Employing irony, dark humor, and personal anecdotes, Sayed Kashua wrote a fictional narrative that explores the politics of identity, masquerading, and crossing in a region undergoing a nationality crisis. Language, culture and history, too, play pivotal roles in the varying levels of social and cultural capital in a society with a dominating judaistic force. In navigating both real and imagined Israeli communities, Kashua and his main protagonist in Dancing Arabs find themselves trapped in an identity paradox: they are too Arab to be considered Jewish, yet too Jewish to be considered Arab.
Before attempting to understand the politics behind this confining identity paradox, it is important to analyze the societal implications that the Jewish community has on the Arab community. Part one of Dancing Arabs indirectly introduces the Jewish community as “the other” — the enemy. The grandmother recounts how “the Jews” bombed Tira, shot and killed her husband, and reduced their family to being fruit pickers (20-2). In addition to this, she holds that her son was wrongly imprisoned after
Essentially, he is walking the tightrope of trying to be acknowledged and liked by the elite in his society (“the Jews”), without being accused by Palestinians of being a traitor. This forces him, however, to constantly jump back and forth between fitting in with the “the Arabs” and “the Jews”. His identity is constantly being threatened by the very people that he wants to be accepted by. His girlfriend Naomi, for instance, breaks up with him because her mother did not approve of her having an Arab boyfriend (122). Despite all of the music he learned and pop culture references he learned, he still was not “non-Arabic”
...r remains faithful to the memory of his peaceful childhood when Jews and Palestinians lived together in peace, and the prospect of a better future. Despite the political wrongs his people have suffered, he is proud of his heritage and intends to “restore race relations between Jews and Palestinians, (by restoring) human dignity” (146). To do this, Chocour implements innovative techniques: he has Palestinians visit the Kibbutzim, and has Jews spend time with Palestinian families. Chocour’s message is quite honorable, “to change hearts not institutions” (222). Chocour remembers that “Jews and Palestinians are brothers, the(y) have the same father, Abraham, and believe in the same God” (34). It is sad that peoples in this region need to be remnded that they are brothers, but it is comforting that there are men like Chocour, who valiantly assume this task as their own.
Critics have already begun a heated debate over the success of the book that has addressed both its strengths and weaknesses. The debate may rage for a few years but it will eventually fizzle out as the success of the novel sustains. The characters, plot, emotional appeal, and easily relatable situations are too strong for this book to crumble. The internal characteristics have provided a strong base to withstand the petty attacks on underdeveloped metaphors and transparent descriptions. The novel does not need confrontations with the Middle East to remain a staple in modern reading, it can hold its own based on its life lessons that anyone can use.
September 11, 2001 will be replayed and remembered in the minds of this American generation as one of the greatest tragedies on domestic soil. In one day, the world was dramatically altered; but in the days that followed, no group of Americans was affected more intensely nor uniquely than Arab-Americans. Once in a Promised Land, the 2007 novel by Laila Halaby, depicts the real world aftermath which assaulted one fictional Arab couple. Halaby's work accurately portrays the circumstances Arab-Americans found themselves in after the 9/11 attacks, highlighting several themes relating to patriotism, fear, and shame through her accessible characters and narrative stylings.
But, as Sandy Tolan 's book, The Lemon Tree, seeks to explain, through Dalia’s longing for zion and Bashir’s belief in the arab right of return, that the main catalyst of the Arab-Israeli conflict is
Nisan, Mordechai. "The Druze In Israel: Questions Of Identity, Citizenship, And Patriotism." Middle East Journal 64.4 (2010): 575-596. Academic Search Premier. Web. 06 Nov. 2013.
As the world progresses, developments occur that have a profound significance on the entire nature in which society functions. One such event is the growth of the film industry that has prompted restructuring of the way we view certain groups of people. Hollywood can be seen not only as a major driving force behind cultural, political, and social change, but also as an enforcer of preconceived notions and an outlet of misrepresentation. Among the various groups of people illustrated on the silver screen, Arabs are perhaps one of the most misunderstood and stereotyped groups of Hollywood. This multi-billion dollar industry produces a wide range of movies that heavily influence the way we perceive this group, and most importantly, the way in
Although “Araby” is a fairly short story, author James Joyce does a remarkable job of discussing some very deep issues within it. On the surface it appears to be a story of a boy's trip to the market to get a gift for the girl he has a crush on. Yet deeper down it is about a lonely boy who makes a pilgrimage to an eastern-styled bazaar in hopes that it will somehow alleviate his miserable life. James Joyce’s uses the boy in “Araby” to expose a story of isolation and lack of control. These themes of alienation and control are ultimately linked because it will be seen that the source of the boy's emotional distance is his lack of control over his life.
Joyce, James. “Araby”. The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Eds. R.V. Cassill and Richard Bausch. Shorter Sixth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2000. 427 - 431.
Joyce, James. “Araby.” The Norton Introduction to Literature, Shorter Eighth Edition. Eds. Jerome Beaty, Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays. New York: W.W.Norton.
The narrator in “Araby” is a young man who lives in an uninteresting area and dreary house in Dublin. The only seemingly exciting thing about the boy’s existence is the sister of his friend Mangum that he is hopelessly in love with; “…her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood.” (Joyce 2279) In an attempt to impress her and bring some color into his own gray life, he impulsively lies to her that he is planning on attending a bazaar called Arab. He also promises the gi...
... example of how Arabs can marry more than 1 girl or when Salim was trying to dial a number, it took forever for him to dial because it was a very long number so that was making fun of the Arabs in a way. This movie had a lot of Stereotypes in a way; however, it does justify the fact that there is tension and problems between the Israel’s and Palestinians. In the end of the movie, it shows how Phantom and Zohan made peace, got along and Zohan married Dalia. That doesn’t happen often between the Palestinians and Israelis. This movie reminded me of how I hope the Palestinians do find peace one day in their country.
Rowe, N. (2011). Dance and political credibility: The appropriation of dabkeh by zionism, pan-arabism, and palestinian nationalism. The Middle East Journal, 65(3), 363-380. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.aus.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/882854466?accountid=16946
Edward Said “States” refutes the view Western journalists, writers, and scholars have created in order to represent Eastern cultures as mysterious, dangerous, unchanging, and inferior. According to Said, who was born in Jerusalem at that time Palestine, the way westerners represent eastern people impacts the way they interact with the global community. All of this adds to, Palestinians having to endure unfair challenges such as eviction, misrepresentation, and marginalization that have forced them to spread allover the world. By narrating the story of his country Palestine, and his fellow countrymen from their own perspective Said is able to humanize Palestinians to the reader. “States” makes the reader feel the importance of having a homeland, and how detrimental having a place to call home is when trying to maintain one’s culture. Which highlights the major trait of the Palestinian culture: survival. Throughout “States”, Said presents the self-preservation struggles Palestinians are doomed to face due to eviction, and marginalization. “Just as we once were taken from one habitat to a new one we can be moved again” (Said 543).
Joyce, James. "Araby." 1914. Literature and Ourselves. Henderson, Gloria, ed. Boston, Longman Press. 2009. 984-988.
Samir Moussa was born to a Lebanese father and a Columbian mother and his family spent most of their time in the city of Washington DC. During his time in school from Kindergarten to high school graduation, he was also exposed to other students who were also from International destinations.