Wanting Mor, by Rukhsana Khan

The novel, Wanting Mor, by Rukhsana Khan is an enthralling tale of life lessons. The story unfolds through the eyes of a traumatised Afghan female named, Jameela. Jameela begins to discover and comprehend themes and morals of life after witnessing the death of her loving mother, Mor. As the novel progresses, numerous themes arise throughout the course of the novel. This powerful novel depicts themes of confidence, tranquility, and righteousness in the cruel cold-hearted world in which Jameela inhabits.

The concept of standing up for one’s self plays a key theme in the novel, Wanting Mor. The novel unfolds with an illustration of Jameela, as a timorous, obedient girl, influenced by her religious beliefs. As it states in the novel, “ ‘Don’t tell me what I am! I’ll tell you!’…My face is hot. How could I have been so careless? So disrespectful. Maybe I’m tired too” (Rukhsana 29). These statements are followed after the death of Mor and how Jameela’s father, Baba, reacts to the situation by demeaning everything including his own daughter. Jameela tries to soothe her father in the attempt to make her father relaxed by informing him he is simply fatigued. In spite of this, her father believes this to be offensive as he needs to be mollified by her young daughter, which results into Jameela believing the cause was of her own. She is also depicted as diffident because she abides to anyone regardless of her own feelings and emotions. This is illustrated through chapters’ three to nine, which begins with Baba telling Jameela that they are leaving their village to go to the picturesque city known as Kabul, regardless of Jameela’s consideration in the process. Afterwards, Jameela labours away with the multiple Khalaas, respectable term for o...

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... the arduous work she commits, strenuously step-by-step to find her voice to say no. Likewise, tranquility worsens as the labour and her anger escalates, however she pacifies slowly and carefully. From the three, righteousness has a bigger impact on representing a life lesson through labour, as she continuously strives to obtain the satisfaction from others. This stands out apart from the rest, as it is a more prevalent theme, as well as a more prominent moral within Wanting Mor, with the statement, “If you can’t be beautiful you should at least be good. People will appreciate that,” always predominant. As these themes may be different from one another, they all demonstrate how, being assertive, calm and courteous can go a long way in the book as well as in life.

Work Cited

Khan, Rukhsana. Wanting Mor. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books, 2009. 190. Print.