Like Father Like Son

A lot of parents think that when they do different things that are questionable in society's eye, their children are ignorant of their actions, but as we see through everyday experiences, children are very intelligent and see a lot of things their parents do and often times grow into adults and indulge in some of those very activities. Parents also strive to raise their children to grow into their own people, adults with keen abilities to make their own decisions, but often times we see children become the very thing parents don’t want them to be, and other times when they become the complete opposite. In Naguib Mahfouz's Palace Walk, Ahmad Abd al-Jawad struggles with raising his eldest sons, Yasin and Fahmy, to what he would call a man, honorable and in the eye of society, flawless. In the case of Yasin, he struggles with marriage and what it takes to keep that sacred bond alive. Throughout the novel, we see Ahmad engaging in various affairs with women outside of his marriage. As far as I know, we model our relationships after the relationships exhibited by our parents, who give use our first look at marriage and the way it is suppose to be. Is Yasin merely a mirror of his father, and will he follow in his father's tarnished footsteps? The simple answer to this question is yes, but no. No, because the simple fact that every individual is made differently and makes their own choices, like in the case of Fahmy who dedicates his life demonstrations, but yes because of the fact that Ahmad has so much of an influence on him that he does follow in his footsteps.
At the beginning of chapter forty six, we get a since that Yasin has changed when the text states, “Yasin...poured himself into marriage with all the energy, enthusiasm, and optimism of a man who imagined he was carrying out the initial steps of a program for carnal enjoyment that would last day after day, month after month, and year after year” (307). From this quote we get a sense of Yasin undergoing change, but in his case, is that possible? Does the way he treat his wife reflect the way that Ahmad treats Amina or furthermore, his mother? When looking at this quote, words that stood out were “poured” and “all”. These words that are used to characterize Yasin and his actions suggest devotion and determination to having a healthy marriage. Growing up, Yasin was forced to experience that divorce of his parents and the way in which his father treated his mother. After observing his parents divorce, Yasin, probably began to see marriage as less than sacred, which was the way in which God intended it to be seen.
After reading an article that talked about genes and the transfer of those genes, I saw that there were studies that suggested that parents may pass onto their children a gene of “indulgence”. I know it may sound a little far fetched, but look at this as if it were any other illness or disorder. In this context, the theory of an indulgence gene is based on the probability or statistic that suggest that it is very likely that children will indulge in some of the same actions and activities as there parents. After reading a little deeper into the novel, the narrator conveys to the reader, “His greedy appetite overcame his hesitation. He put his hand on her waist. Then he pulled her gently toward his breast” (382). If this is true, is not the fact that Yasin is lustful and is an adulterer attributed to his father, Ahmad. If children whose parents are alcoholics and exhibit psychopathic symptoms by chance have the same disorders as their parents, then why couldn't a kid whose parent or parents were adulterers have the same problem?
Growing up, my mother always quoted the King James Version Bible saying, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it”, an old saying from Proverbs 22:6. If this is true, then how does this relate to this novel? As the head of the household, Ahmad’s responsibility is to raise his son with good intentions and expect that they would, as an adult, carry those traits with him. Near the end of this novel, it is discovered by Ahmad that Fahmy has been involved in demonstrations against the English. At this news, Ahmad becomes furious. But why on earth would Ahmad be angry that Fahmy has become a demonstrator, standing up for what he believes in, beside the fact that he is scared for his son’s life. If Ahmad has done his job as a father, then he should be behind Fahmy, with the knowledge that what he is doing is for a good cause and right.
Taking a look at this novel, Ahmad is seen as a strict and demanding father that does his best to raise his children in the way that they should go. But after raising his children, are they then allowed to think for themselves or are they prisoners to their father's desires? The answer to this may be found in Yesenia Chavez's Disobedient, a blog about Fahmy's actions. After choosing to indulge in demonstrations and is exposed as a Freedom Fighter, the author paints a picture of Fahmy's maturity, stating:

He started to bite his lips to suppress his tears. He felt ashamed at being so weak. When he was finally able to speak, he launched into a rambling plea, because he was deeply moved and wished to conceal his embarrassment: “Forgive me, Papa. I’ll obey every command of yours more than willingly, but I can’t do this. I can’t…I can’t accept shrinking back and abandoning my brothers, and I don’t think you would like me to. There’s no way life would be bearable if I did…What is my life worth?...What is the life of any man worth? Don’t be angry, Papa. Think about what I’m saying….I assure you that there’s no danger in our little, nonviolent job(426).

Does Ahmad want his sons to be men or does he want them to, like a subservient woman, follow his every wish and command without flaw. When looking at this passage, we see Fahmy, as seen in Marcell Johnson's Out With the Old, struggle for independence, though in this instance, he fights within himself and with his father rather than for his people. In this passage the word “can't” strikes me as extreme. When people claims that they can't, it implies that they are physically incapable of executing a task, and as a man, it seems that Fahmy is incapable of terminating his activity in demonstrations. Ahmad's intention was to raise his sons to be their own men and think for themselves, but how is that possible when he constantly shoves his views down their throats.
Josh Billings, a famous humorist writer, once said, “To bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while”. Though written by a humorist writer, this quote is very true. It is extremely difficult to raise a child because there are no recipe books on making or molding a child into what it is supposed to be. In the case of Ahmad, how can a man raise sons up to be great when he himself is living a contrary life? As we see from Yasin and Fahmy, children are affected greatly by the actions and lifestyle of their parents.

Work Cited

Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk. New York: Anchor, 1990

Reasons to Believe. Adultery Gene? Feb. 3 2010.
http://www.reasons.org/blogs/joes-corner/adultery-gene

Syed Ahamed. English Translation of the Message of The Quran. Lombard, Illinois: Book of Signs Foundation, 2006.

Johnson, Marcell, “Out With the Old.” Digging Even Deeper. Blogger. March 4, 2010. April 7, 2010.

Chavez, Yesenia, “Disobedient.” Digging Even Deeper. Blogger. March 24, 2010. April 7, 2010.