Father's and Children's Relationship

Throughout the novel, we witness a lot of lying. The children and the mother, Amina, lie in order to be happy. Why do they lie? They are suppose to fear their father, since he is so strict. You would figure they'll obey Ahmad at any cost to refrain from getting any punishment. But, this is not the case. Toward the end of this novel, the narrator states:
Lying was not considered contemptible or shameful in this household. Living in their father's shadow, none of them would have been able to enjoy any peace without the protection of a lie. They openly admitted this to themselves....If they had been totally truthful with their father, life would have lost its savor (424).
The first sentence says lying is not look bad upon in the household, which is true because everybody in the house has lied in many cases. Ahmad disapproves with lying and catches a temper rage when he finds out somebody is lying, but then he turns around and lies. The next line says none of the children would have never made it without sneaking around Ahmad back. Lying is how they found happiness. Even Kamal lies and goes of after school without any protection his father demanded him to have. Further along this paragraph, it says, “If they had been totally truthful with their father, life would have lost its savor” (424). This is true in many cases, even for us. If the children would have told the truth every time and asked for permission before they do something, this book would be boring. By having the children lie it keeps us into to the book always wondering what if. What if Ahmad finds out? Lying plays a big role throughout the book, but why do they continue to lie and disobey their father?
When reading this novel, I made conclusions that all the people that live with Ahmad feared him. I suggested that fear overcame the love throughout their relationship with their father or husband. It is not that they feared their father, it is simply that they loved and respected their father. A father's role throughout the muslim culture is to support the family and to guide their children on the right path. In the muslim culture, it is different than what we live by. The parent arranges the marriage, based on what they think is best for the children. If the child ends up to be a failure in life, many people would blame the parents for what the child has turned out to be. It is not the Ahmad dislikes his children and wants to make their lives a living heal, it is simply that cares and wants the best for his children.
In one of Danielas' blogs, Hiding Behind The Wall, she talks about the sensitive side of Ahmad. She says, “The anger, strictness, and sternness with the family is simply a shield to prevent the family from seeing his sensitivity”(2010, Barajas). I agree with this a lot. Knowing the responsibilities of a man, he knows he has to set an example for his children; therefore, he has to be mean and strict to show his children how to become a man. We see a perfect example of this with his son, Fahmy. After Fahmy has disobeyed his father, he return asking for his father's forgiveness and approval on page 486. In response, Ahmad is thinking to himself, “My heart wishes to forgive him, but I'm afraid he'll think then that it's okay to disobey me” (486). Ahmad wants to forgive his son so bad, but he doesn't want to come off as being weak. Therefore, Ahmad is left putting on a slight attitude hinting to his son that he does forgive him, but that he is still mad an upset on what he has done.
In one of Yesinias' blogs, Hard To Understand, also taking about Ahmad passion toward his daughter's she mention the role of a father. She mentions in her blog, a father is the first man in a daughter life. This is very important, because the father chooses who she is going to marry; therefore, it is up to the father to shape his daughter according to what he thinks makes a perfect wife. All the times he has denied marriage offers for his daughter Aisha, was not that he was trying to mean and wanted to make her life miserable. He just wanted the best for his daughter. When Aisha is having the baby, Ahmad reacts and is worried about his daughter's life. He reacts saying, ““What's happened to my little girl? The doctor! Why is the old lady keeping me from seeing her?” (474). Here we see that Ahmad really does care for his daughter and that he loves her with all his heart.
The children lied because they didn't want to degrade their father. They understood that being a father means being strict and mean toward them. They understood that Ahmad only wanted the best for them. All the screaming and fighting was just tough love. So, they lied giving Ahmad the satisfaction of being a father, Ahmad wanted to be. Through all the toughness of their relationship with their father, they manage to see past that and find the love.
Throughout the whole book, I never really understood why Ahmad was so harsh with his children. I figured he didn't care about his children. After I read the whole book, I realized he was just being father. He was just looking out for them, and want to make sure as they grow up they'll be prepared for life. Ahmad says towards the end of the book, “It's true that fear makes men do foolish things” (476). All along he was just scared his children will end up hurt some way or another, so his only solution was to be strict and try to control everything they do to protect them.


Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk (Cairo Trilogy). New York: Anchor, 1990. Print.