Character Analysis: Laila

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The poem “Laila” from Terrain Tracks by Pervi Shah has the theme of disillusion through travel. It is an interpretation of “Layla” by Eric Clapton, who states, “What'll you do when you get lonely And nobody's waiting by your side? You've been running and hiding much too long.” The poem is written dramatically through the eyes of the main character of Laila. She is characterized as Arabic descent, as shown through her Arabic descendent name and her hair being recognized by others as a significant feature, “a black bell” that “surrounds her”. By using the metaphor or a black bell, this shows how the hair calls a great amount of attention and is easily detected. Shah insists that Laila’s hair is beautiful, as it is similar to a “rose”. The author places other body parts, such as her cheeks and neck in lower case, in order to emphasize that people only really see her black strands and thus associate her with a culture. The meaning of “Laila” was carefully chosen by Shah. Her name means “night beauty” and usually refers to a darker complexion and dark hair. Laila’s character is uns...

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