging, or especially my ‘Google’, these simple memories kept me coming from when I first moved at four years old, to now as an ‘Americanized’ teenager, as my uncles would say. I am ever so grateful to my parents who made the difficult decision of moving to the unknown America but still take us back and immerse us in our traditional culture. Algeria is home.
When they arrive home Jamal and Bibi are informed about the journey they are forced to embark on because of the mother’s “illegal activities”. The cross country trek involves the horrors of war, isolation from family and the constant fear of persecution which can force a family to leave their home country.
Imperialism is when a big country takes over a smaller country to gain more land and materials. The age of imperialism started in the 1870’s when European countries started making empires in Asia, Africa, and the middle east. Algeria is a small country in Africa that was taken over by France in the 1830’s. In 1847 the Algerians wanted their land back so they fought for control but the French defeated the Muslim leader Abd al-Qadir and gained control of the land. Algeria had many positive and negative effects because of imperialism that shaped its culture, society and government. (Dipiazzia 66).
that journey, but she has most of her children that she care them lot to her life.
Daru, the schoolteacher in a remote area of Algeria, is torn between duty and what he believes is the right thing to do when he is suddenly forced in the middle of a situation he does not expect. He must escort an Arabic prisoner to the nearest town. It is not that Daru has much sympathy for the man; in fact, he does not, and actually finds himself disliking the Arab for disrupting so many lives. "Daru felt a sudden wrath against the man, against all men with their rotten spite, their tireless hates, their blood lust." Unfortunately, Daru loves his homeland, and cannot bear to think of leaving, despite the chaos that is raging around him between France and the Algerian natives. I believe that Daru makes the right choice in letting the prisoner choose his own fate. Daru has reaso...
Compared to other countries, France’s economy is the fourth largest in the world. France is a very industrialized nation, yet it has kept some of the cultural characteristics that contribute to its old-world charm. The economy is “exceptionally diversified” (“Economic Structure”, 1). It produces everything from aircrafts to pharmaceuticals.
“Araby” tells the story of a young boy who romanticizes over his friend’s older sister. He spends a lot of time admiring the girl from a distance. When the girl finally talks to him, she reveals she cannot go to the bazaar taking place that weekend, he sees it as a chance to impress her. He tells her that he is going and will buy her something. The boy becomes overwhelmed by the opportunity to perform this chivalrous act for her, surely allowing him to win the affections of the girl. The night of the bazaar, he is forced to wait for his drunken uncle to return home to give him money to go. Unfortunately, this causes the boy to arrive at the bazaar as it is closing. Of the stalls that remained open, he visited one where the owner, and English woman, “seemed to have spoken to me out of a sense of duty” (Joyce 89) and he knows he will not be able to buy anything for her. He decides to just go home, realizing he is “a creature driven and derided with vanity” (Joyce 90). He is angry with himself and embarrassed as he...
appreciation for her and her hard work. This moment had taught me to show my kids happiness
Assia Djebar believed that the process of Western acculturation excluded her from most if not all aspects of the traditional women’s world. This resulted in her mastery of the French language and access to public space. This view of exclusion led Djebar to her Algerian Quartet, which is a writing project to reestablish links with the maternal world, which she felt distanced from, but in fact never lost. They are all polyphonic texts that combine personal and collective memory. In these texts Djebar adds her own voice to those of her maternal ancestors, both historical and legendary. Fantasia, is the first part of the quartet. In Fantasia, she interweaves autobiographical fragments with other strands of narrative like history and oral narrative. She widens the scope of autobiography to embrace the collective voice, inserting her discourse within the community of Algerian women. Autobiography becomes Djebar’s way back to the cherished maternal world of her past, where she seeks healing and reconciliation from a self fragmented by the colonial experience. At the same time, it allows Algerian women’s muted voices and veiled presences to emerge into public space.
“The Stranger”, a novel by French novelist Albert Camus, depicts the life in French-ruled Algeria in 1940s. “The Stranger” begins with Meursault’s mother’s funeral. After funeral, Meursault cruelly killed an Arabic man and he is sentenced to death because he does not show his sorrow at his mother’s funeral rather than murder. “The Stranger” is always manifested as a classic of “Absurdism”, discussed by readers and writers. However, associating with the time that Albert wrote this novel and the history of that time, people cannot overlook the ideas about colonialism in “The Stranger”. Meursault’s indifferent characteristic, ridiculous crime, and obscure description about places are epitome of French colonists’ brutal oppressions and sarcasm to French governor’s inconsistent behavior. Albert Camus uses these elements to condemn French colonists and colonism.
Joyce, James. “Araby.” Literature: The Human Experience. Abcarian, Richard et al.,. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. 92-96
Having someone in your life that you consider special is a wondering feeling. And when this person has played so many different roles throughout my life it’s a magnificent feeling for her to feel so accomplished and so admired. When I think back to everything I’ve done I can’t look over the fact that the reason I did it is because she made me the fantastic person I am. I’m glad she passed all the things on to me and I hope I can do the same to next generations. The traditions that we have created are known throughout my entire family and I’m glad that we were both a part of them. She is an extraordinary person and I look forward to all the great memories I still have left with her to create. My Grandma is with out a doubt the most influential person in my life and I’m so grateful for her presence.
Throughout the narrator’s elaborate life; he experienced love, friendship, and sickness; as well as many other things described in his book: Love in Exile. This book discusses the different cultures and personalities that the narrator observes, the love of the narrator’s life, Brigitte, and the life of Bahaa Taher in general and the kinds of cultures he experiences.
Ethiopia an African country officially known as the Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and famously know as one of the oldest location of human life to scientists. Ethiopia is located in the horn of Africa (east of Africa). It is argued that Ethiopia was the only African country to defeat a European colonial power and retain its sovereignty as an independent country. It is argued that Ethiopia was conquered by Italy in 1935 and regained its independence in 1941 on the 5th of May and the ruler of that era was Halie Selassi. Ethiopia’s major economic contributor is the agriculture sector with a 46% of gross domestic product and a labour force of 85% by agriculture (Ethiopia’s gross domestic product by sector). Ethiopia is a federal republic state this means that there is no monarch and that the state exercise democra...
Libya, though very dry and uninhabited, contains much history and ancient architecture. It is a very interesting country, and to think that that much land can be covered by flat desert is amazing. Libya is a well run country and very populated considering the conditions.
Although he had endured trials and tribulations to attend the bazaar, he soon finds that, exotic name withstanding, he is still in Dublin, is still impoverished, and his dreams of Araby were merely that, dreams. Our narrator remains a prisoner of his environment, his economic situation, and painful reality. North Richmond Street, the dead-end street described in the first sentence of “Araby” is more than a street. It is a symbol for the way that our protagonist views his life.