Out with the Old

“ Fahmy listened to the speech with rapt attention. His eyes were fixed o nthe speaker, and his heart was beating rapidly. He would have liked to climb up there too and pour out the contents of his raging heart, but he did not have a background in public speaking. He was content for someone else to repeat the outburst of his own heart. He listened to the speaker attentively and enthusiastically until the first pause. Them Fahmy shouted along with all his comrades at the same time, ‘Independence!’” (357).
Desire and emotions reached an all time high in a few characters and in the nation. Fahmy in particular reflects the desire in the nation to be independent. This is important because Fahmy is known to control his emotions and yet in this passage he lets his emotions take control with no restraint except for public speaking. His father also longs for independence and is touched by politics but not as extreme as Fahmy. Ahmad is so touched by Sa’d’s exile that he and his company can’t enjoy their usual drinking and banter. Ahmad and Fahmy, the men of the family with the most control over their emotions, are most effected emotionally by political movement for freedom. Why does Fahmy gets so worked up about independence of Egypt? Fahmy tells his mother, “A people ruled by foreigners has no life” (347). A people dominated by strangers drains away culture and nationalism. Foreigners aren’t going to care or do anything about the people’s problems and adversities. In order for things to change there must be a revolution. For a long time Egypt has put up with the indirect rule of the British but now their presence and repression was felt. “The upheaval had been necessary to relieve the pressure in the nation’s breast and in his own” (357).
This situation of revolution seems to relate to marriage especially Yasin and Zaynab’s. Yasin is suppose to be a protector for his wife like Egypt was a protectorate of Britain (Gascoigne) and he does this for a while until he gets bored. Britain in the beginning invested in Egypt and performed financial and political reforms. Then Yasin learns from his father, “Only men could ruin woman, and not every man is capable of being a guardian for them” (315). When Yasin begins to abandon his wife for his thirst for pleasure and entertainment and attempts to rape the maid, he hurts and worries his wife. Britain in a way begins to rape the nation. For example, “European Cairo was a madhouse because of the British and their self-indulgences …The prices began to rise steeply in Cairo while the British soldiers were enjoying things that they had never had before. The people in the countryside began to suffer greatly from poverty and malnutrition” (Egypt: History - British Occupation Period). In a protest to Yasin’s behavior like the protest to Britain control, Zaynab leaves Yasin. She goes on strike like the people in Cairo.
Sa’d inspires hope within Egypt for freedom and his exile sparked a revolution fueled by the desire for independence. Fahmy mumbles to himself “ It’s all the same whether I live or die, faith is stronger than death, and death is nobler than ignominy. Lets enjoy the hope, compared to which life seems unimportant. Welcome to this new mourning of freedom.” Freedom is the key word here. His passion for independence is so great that life is just another sacrifice for freedom in this most extreme case. Through out the novel, characters exercise or strive for their freedoms. . In a way independence can be related to divorce or a child growing up to rely on its own.
Why is Fahmy so ready to rid of British when he lived with them his whole life? The hope Sa’d inspired gave the people of Egypt a glimpse of freedom and the people were not going to let that go just because he was exiled.
Work Cited
"Egypt: History - British Occupation Period." Egypt Travel, Tours, Vacations, Ancient Egypt from Tour Egypt. Web. 05 Mar. 2010. .

Gascoigne, Bamber. "History of EGYPT." HistoryWorld - History and Timelines. Web. 05 Mar. 2010. .