Yasin breathed in deeply and then exhaled. He was playing with his fingers in obvious anxiety. He stammered, "Our father has a fiery temper and does not accept corrections for his opinions. I, for my part, am no longer a boy. I have become a man and an employee, as you pointed out. What I fear most is that he'll get angry and I'll lose control of myself and become angry too." (pg. 213)
The children have been trying to determine who would confront their father about bringing their mother back and as the oldest Yasin is kind of automatically the one that should take on the responsibility. He uses logos to try and find a reasonable explanation as to why he shouldn't be the one to so it. He knows that he can't just give any crappy reason so he thoughtfully tries to avoid the situation. He didn't think this true at first but when he said it he realized that is was more than just an excuse he realized it was actually true. He was afraid of how he would react. He knows that his father has a bad temper and doesn't want to put himself in a situation that would cause him to react in an inappropriate or disrespectful manner.
Showing posts with label Palace Walk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Palace Walk. Show all posts
Friday, September 24, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Stix
Aisha is slender, well extremely skinny, compared to her sister Khadija. Khadija is extremely jealous of that fact and is not ashamed to let that be known. She constantly teases Aisha about her size and in chapter 5 in the second paragraph on page 29 she just goes on a rampage with insults concerning Aisha's weight. She wants Aisha to feel bad about her size and the fact that the author starts off with, "Aisha's slenderness did not correspond to the diligence with which she ate" relates to how Khadija feels about Aisha's weight. This sentence was used to introduce the paragraph to display just how much she dislikes the fact that Aisha does not look like her. She tries to make Aisha feel bad for being as small as she is by bringing up the fact that the "potion" used to fattened up the rest of the women has failed to help Aisha gain weight, she attributes it to the fact that Aisha has little faith. Khadija definitely wants Aisha to feel bad and does everything she can to make that possible and the author does a tremendous job in setting the tone.
Ahmad the Confident
Chapter fifteen begins with Ahmad closing his store and heading out into the rest of the world. In the previous chapter, Ahmad was in his store, now, Mahfouz transitions to another seen with this first paragraph. The beginning of this chapter also helps to illustrate Ahmad's confidence. Chapter fifteen is the chapter in which Ahmad pays Zubayda a visit, and this second paragraph gives insight into how Ahmad might be used to doing these kinds of things with many women. Ahmad has a confidence that can only come with experience. To supply evidence of this I can quote "...demonstrating he was accustomed to situations like this and certain the results would be to his liking" (92).
The placement of this brief passage here is important because it sheds more light on Ahmad's true character and it serves as a mean for Mahfouz to continue his story.
The placement of this brief passage here is important because it sheds more light on Ahmad's true character and it serves as a mean for Mahfouz to continue his story.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Looking Into Yasin
Chapter twelve in Palace Walk begins with Yasin leaving home, heading out into the real world. It is here that Naguib Mahfouz first goes into Yasin’s mind. Interestingly, the first paragraph opens with the sentences “When Yasin left the house he naturally knew where he was going, since he went there every evening. He appeared, however, to have no idea where he was heading. He was always like this when walking in the street" (70). It is in this manner that journeys often begin, with a character taking his first steps towards a goal but seeming to be hesitant. These few sentences also help to show how Yasin's life has become an unchaging rutine. Yet in this rutine, Yasin is constatnty searching for something new, more specifically a woman.
Mahfouz uses the first two pages of chapter twelve to give an insight into Yasin's mind. It is here, where Yasin is first introduced that the author chooses to give importance to him. It wouldn't make sense to include so much writing if Yasin wasn't going to be a developed character. It is here that we learn of Yasin's sex drive and how he fears his father. This further enforces the difference of the father in his house and at work, and it also allows for an easy transition into Ahmad's night adventures by creating a parallel between father and son. The fact that Yasin is the eldest son also fits well in this situation because it is usually the elder that resembles the father.
The Coffee Hour
I'm sure that most people associate "Coffee Hour" in the beginning of the day. It's usually taken to start off the day with energy. What I found to be very intriguing is how Mahfouz depicts the family's coffee tradition in the beginning paragraph of Chapter 9 to take place right before sunset.
Looking at the storyline, it appears that the coffee hour scene takes place at the end of the first day of the novel. From the first sentence, there is already a clear point that Mahfouz wants to convey. The passage starts off with, "Except for the father...."(Mahfouz 52) It might sound obvious, but Mahfouz didn't include that there for no reason. He wants to emphasize how important the father's absence will be throughout this chapter. Up until this point in the book, this is the first time that the reader gets to see the family congregating.
The setting describes Amina sitting in the center of the room with the children facing opposite her. This portrays a powerful mother who takes the position of head of the house. Surprisingly, Amina shows loyalty to the tradition imposed by Ahmad, only allowing Yasin and Fahmy to drink coffee with her and making Ahmads influence visible even though he isn't in the household. Aside from that, there is still a sense of bonding in the family since the passage does show that the rest of the children thought the conversation itself was enough to be "contented"(52).
Mahfouz sticks this paragraph in the novel to demostrate a sense of the lifestyle right before sunset. As we all know, Ahmad day really starts when he gets to party with his friends. Mahfouz uses the text to show that for Ahmads family, the day really starts when their father is absent.
Looking at the storyline, it appears that the coffee hour scene takes place at the end of the first day of the novel. From the first sentence, there is already a clear point that Mahfouz wants to convey. The passage starts off with, "Except for the father...."(Mahfouz 52) It might sound obvious, but Mahfouz didn't include that there for no reason. He wants to emphasize how important the father's absence will be throughout this chapter. Up until this point in the book, this is the first time that the reader gets to see the family congregating.
The setting describes Amina sitting in the center of the room with the children facing opposite her. This portrays a powerful mother who takes the position of head of the house. Surprisingly, Amina shows loyalty to the tradition imposed by Ahmad, only allowing Yasin and Fahmy to drink coffee with her and making Ahmads influence visible even though he isn't in the household. Aside from that, there is still a sense of bonding in the family since the passage does show that the rest of the children thought the conversation itself was enough to be "contented"(52).
Mahfouz sticks this paragraph in the novel to demostrate a sense of the lifestyle right before sunset. As we all know, Ahmad day really starts when he gets to party with his friends. Mahfouz uses the text to show that for Ahmads family, the day really starts when their father is absent.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Yasin's Lust
In Naguib Mahfouz’s Palace Walk, Yasin is a character that takes after his father, Ahmad, but not in the dealings of business or being someone of high respect. Yasin takes after his father’s vices: partying and women. In the novel, we immediately see that Yasin is a lustful creature. Every time he talks about a woman, it is entirely sexual. He describes their bodies and treats them as objects, always referring to them with obscenities. When he attempts to rape Umm Hanafi, his father feels that it is best to marry him off to one of his friend’s daughters. Ahmad does this in hopes that Yasin will settle down and stop tainting his name; if he is married, he will be seen with more respect than being a single, licentious rapist.
Before his marriage, Yasin was entertaining himself with a woman named Zanuba. He was vey lustful with her and would call her whenever he was in need of pleasure. However, when he gets married to Zaynab, he comes to realize that Zanuba means nothing to him emotionally and now that he has a wife, nothing to him at all (even physically).
“When Yasin thought about his bride, a bestial tremor passed
through his body. Then he remembered the last night... with
Zanuba. He had informed her of his impeding marriage and told her
he was saying goodbye to her... Zanuba no longer meant anything to
him, nor did any other woman. He had lowered the curtain on that
side of his life forever. He might return to drinking, because he
thought his desire for that would not die, but as for women, he could
not imagine his eyes straying when he had a beauty at his disposal.
His bride was a renewable resource and a spring of water for the wild
thirst that had troubled his existence so frequently” (299).
Ahamd was right: If Yasin were given a beautiful wife, he would settle down and then have someone to submit to his lusts. Yasin and Zaynab’s marriage was proving just this until Yasin’s lusts began to resurface. There were times when she would satisfy them, “...her vivacity and desire had increased. When he would think that sleep had become a necessity after such a long period of activity, before he knew it her leg would be flung over his as if of its own accord. So he told himself, ‘How amazing...she’s the one who’s realizing my dreams for our marriage’” (308), but most of the time he was just disappointed that he had left his lustful life behind.
To Yasin: “Marriage’s external appearance was beguiling, tempting enough to die for, but inside it was so staid and sedate that a person might become indifferent of disgusted” (307). He began to lose interest in having a permanent woman at his disposal. Ahmad’s idea had failed because Zaynab was unable to satisfy Yasin’s thirst for lust. Yes, she did try to satisfy him as best she could, but Yasin wants more than one woman can give him and this is what Ahmad failed to take into account. One good thing, in Ahmad’s view, did come from Yasin’s marriage: Yasin’s honor was secured. Because he got married, his offenses of sleeping with other women are not as costly as they would be if he were single.
Work Cited
Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk. Toronto: First American Edition, 1991. Print.
Before his marriage, Yasin was entertaining himself with a woman named Zanuba. He was vey lustful with her and would call her whenever he was in need of pleasure. However, when he gets married to Zaynab, he comes to realize that Zanuba means nothing to him emotionally and now that he has a wife, nothing to him at all (even physically).
“When Yasin thought about his bride, a bestial tremor passed
through his body. Then he remembered the last night... with
Zanuba. He had informed her of his impeding marriage and told her
he was saying goodbye to her... Zanuba no longer meant anything to
him, nor did any other woman. He had lowered the curtain on that
side of his life forever. He might return to drinking, because he
thought his desire for that would not die, but as for women, he could
not imagine his eyes straying when he had a beauty at his disposal.
His bride was a renewable resource and a spring of water for the wild
thirst that had troubled his existence so frequently” (299).
Ahamd was right: If Yasin were given a beautiful wife, he would settle down and then have someone to submit to his lusts. Yasin and Zaynab’s marriage was proving just this until Yasin’s lusts began to resurface. There were times when she would satisfy them, “...her vivacity and desire had increased. When he would think that sleep had become a necessity after such a long period of activity, before he knew it her leg would be flung over his as if of its own accord. So he told himself, ‘How amazing...she’s the one who’s realizing my dreams for our marriage’” (308), but most of the time he was just disappointed that he had left his lustful life behind.
To Yasin: “Marriage’s external appearance was beguiling, tempting enough to die for, but inside it was so staid and sedate that a person might become indifferent of disgusted” (307). He began to lose interest in having a permanent woman at his disposal. Ahmad’s idea had failed because Zaynab was unable to satisfy Yasin’s thirst for lust. Yes, she did try to satisfy him as best she could, but Yasin wants more than one woman can give him and this is what Ahmad failed to take into account. One good thing, in Ahmad’s view, did come from Yasin’s marriage: Yasin’s honor was secured. Because he got married, his offenses of sleeping with other women are not as costly as they would be if he were single.
Work Cited
Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk. Toronto: First American Edition, 1991. Print.
Strength
Throughout Naguib Mahfouz's Palace Walk, both the men and the women in the novel display a certain type of strength. With the men, this is displayed by taking on the roll of a superior. With the women, it is a sense of fulfilling one's duty to their husband. When it comes to the protests in which the Egyptians hold in order to rid themselves of British rule, Fahmy is the first to display a different type of strength: the will to fight for what he believes in. Fahmy is a character that we first see as calm and tolerant, but as the novel comes to an end, we can see that he becomes somewhat of a hero, especially to his father Ahmad (which is shocking because Ahmad is a character who holds the largest superior attitude out of all the men). To him, superiority matters not; it is not what he considers a strength. Fahmy chooses instead to be heroic in standing for what he believes in and trying to free his country of the suppression of British rule. This is what sets Fahmy apart from his father, Ahmad.
When Ahmad is returning home from a night’s entertainment, he is stopped by a British soldier. This is the first time we see Ahmad submit to someone else’s orders rather than give them. “... [The soldier] seized him by the shoulder, forcibly turned him around, and shoved him in the back. Al-Sayyidd Ahmad found himself moving toward Palace Walk with the other man behind him. He surrendered to his fate, but his joints felt like rubber” (443). This is the first time Ahmad displays a sign of weakness. We are not used to seeing Ahmad in a vulnerable position. There is a point in during his walk where he wishes that he could communicate or even understand what his British captor was saying. He thought:
“Where was Fahmy to interpret for him? He was stung by painful
homesickness. Where were Fahmy, Yasin, Kamal, Khadija, Aisha,
and their mother? Could him family imagine his disgraceful state?
Their only image of him was one of venerable and exalted power.
Would they be able to imagine that a soldier had shoved him in the
back almost hard enough to make him fall on the ground and herded
him along like livestock?” (445).
Ahmad is in an uncompromising position and feels weak; it is the first time he will admit that one of his sons would be able to handle a situation better than he.
For the fist time, Fahmy is exercising his strength to go against his father’s will. This is not only a rebellious display against his father, but more of a commitment to his principals. He takes part in the protests although his father forbids it and gains a sense of patriotism and self worth from it. “He had not defied his father verbally but had acted against his will and had done so repeatedly. Moreover, he had refused to swear an oath the day his father had asked him to, announcing with his tears that he would stick to his principles despite his father’s wishes” (484). Fahmy even goes as far as to ask for his father’s approval to participate in the protests. Although Ahmad is still resistant, Fahmy decides to go along anyway. The fact that Fahmy had the courage and strength to put his life at risk and go against his father’s will was very brave and heroic of him. Throughout the novel we have seen that Ahmad’s relationship with Fahmy was one of the strongest and for Fahmy to risk that, and in this culture, is a very powerful thing.
When Ahmad finds out that Fahmy was killed in one of the protests he feels a pang of guilt and sadness. “...he would scrutinize Fahmy’s life in the prime of his youth, the hopes he had aroused and the memories he had left behind, giving free rein to tears so he could totally exhaust them” (497). Ahmad is worn down and realizes that his son died doing something brave for his country. This is the turning point for Ahmad; it is sad though, that it finally stuck at the expense of his son’s life. By the end of the Palace Walk we have seen the characters develop into something greater. Fahmy, a submissive son, finally stands for what he believes is right. Ahmad, a strict and egotistical father, realizes that being harsh and following the rules is not the way to earn respect and it is certainly does not compare to the strength that his son showed.
Work Cited
Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk. Toronto: First American Edition, 1991. Print.
When Ahmad is returning home from a night’s entertainment, he is stopped by a British soldier. This is the first time we see Ahmad submit to someone else’s orders rather than give them. “... [The soldier] seized him by the shoulder, forcibly turned him around, and shoved him in the back. Al-Sayyidd Ahmad found himself moving toward Palace Walk with the other man behind him. He surrendered to his fate, but his joints felt like rubber” (443). This is the first time Ahmad displays a sign of weakness. We are not used to seeing Ahmad in a vulnerable position. There is a point in during his walk where he wishes that he could communicate or even understand what his British captor was saying. He thought:
“Where was Fahmy to interpret for him? He was stung by painful
homesickness. Where were Fahmy, Yasin, Kamal, Khadija, Aisha,
and their mother? Could him family imagine his disgraceful state?
Their only image of him was one of venerable and exalted power.
Would they be able to imagine that a soldier had shoved him in the
back almost hard enough to make him fall on the ground and herded
him along like livestock?” (445).
Ahmad is in an uncompromising position and feels weak; it is the first time he will admit that one of his sons would be able to handle a situation better than he.
For the fist time, Fahmy is exercising his strength to go against his father’s will. This is not only a rebellious display against his father, but more of a commitment to his principals. He takes part in the protests although his father forbids it and gains a sense of patriotism and self worth from it. “He had not defied his father verbally but had acted against his will and had done so repeatedly. Moreover, he had refused to swear an oath the day his father had asked him to, announcing with his tears that he would stick to his principles despite his father’s wishes” (484). Fahmy even goes as far as to ask for his father’s approval to participate in the protests. Although Ahmad is still resistant, Fahmy decides to go along anyway. The fact that Fahmy had the courage and strength to put his life at risk and go against his father’s will was very brave and heroic of him. Throughout the novel we have seen that Ahmad’s relationship with Fahmy was one of the strongest and for Fahmy to risk that, and in this culture, is a very powerful thing.
When Ahmad finds out that Fahmy was killed in one of the protests he feels a pang of guilt and sadness. “...he would scrutinize Fahmy’s life in the prime of his youth, the hopes he had aroused and the memories he had left behind, giving free rein to tears so he could totally exhaust them” (497). Ahmad is worn down and realizes that his son died doing something brave for his country. This is the turning point for Ahmad; it is sad though, that it finally stuck at the expense of his son’s life. By the end of the Palace Walk we have seen the characters develop into something greater. Fahmy, a submissive son, finally stands for what he believes is right. Ahmad, a strict and egotistical father, realizes that being harsh and following the rules is not the way to earn respect and it is certainly does not compare to the strength that his son showed.
Work Cited
Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk. Toronto: First American Edition, 1991. Print.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Ahmad's Achilles Heel
Omnipotent. This is how Naguib Mahfouz presents al-Sayyid Ahmad in the beginning of his novel Palace Walk. Ahmad is the father of five, Yasin, Khadija, Aisha, Fhamy, and Kamal, and the husband of Amina. In his household, like in most Islamic households, he was king and whatever he said went. What was different in his house was that he didn’t follow any rules, not even the rules in the Koran. He would stay out partying and drinking until really late, and possibly having extramarital relationships with other women, which are both unacceptable in the Muslim world. His family wasn’t really comfortable with his behavior but they couldn’t say anything because if they did, Ahmad could have gone berserk, and nobody wanted that, so they just put up with it. At one point his oldest, Yasin, begins to follow in Ahmad’s footsteps. He becomes a man crazy about women and Ahmad doesn’t think much of it. And as the rest of his children grew, Ahmad began to lose his omnipotence.
When a child becomes a teenager, takes school more seriously, and makes more friends, he develops his own ideas and becomes interdependent. He still needs his parents for economic and emotional support, but he no longer needs them for decision-making, at least that’s what he thinks. We’ve all gone through it. Ahmad had five, and they would all go through it. When asked what the worst part of being a parent is, McKennasmom03 answered, “…When [your kids] are hurt or sick and there isn't a thing you can do. Watching them go off to Kindergarten... Watching them take the keys to the car and drive off. Watching them leave home when they [have] ‘grown’. (McKennasmom03)” Ahmad would have to see his five children leave one day, and he did. Once his two daughters were married, Ahmad was left with only boys and his little girls didn’t need him any longer. But before they left him, Ahmad showed some weakness. When the possibility of his youngest daughter, Aisha, getting married before her older sister, Khadija, came up, Ahmad became concerned with the possibility of Khadija getting depressed because her younger sister married before her. Mahfouz says,
Ahmad's kindness is exposed and a small window into his sensitivity is opened.
Daniela mentions this in her blog, Hiding Behind the Wall. The way to get to his weak side is through his children, and this isn't the only example of this in the novel.
The next time that we see Ahmad's sensitivity, it is in a much more extreme manner. It isn't about hurting one of his children, it is about one of his hurting, or no longer hurting, children.“The young man said with obvious sorrow, 'We are sad to inform you of the death of our brother freedom fighter Fahmy Ahmad'… (495)” Ahmad goes crazy. If seeing your children leave once they're grown up hurts, imagine how much knowing that you will never get to see your child again hurts. But he doesn't only show his sensitivity by going crazy and crying because his son died, but he also worries about Amina's feelings. As Tianna puts it in her blog Death in the End, “He does not know how to break the news to his wife.” How would she react to finding out that her son had died. He had never really seemed to care about what Amina felt or thought, but this time it was different, very different. Her feelings were one of his main preoccupations. He couldn't believe that his son had died. He always thought that Fahmy was a nice kid that never went to any rallies or things of that matter. In actuality, Fahmy was constantly attending rallies. But this was unknown to Ahmad, and even if he did know, the loss of his son would still hurt.
By the end of the novel, Mahfouz has taken us through Ahmad's transformation from an “omnipotent” tyrant, to a sensitive person similar to everyone else. By the end of the novel we discover that Ahmad's Achilles heel is his children.
Works Cited
Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk. New York: Anchor, 1990. Print.
McKennasmom03. "What Do You Think the Worst Part of Being a Parent Is? - CafeMom." CafeMom - Moms Connecting About Pregnancy, Babies, Home, Health, and More. 24 Mar. 2009. Web. 06 Apr. 2010..
Bruno, Tianna M. "Death in the End." Web log post. Digging Even Deeper. 26 May 2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2010..
Barajas, Guadalupe D. “Hiding Behind The Wall.” Web log post. Digging Even Deeper. 23 Feb. 2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2010..
When a child becomes a teenager, takes school more seriously, and makes more friends, he develops his own ideas and becomes interdependent. He still needs his parents for economic and emotional support, but he no longer needs them for decision-making, at least that’s what he thinks. We’ve all gone through it. Ahmad had five, and they would all go through it. When asked what the worst part of being a parent is, McKennasmom03 answered, “…When [your kids] are hurt or sick and there isn't a thing you can do. Watching them go off to Kindergarten... Watching them take the keys to the car and drive off. Watching them leave home when they [have] ‘grown’. (McKennasmom03)” Ahmad would have to see his five children leave one day, and he did. Once his two daughters were married, Ahmad was left with only boys and his little girls didn’t need him any longer. But before they left him, Ahmad showed some weakness. When the possibility of his youngest daughter, Aisha, getting married before her older sister, Khadija, came up, Ahmad became concerned with the possibility of Khadija getting depressed because her younger sister married before her. Mahfouz says,
When he could at last sit down again, he was breathing heavily. He was distressed and dejected. He had a sensitive heart, more sensitive than most people would have suspected. In fact, it was too sensitive. How could anyone believe that who had only seen him grinning, bellowing, or laughing sarcastically?... Sorrow was going to scorch his flesh and blood in a way that could spoil his whole life, making it seem ugly to him... Each of [his daughters] was a vital part of him (Mahfouz, 229).
Ahmad's kindness is exposed and a small window into his sensitivity is opened.
Daniela mentions this in her blog, Hiding Behind the Wall. The way to get to his weak side is through his children, and this isn't the only example of this in the novel.
The next time that we see Ahmad's sensitivity, it is in a much more extreme manner. It isn't about hurting one of his children, it is about one of his hurting, or no longer hurting, children.“The young man said with obvious sorrow, 'We are sad to inform you of the death of our brother freedom fighter Fahmy Ahmad'… (495)” Ahmad goes crazy. If seeing your children leave once they're grown up hurts, imagine how much knowing that you will never get to see your child again hurts. But he doesn't only show his sensitivity by going crazy and crying because his son died, but he also worries about Amina's feelings. As Tianna puts it in her blog Death in the End, “He does not know how to break the news to his wife.” How would she react to finding out that her son had died. He had never really seemed to care about what Amina felt or thought, but this time it was different, very different. Her feelings were one of his main preoccupations. He couldn't believe that his son had died. He always thought that Fahmy was a nice kid that never went to any rallies or things of that matter. In actuality, Fahmy was constantly attending rallies. But this was unknown to Ahmad, and even if he did know, the loss of his son would still hurt.
By the end of the novel, Mahfouz has taken us through Ahmad's transformation from an “omnipotent” tyrant, to a sensitive person similar to everyone else. By the end of the novel we discover that Ahmad's Achilles heel is his children.
Works Cited
Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk. New York: Anchor, 1990. Print.
McKennasmom03. "What Do You Think the Worst Part of Being a Parent Is? - CafeMom." CafeMom - Moms Connecting About Pregnancy, Babies, Home, Health, and More. 24 Mar. 2009. Web. 06 Apr. 2010.
Bruno, Tianna M. "Death in the End." Web log post. Digging Even Deeper. 26 May 2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2010.
Barajas, Guadalupe D. “Hiding Behind The Wall.” Web log post. Digging Even Deeper. 23 Feb. 2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2010.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Love and Marriage
Naguib Mahfouz is able to give the reader a taste of the fear that Amina feels in chapter twenty-nine of Palace Walk, after the accident (her being hit by a car) has taken place. Since the novel is written in third person, we are given a description of the fear that everyone in the house feels when the question of how they will confront Ahmad is brought about. To her surprise, however, Ahmad did not resort to anger, as predicted. Instead he told her to “‘Stay in bed till God heals you’” (184). When he leaves the room, Mahfouz describes Aisha’s reaction. “Her pale face blushed when she remembered the affection he had showered on her when she had been expecting nothing but his overwhelming anger that would blow her and her future away. Yes, she felt both pride and embarrassment when she started to talk about their father’s sympathy for her in her time of need and how he had forgotten his anger because of the affection and pity that had seized hold of him” (185). “Pride” and “embarrassment” are words that do not go hand in hand. Amina seems to be lying to herself about Ahmad’s affection for her. It is as if she wishes that it were really affection that Ahmad felt instead of an obligation to their marriage.
As I have mentioned in my previous response “Love, Lust, and Custom,” in Islamic culture, marriage is something that everyone must do. Love does not necessarily play a role in every marriage. With Amina and Ahmad's marriage, as Westerners, we find ourselves scrutinizing their marriage and declaring that there is no love involved. Perhaps this is true; maybe Amina is attempting to find love in the littlest things. As human beings, we strive for love, especially women. But who are we to judge or define love? In Islamic culture, I have noticed that marriage is love. We believe that love comes before marriage, and sometimes this holds true for Islamic culture as well, but usually marriage comes first in Islamic culture and the two newlyweds must learn to love one another because divorce is frowned down upon.
In the case of Amina and Ahmad, Amina feels that Ahmad must feel some kind of affection toward her since he did not get angry at her venture outside. But there is also a feeling lingering in her private thoughts that this may not be enough. “Privately she might have wished he would complete his kind treatment of her by renouncing his night out, as was appropriate for a husband whose wife had suffered what she had. Since she knew his temperament well, though, she fabricated an excuse for him ... She would justify his departure with the excuse she had already invented...” (188). It is clear that Amina wishes for Ahmad to be more caring about her fragile situation, but in the end she gives in and accepts that she will receive no more affection from him.
In the article,“Marriage in Islam,” there is a section that discusses love and how it is viewed in Islamic culture. Love is something that does not last, it is a feeling that can end; whereas marriage is a commitment that is necessary in Islamic society. “Love blinds people to potential problems in the relationship. Arranged marriages on the other hand, are based not on physical attraction or romantic notions but rather on critical evaluation of the compatibility of the couple. This is why they often prove successful.” This article makes a valid point: successful marriages are successful only if those married are compatible. Love waivers, but if two people meet each others needs, then there would be no reason for them to part. It is somewhat of a convenience factor. So although Amina desires to be loved, this is not necessarily the case in her marriage. When Ahmad summons her to return home after dismissing her, it is not he who comes to get her from her mother's house, but her sons. The reason for summoning her must have had to do with the fact that he needs her in his life, not for love, but to carry out her duties as his wife; he needs her for the convenience.
Works Cited
1.Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk. New York: Anchor, 1990. Print.
2."Marriage in Islam." Jannah.Org :: Islam the Eternal Path to Peace. Web. 20 Mar. 2010..
As I have mentioned in my previous response “Love, Lust, and Custom,” in Islamic culture, marriage is something that everyone must do. Love does not necessarily play a role in every marriage. With Amina and Ahmad's marriage, as Westerners, we find ourselves scrutinizing their marriage and declaring that there is no love involved. Perhaps this is true; maybe Amina is attempting to find love in the littlest things. As human beings, we strive for love, especially women. But who are we to judge or define love? In Islamic culture, I have noticed that marriage is love. We believe that love comes before marriage, and sometimes this holds true for Islamic culture as well, but usually marriage comes first in Islamic culture and the two newlyweds must learn to love one another because divorce is frowned down upon.
In the case of Amina and Ahmad, Amina feels that Ahmad must feel some kind of affection toward her since he did not get angry at her venture outside. But there is also a feeling lingering in her private thoughts that this may not be enough. “Privately she might have wished he would complete his kind treatment of her by renouncing his night out, as was appropriate for a husband whose wife had suffered what she had. Since she knew his temperament well, though, she fabricated an excuse for him ... She would justify his departure with the excuse she had already invented...” (188). It is clear that Amina wishes for Ahmad to be more caring about her fragile situation, but in the end she gives in and accepts that she will receive no more affection from him.
In the article,“Marriage in Islam,” there is a section that discusses love and how it is viewed in Islamic culture. Love is something that does not last, it is a feeling that can end; whereas marriage is a commitment that is necessary in Islamic society. “Love blinds people to potential problems in the relationship. Arranged marriages on the other hand, are based not on physical attraction or romantic notions but rather on critical evaluation of the compatibility of the couple. This is why they often prove successful.” This article makes a valid point: successful marriages are successful only if those married are compatible. Love waivers, but if two people meet each others needs, then there would be no reason for them to part. It is somewhat of a convenience factor. So although Amina desires to be loved, this is not necessarily the case in her marriage. When Ahmad summons her to return home after dismissing her, it is not he who comes to get her from her mother's house, but her sons. The reason for summoning her must have had to do with the fact that he needs her in his life, not for love, but to carry out her duties as his wife; he needs her for the convenience.
Works Cited
1.Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk. New York: Anchor, 1990. Print.
2."Marriage in Islam." Jannah.Org :: Islam the Eternal Path to Peace. Web. 20 Mar. 2010.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Importance of women
In the novel Palace Walk written by Naguib Mahfouz we are presented to an Egyptian family who practices Islam. This novel is narrated in the 1920’s meaning that Egypt was still partially in control by Great Britain. I say partially because there were signs of a revolution starting against the British. Women in Islam are to obey their husbands and always stay home unless told differently by man. Throughout the novel we see that women are also respected, loved, and appreciated. Women are willing to fight for everything that they want and that they love.
“Then, the children arrived, one after the other. In their early days in the world, though, they were tender sprouts unable to dispel her fears or reassure her. On the contrary, her fears were multiplied by her troubled soul’s concern for them and her anxiety that they might be harmed. She would hold them tight, lavish affection on them, and surround them, weather awake or asleep, with a protective shield of Qu’rans suras, amulets, charms, and incantations. True pace of mind she would not achieve until her husband returned from his evening’s entertainment” (3).
We see how at the beginning of the novel the author Naguib Mahfouz gives us all of this information in the first couple of pages. This really caught my eye because it shows that no matter how young the woman are in the Egyptian society they still have to have children at a very early age. As Javier said in his blog
“This passage really impacted me because its found on the third page of this novel. The author was able to include a lot of things in these few sentences that are fundamental to the whole understanding of the Egyptian culture and this book. Mahfouz, makes it seem as if women are married young and find themselves serving no purpose until their children are born. He makes me feel that their only purpose in the Egyptian culture is to be a care giver and provide comfort to the family” (Women).
Women have to become mothers at a young age in Egypt and they are not look down at. Man actually like the fact that they can have children because that to them is an assurance that there name will live on forever. To women in Egypt it seems natural to have kids at a young age because of the way that they quickly get that natural instinct of a mother. They learn how to take care of their children and they are also scared for their children. Many woman seem to become by natural habit a caring a loving person to the husband that they have. Even though they really don’t get to know the man that they are marrying sometimes they don’t even know how they look until they get to the marriage ceremony.
Women also take care of themselves and others. The best thing that they do is that no matter how badly they seem to be treated they still fight for their government and for the freedom of their country. Britain controlled Egypt for most of the 1920’s until finally Egypt decided to fight for their independence from Britain. This meant that Egypt was going to need everyone that was willing to fight for that country to do it. This was so important for everyone that even women were allowed to go and fight for what they believed was right.
"Beautiful women marched in protest
I went to observe their rally.
I found them proudly
Brandishing the blackness of their garments
They looked like stars,
Gleaming in a pitch-black night.
They took to the streets;
Sa'd's home was their target"
-Hafiz Ibrahim (374)
This poem shows how it is that women all over the world have fought for the freedom that they feel that they deserve. Amina heard noises first and was afraid to check because she was afraid to wake Yasin. The true is that she was afraid of being punished. As soon as she heard that loud noise and saw what was really happening she shut the blinds and left. Yasin stayed there and was the one that noticed that even women were fighting agains the british. We have to remember that this book was written before Egypt received there independence from Britain. The women in the Egyptian culture are not allowed to go outside unless they are single. This time it was an exception for women. It must have been an exception because the men knew that they needed all the help that they could get. The men know that women love their country and therefore will allow them to fight for the women want and for what man will allow. In the end of the novel Fahmy dies and that in a way softens Ahmad. We see that Ahmad doesn’t know how to break it down to Amina or Kamal and when he walks in the house he hears Kamal singing “Visit me once a year/ For it’s wrong to abandon people forever” (498). This made me think about how is it that at such a moment something like that just happens by coincidence. Ahmad was entering his house with the intentions of telling Amina and Kamal that Fahmy had just died and then he hears those words. Those lyrics at that time were probably the last thing that Ahmad was expecting to hear. We realize at the end of the novel how much Ahmad really loved Fahmy because never in the novel did I read about Ahmad crying until he found out that Fahmy had died. Ahmad is a strict father but the true is that he just cares so much about his children that he’ll do anything to just protect them. Ahmad also cares about his children being able to live a life the way that Islam says life should be live.
As we can see women play a very important role in the Egyptian life. That’s why they are cared for more when they are younger then man are. They are also protected because no father wants to let there daughter be seen outside of their house. The reason is that whoever wants to marry their daughter is doing it because they want to be related to him and only him. Without women the world would be different and not a good different. Therefore women are the most important people living on this earth.
Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk. New York: Anchor, 1965. Print.
http://heritage-key.com/egypt/egypt-and-era-discovery
“Then, the children arrived, one after the other. In their early days in the world, though, they were tender sprouts unable to dispel her fears or reassure her. On the contrary, her fears were multiplied by her troubled soul’s concern for them and her anxiety that they might be harmed. She would hold them tight, lavish affection on them, and surround them, weather awake or asleep, with a protective shield of Qu’rans suras, amulets, charms, and incantations. True pace of mind she would not achieve until her husband returned from his evening’s entertainment” (3).
We see how at the beginning of the novel the author Naguib Mahfouz gives us all of this information in the first couple of pages. This really caught my eye because it shows that no matter how young the woman are in the Egyptian society they still have to have children at a very early age. As Javier said in his blog
“This passage really impacted me because its found on the third page of this novel. The author was able to include a lot of things in these few sentences that are fundamental to the whole understanding of the Egyptian culture and this book. Mahfouz, makes it seem as if women are married young and find themselves serving no purpose until their children are born. He makes me feel that their only purpose in the Egyptian culture is to be a care giver and provide comfort to the family” (Women).
Women have to become mothers at a young age in Egypt and they are not look down at. Man actually like the fact that they can have children because that to them is an assurance that there name will live on forever. To women in Egypt it seems natural to have kids at a young age because of the way that they quickly get that natural instinct of a mother. They learn how to take care of their children and they are also scared for their children. Many woman seem to become by natural habit a caring a loving person to the husband that they have. Even though they really don’t get to know the man that they are marrying sometimes they don’t even know how they look until they get to the marriage ceremony.
Women also take care of themselves and others. The best thing that they do is that no matter how badly they seem to be treated they still fight for their government and for the freedom of their country. Britain controlled Egypt for most of the 1920’s until finally Egypt decided to fight for their independence from Britain. This meant that Egypt was going to need everyone that was willing to fight for that country to do it. This was so important for everyone that even women were allowed to go and fight for what they believed was right.
"Beautiful women marched in protest
I went to observe their rally.
I found them proudly
Brandishing the blackness of their garments
They looked like stars,
Gleaming in a pitch-black night.
They took to the streets;
Sa'd's home was their target"
-Hafiz Ibrahim (374)
This poem shows how it is that women all over the world have fought for the freedom that they feel that they deserve. Amina heard noises first and was afraid to check because she was afraid to wake Yasin. The true is that she was afraid of being punished. As soon as she heard that loud noise and saw what was really happening she shut the blinds and left. Yasin stayed there and was the one that noticed that even women were fighting agains the british. We have to remember that this book was written before Egypt received there independence from Britain. The women in the Egyptian culture are not allowed to go outside unless they are single. This time it was an exception for women. It must have been an exception because the men knew that they needed all the help that they could get. The men know that women love their country and therefore will allow them to fight for the women want and for what man will allow. In the end of the novel Fahmy dies and that in a way softens Ahmad. We see that Ahmad doesn’t know how to break it down to Amina or Kamal and when he walks in the house he hears Kamal singing “Visit me once a year/ For it’s wrong to abandon people forever” (498). This made me think about how is it that at such a moment something like that just happens by coincidence. Ahmad was entering his house with the intentions of telling Amina and Kamal that Fahmy had just died and then he hears those words. Those lyrics at that time were probably the last thing that Ahmad was expecting to hear. We realize at the end of the novel how much Ahmad really loved Fahmy because never in the novel did I read about Ahmad crying until he found out that Fahmy had died. Ahmad is a strict father but the true is that he just cares so much about his children that he’ll do anything to just protect them. Ahmad also cares about his children being able to live a life the way that Islam says life should be live.
As we can see women play a very important role in the Egyptian life. That’s why they are cared for more when they are younger then man are. They are also protected because no father wants to let there daughter be seen outside of their house. The reason is that whoever wants to marry their daughter is doing it because they want to be related to him and only him. Without women the world would be different and not a good different. Therefore women are the most important people living on this earth.
Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk. New York: Anchor, 1965. Print.
http://heritage-key.com/egypt/egypt-and-era-discovery
A Conclusion to Palace Walk
Luis Navarro
AP English
3/28/10
Naguib Mafouz wrote a tale of an Egyptian Family's struggles, compilations, marriages, divorces, male and female roles in a Muslim society, Muslim culture's trends, everything that us Westerners never really understood. Why can we not understand Muslim families? Maybe because we are predominately Christian (predominately American), because we are here and they are there, in Egypt. And Egypt? What a country filled with so much of...what was ancient Egypt; at least that's what we know. What about Modern Egypt, without the Pyramids, or lavish emperors, and everything else we boundlessly base Egypt on, on prejudice. Here is Mahfouz, writer and fantastic novelist who showed us the route to each and every character's mind, what they impulsively thought, and in turn gave us a gateway to their traditions, culture, and religion. We finally see now; as Plato might say we are no longer in the cave and out of blindness we walk, Palace Walk that is. Out of our ignorant minds we go and into theirs we venture, that's what I attempt to do. With the death of Fahmy how will the family react? How will Amina react? Will Ahmad be affected the most, and will he then in turn alter the lack of affection he expresses with his children? All questions left to ponder. But based on what we know about Aisha, about Ahmad, Kamal, Amina, the revolution for independence, one can conclude many scenarios for what exactly will proceed following the news of Fahmy's death to the family.
As Amhad sets foot just outside of Maryam's mother's home he begins slowly walking through the dark streets of the cul-de-sac, dragging his lamented body across closed stores and what seems like abandoned coffee-houses with not a single sound of life. Ahmad spotted a soldier, and Ahmad's terrifying journey unfolds.
“He saw another soldier, not the sentry, heading toward him, armed to the teeth. What new development had brought on this treatment? Was the man intoxicated? Perhaps he had been overcome by a sudden urge to attack someone? Or was he out to plunder and loot?” (442)
He encountered the soldier and was commanded to walk the way that he was not intended to walk, the way that many atrocious deaths have scolded the people who are relatives to the victims, and Ahmad prays fiercely, with the thought that he might match his fate with those dead, and his family succumb to also suffer the mourning loss of his death. It reads:
“He waded into the waves of gloomy darkness and profound silence, seeing nothing but phantom houses and hearing only the heavy footsteps that followed him with mechanical precision, as though counting out the minutes or perhaps the seconds left for him to live. Yes, he expected at each moment to be dealt a blow that would finish him off.” (443)
And Fahmy's similar terrifying journey? His encountered death, just as his father, but he was not as fortunate. Fahmy stood unable to run away. His body paralyzed, his conscience telling him to run, look away from death's inevitable stare, but it was certain that Fahmy fell to the ground, dead. There is a contrast here, between Ahmad's near-death experience and Fahmy's actual death experience. Ahmad was utterly terrified, cried even, asked God for his merciful power, and riddance of his sins. Fhamy did different; he marched in sync with his proud nation. There was an Influx of high emotions in Fahmy, the type that brought an enormous sense of prideful joy. Besides the trembling feelings that ran through his body right after he heard the gun blast, Fahmy was joyous, contempt with his nation's liberation from the English and that all peace will finally be restored. It's as if Fahmy died in peace. The bullets penetrated his body and Fahmy then sees...
“There's nothing. Nothing. Darkness and more darkness. A gentle motion's pushing with the regularity of the ticking of a clock. The heart is flowing with it. There's a whisper accompanying it. The gate of the garden. Isn't that so? It's moving in a fluid, rippling way and slowly dissolving. The towering tree is dancing gently. The sky...the sky? High, expansive...nothing but the calm, smiling sky with peace raining from it.” (493).
Yes peace; a peaceful death like the one's we all pray for to experience, on a bed, and without a budge...to silently sleep to our death. Marcell also agrees; “It’s interesting how Naguib does not outright say Fahmy is shot and killed with a bullet. Death for Fahmy did not end with darkness and nothingness, it ended with peace” According to Marcell's blog entitled “Life and Death”.
And how does Ahmad react? With immediate nothingness he “… is simply hit unexpectedly and dumbfounded” says Tianna in her article Death in the End. Ahmad locked in perplexity, looks for time alone to simmer in thought what had just happen to his son. Poor Fahmy! He must have repeated over and over in his head. He had such a promising future. The same bullets that those darn bastards of young rebels that led my son astray killed him. He is dead now, God has done everything he can to save my son from evil. But how will Amina handle such news? Ahmad shuffles his keys and finally opens the front door of his home. Amina hears the door open but avoids immediately rushing to Amhad, instead she anxiously but patiently awaits Ahmad upstairs holding a burning lamp. “What happened? Where's Fahmy?!” She shouts in her head.
"A mother knows her husband's outer as well as inner character." (212) [1]. Khadija, the wife of the great Prophet Muhammad, knew just this. She provided moral support for Muhammad, she supported Muhammad financially, and she kept aiding Muhammad even when he was having great difficulty spreading Islam. And now, that almost identical great wife, and surely mother of a murdered son, will need all the loving support and much more, to overcome her son's death. Amina knew just then that something truly horrendous had manifested. She saw it through her husband’s outer and inner character. But what could Ahmad do anyway? Besides fall to his knees tirelessly and mournfully yell, “in God's merciful hands you took my son away from me!” Though he wanted to, though it was the easiest way to relieve his pain, Ahmad did not do so. Instead he imagined such a scenario play out. This would of only made matters a lot worse, Amina's heart more fragile.
Aisha couldn't of been more vulnerable; she had given birth, she was extremely exhausted to the point of knocking out unconscious as a result from the painful contractions, and now, a few spoken words away awaited the horrible news of her dear brother's death. No, not even her angelic aesthetics could hide the sorrow that will indulge her. And just a few days ago life was born, her baby though with a weak heart, alive at least.
Not the slightest bit of noise erupted, and yet Kamal managed to seize the moment once again, to stand out, as the youngest of five should do. Oh Kamal, what a comical little dude he is, completely blind to the level of devastation that will creep up on him. His older brother is dead and here he is, melodiously voicing and moving his body to the words that say: “Visit me once each year, for it's wrong to abandon people forever.” (498). How can death be explained to a young soul, a child such as Kamal, a kid so joyous and full of life. Ahmad will be the barrier of such sad news, for Amina would be too emotionally exhausted from weeping, and besides what mother wants to tell their young son that his big brother was killed, that job is better suited for the father, for the strongest-minded, for Ahmad. But even the great Ahmad, perceived as a God-like figure in his home (as Daniela stated in her article , has trouble thinking of a way to tell Kamal of Fahmy's death.
Fahmy, finally letting go of the pains that correlate with mentioning Maryam and fully introducing his country's unity, independence, sacrifices in order to gain back Egypt, into his heart. He suffered a fatal round of bullets...but at least: “Fahmy left the house happy. He went at once to al-Azhar, where he met with his colleagues on the supreme student committee.”
Work Cited
1. "Amazon.com: Palace Walk (Cairo Trilogy) (9780385264662): Naguib Mahfouz: Books." Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & More. Web. 06 Apr. 2010..
2. Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk (Cairo Trilogy). New York: Anchor, 1990. Print.
3. Johnson, Marcell. "Life and Death." Web log post. Digging Even Deeper. Blogger, Mar.-Apr. 2010. Web. 3 Apr. 2010..
4. Bruno, Tianna. "Death in the End." Web log post. Digging Even Deeper. Blogger, 26 Mar. 2010. Web. 05 Apr. 2010. <4.>.
5. Barajas, Daniela. "He's Human After All." Web log post. Digging Even Deeper. Blogger, 24 Mar. 2010. Web. 05 Apr. 2010..
AP English
3/28/10
Naguib Mafouz wrote a tale of an Egyptian Family's struggles, compilations, marriages, divorces, male and female roles in a Muslim society, Muslim culture's trends, everything that us Westerners never really understood. Why can we not understand Muslim families? Maybe because we are predominately Christian (predominately American), because we are here and they are there, in Egypt. And Egypt? What a country filled with so much of...what was ancient Egypt; at least that's what we know. What about Modern Egypt, without the Pyramids, or lavish emperors, and everything else we boundlessly base Egypt on, on prejudice. Here is Mahfouz, writer and fantastic novelist who showed us the route to each and every character's mind, what they impulsively thought, and in turn gave us a gateway to their traditions, culture, and religion. We finally see now; as Plato might say we are no longer in the cave and out of blindness we walk, Palace Walk that is. Out of our ignorant minds we go and into theirs we venture, that's what I attempt to do. With the death of Fahmy how will the family react? How will Amina react? Will Ahmad be affected the most, and will he then in turn alter the lack of affection he expresses with his children? All questions left to ponder. But based on what we know about Aisha, about Ahmad, Kamal, Amina, the revolution for independence, one can conclude many scenarios for what exactly will proceed following the news of Fahmy's death to the family.
As Amhad sets foot just outside of Maryam's mother's home he begins slowly walking through the dark streets of the cul-de-sac, dragging his lamented body across closed stores and what seems like abandoned coffee-houses with not a single sound of life. Ahmad spotted a soldier, and Ahmad's terrifying journey unfolds.
“He saw another soldier, not the sentry, heading toward him, armed to the teeth. What new development had brought on this treatment? Was the man intoxicated? Perhaps he had been overcome by a sudden urge to attack someone? Or was he out to plunder and loot?” (442)
He encountered the soldier and was commanded to walk the way that he was not intended to walk, the way that many atrocious deaths have scolded the people who are relatives to the victims, and Ahmad prays fiercely, with the thought that he might match his fate with those dead, and his family succumb to also suffer the mourning loss of his death. It reads:
“He waded into the waves of gloomy darkness and profound silence, seeing nothing but phantom houses and hearing only the heavy footsteps that followed him with mechanical precision, as though counting out the minutes or perhaps the seconds left for him to live. Yes, he expected at each moment to be dealt a blow that would finish him off.” (443)
And Fahmy's similar terrifying journey? His encountered death, just as his father, but he was not as fortunate. Fahmy stood unable to run away. His body paralyzed, his conscience telling him to run, look away from death's inevitable stare, but it was certain that Fahmy fell to the ground, dead. There is a contrast here, between Ahmad's near-death experience and Fahmy's actual death experience. Ahmad was utterly terrified, cried even, asked God for his merciful power, and riddance of his sins. Fhamy did different; he marched in sync with his proud nation. There was an Influx of high emotions in Fahmy, the type that brought an enormous sense of prideful joy. Besides the trembling feelings that ran through his body right after he heard the gun blast, Fahmy was joyous, contempt with his nation's liberation from the English and that all peace will finally be restored. It's as if Fahmy died in peace. The bullets penetrated his body and Fahmy then sees...
“There's nothing. Nothing. Darkness and more darkness. A gentle motion's pushing with the regularity of the ticking of a clock. The heart is flowing with it. There's a whisper accompanying it. The gate of the garden. Isn't that so? It's moving in a fluid, rippling way and slowly dissolving. The towering tree is dancing gently. The sky...the sky? High, expansive...nothing but the calm, smiling sky with peace raining from it.” (493).
Yes peace; a peaceful death like the one's we all pray for to experience, on a bed, and without a budge...to silently sleep to our death. Marcell also agrees; “It’s interesting how Naguib does not outright say Fahmy is shot and killed with a bullet. Death for Fahmy did not end with darkness and nothingness, it ended with peace” According to Marcell's blog entitled “Life and Death”.
And how does Ahmad react? With immediate nothingness he “… is simply hit unexpectedly and dumbfounded” says Tianna in her article Death in the End. Ahmad locked in perplexity, looks for time alone to simmer in thought what had just happen to his son. Poor Fahmy! He must have repeated over and over in his head. He had such a promising future. The same bullets that those darn bastards of young rebels that led my son astray killed him. He is dead now, God has done everything he can to save my son from evil. But how will Amina handle such news? Ahmad shuffles his keys and finally opens the front door of his home. Amina hears the door open but avoids immediately rushing to Amhad, instead she anxiously but patiently awaits Ahmad upstairs holding a burning lamp. “What happened? Where's Fahmy?!” She shouts in her head.
"A mother knows her husband's outer as well as inner character." (212) [1]. Khadija, the wife of the great Prophet Muhammad, knew just this. She provided moral support for Muhammad, she supported Muhammad financially, and she kept aiding Muhammad even when he was having great difficulty spreading Islam. And now, that almost identical great wife, and surely mother of a murdered son, will need all the loving support and much more, to overcome her son's death. Amina knew just then that something truly horrendous had manifested. She saw it through her husband’s outer and inner character. But what could Ahmad do anyway? Besides fall to his knees tirelessly and mournfully yell, “in God's merciful hands you took my son away from me!” Though he wanted to, though it was the easiest way to relieve his pain, Ahmad did not do so. Instead he imagined such a scenario play out. This would of only made matters a lot worse, Amina's heart more fragile.
Aisha couldn't of been more vulnerable; she had given birth, she was extremely exhausted to the point of knocking out unconscious as a result from the painful contractions, and now, a few spoken words away awaited the horrible news of her dear brother's death. No, not even her angelic aesthetics could hide the sorrow that will indulge her. And just a few days ago life was born, her baby though with a weak heart, alive at least.
Not the slightest bit of noise erupted, and yet Kamal managed to seize the moment once again, to stand out, as the youngest of five should do. Oh Kamal, what a comical little dude he is, completely blind to the level of devastation that will creep up on him. His older brother is dead and here he is, melodiously voicing and moving his body to the words that say: “Visit me once each year, for it's wrong to abandon people forever.” (498). How can death be explained to a young soul, a child such as Kamal, a kid so joyous and full of life. Ahmad will be the barrier of such sad news, for Amina would be too emotionally exhausted from weeping, and besides what mother wants to tell their young son that his big brother was killed, that job is better suited for the father, for the strongest-minded, for Ahmad. But even the great Ahmad, perceived as a God-like figure in his home (as Daniela stated in her article , has trouble thinking of a way to tell Kamal of Fahmy's death.
Fahmy, finally letting go of the pains that correlate with mentioning Maryam and fully introducing his country's unity, independence, sacrifices in order to gain back Egypt, into his heart. He suffered a fatal round of bullets...but at least: “Fahmy left the house happy. He went at once to al-Azhar, where he met with his colleagues on the supreme student committee.”
Work Cited
1. "Amazon.com: Palace Walk (Cairo Trilogy) (9780385264662): Naguib Mahfouz: Books." Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & More. Web. 06 Apr. 2010.
2. Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk (Cairo Trilogy). New York: Anchor, 1990. Print.
3. Johnson, Marcell. "Life and Death." Web log post. Digging Even Deeper. Blogger, Mar.-Apr. 2010. Web. 3 Apr. 2010.
4. Bruno, Tianna. "Death in the End." Web log post. Digging Even Deeper. Blogger, 26 Mar. 2010. Web. 05 Apr. 2010. <4.>.
5. Barajas, Daniela. "He's Human After All." Web log post. Digging Even Deeper. Blogger, 24 Mar. 2010. Web. 05 Apr. 2010.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Ahmad’s Regrets
Throughout Naguib Mahfouz’s novel, Palace Walk, we see how Ahmad treats his family with detachment and harshness. Although he does feel affection for his loved ones he does not show it. He acts like this because he believes that if he shows any sign of agreement toward them, they will begin to disobey him. Because of this Ahmad appears to never be pleased with anything his family does no matter how good it is. Ahmad acts detached and indifferent towards his family until his son, Fahmy, dies and he realizes that he was always too strict with them.
The reason Ahmad acts so strict towards his family is because he is thinks that if he shows that he’s pleased with anything they do, they will immediately start disobeying him. Yesenia describes Ahmad’s thinking perfectly in her blog entry, “Disobedient”. She says, “Ahmad is a typical father who forces his entire family to be submissive to him. He is strict to the point where he manipulates the way his wife and children act. The reason why Ahmad doesn’t show affection towards his own family is because he believes that if he does then they will take advantage of him.” Because of this fear he has of losing control over his household, Ahmad is very demanding of his family. Nothing, even anything his best son, Fahmy, does, is ever good enough.
Throughout the novel we can compare and contrast how different Fahmy and Yasin are. One of those moments in which we can see how different they are is the way the way Yasin reacts versus the way Fahmy reacts when they find out the truth about their father, Al-Sayyid Ahmad. In their eyes their father had always been a proper, honorable, and pious man. However, they then find out that he has been going to parties to sing and drink and has been having affairs with various women. Yasin and Fahmy react very differently when they learn this truth. Fahmy condemns his actions and Yasin praises him. We get a glimpse of what they about their father’s actions on the third and fourth paragraphs on page 271.
The first of these paragraphs show Fahmy’s thoughts. He says, “‘My father doesn’t differ at all from Yasin except in having sunk lower…. There must be something I don’t know… My father hasn’t done anything wrong…. He can’t do anything wrong (271).’” To Fahmy his father was a true hero, so much so that when he learned this he believed it was a lie. When he finally accepted it as the truth the image he had of his father was marred. He no longer regarded him with the same respect and admiration. He believed he was even worse than Yasin. When Fahmy learned this truth he was appalled and condemned his father’s actions.
In the second of these paragraphs we see the way Yasin thinks. He says, “’He sings. So what’s wrong about singing? He gets drunk, and believe me, drinking is even better than eating. He has affairs and so did the Muslim caliphs…. Our father isn’t doing anything sinful (271).’” Yasin always held his father in the highest esteem. However, when he learned about this truth he became even admirable to him. Yasin thought it was great that his father acted the way he did. He thought that there was nothing wrong in having many affairs and objectifying women.
This contrast of what Fahmy thought versus what Yasin thought about their father’s actions is just one example that shows how Fahmy is a better son than Yasin. Everything Ahmad has taught Yasin has been to no avail. Yasin still drinks, wastes his money foolishly, has lovers, and if that weren’t enough he praises his father when he learns he does this. Fahmy on the contrary is a proper, honorable, and pious young man; everything his father always wanted his sons to be. However, does Ahmad praise him for this? No. All he ever has to say to his family are negative things. Although Fahmy was a much better son and overall person, he never received any kind of praise from his father.
Another example of how Fahmy is a much better son than Yasin is the way Yasin tried to rape Umm Hanafi. With this incident we saw what a savage animal Yasin is. His brutal sexual desires are well described here: “He was blinded by lust. What kind of lust was it? A lust kindled by a woman simply because she was a woman, not because of any of her qualities or associations. It was a lust that loved beauty but would not turn away from ugliness. In these crises, everything was equivalent. He was like a dog that eagerly devours whatever scraps it finds” (277). This is something Fahmy wouldn’t have even thought of doing.
Another incident that greatly angers Ahmad is when Yasin sleeps with his wife’s personal maid, Nur. When this occurs Ahmad is enraged but not so much at the fact that Yasin has slept with a woman that isn’t his wife; he’s more enraged because of whom that woman is. He explains why giving us examples of his own affairs
Just as he loved beauty in the abstract, he loved it in its glittering social framework. He liked to be noticed and to have a widespread reputation…. This social use of his love did not require him to sacrifice beauty, for in his circle beauty and reputation went hand in hand, like an object and its shadow. Beauty was most often the magic wand that opened the door to reputation and noteworthy status. He had been the lover of some of the most famous entertainers of his time. Not one of them had disappointed his yearning for beauty or his craving for loveliness. For these reasons he thought scornfully of Yasin’s conquests. He repeated disapprovingly, “Umm Hanafi! … Nur! … What a beast he is (391)!
With these statements Ahmad is basically saying that he disapproves of Yasin’s conquests because they weren’t beautiful, distinguished, or influential. Yasin had no criteria to choose his mistresses; when lust blinded him he would be content to lie with any woman. And this was exactly what enraged Ahmad; he didn’t like that his son was a savage willing to sleep with any woman regardless of what she looked like or who she was. Here we see how much Ahmad disapproves of Yasin’s actions.
These reproachful actions, however, aren’t reason enough for Ahmad to value what a good son Fahmy is. Like Marixa says in her blog entry “Wake-Up Call”, “Unfortunately Ahmad only realizes where he has gone wrong when he learns that Fahmy has died while at a demonstration. This is the turning point in Ahmad’s life. It becomes the wake-up call that Ahmad needs to realize that he is not the almighty and that he is human just like everyone else.” It’s at this point that Ahmad realizes that he had a great son and that all he ever did for him was point out his flaws.
After Ahmad learns about Fahmy’s death he begins experiencing what, according to “Coping with Grief and Loss” an article in Helpguide.org a trusted non-profit resource, calls common symptoms of grief. He experiences the physical symptoms of grief, shock and disbelief, and guilt. His shock is apparent when he learns the news, “Although there was an unmistakable look of belief and dismay in his eyes, the father rejected the news, shouting, “Fahmy?” (495). And after the shock comes the guilt, Ahmad begin thinking of all the things he didn’t say or do for his son. He begins thinking about the last time he saw his alive, “Consider the memory of the quarrel they had had after the Friday prayer at al-Husayn or that of their conversation that morning, when Fahmy had appealed for his affection and he had reprimanded him –– how much of his heart would they consume? How many tears would they stir up?” (497). It’s very unfortunate, but Fahmy had to die for Ahmad to realize what a great son he was.
Works Cited
"Coping with Grief and Loss: Support for Grieving and Bereavement." Helpguide.org:
Understand, Prevent and Resolve Life's Challenges. Web. 31 Mar. 2010.
Chavez, Yesenia, “Disobedient”. [Weblog entry.] Digging Even Deeper. The Chinquapin
School: AP English Class. 24 Mar. 2010. (http://diggingevendeeper.blogspot.com/2010/03/disobedient.html) 27 Mar. 2010.
Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk (Cairo Trilogy). New York: Anchor, 1990. Print.
Rodriguez, Marixa, “Wake-Up Call”. [Weblog entry.] Digging Even Deeper. The Chinquapin
School: AP English Class. 30 Mar. 2010. (http://diggingevendeeper.blogspot.com/2010/03/wake-up-call.html) 31 Mar. 2010.
Transformed Man
Throughout Naquib Mahfouz’s Palace Walk, we are introduced to a number of different characters that represent a different aspect of life in Egypt. But, amongst the many different characters Mahfouz introduced, one stood out – Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad. In part II of Abu Talut’s article, “The Status of Women and Men in Islam,” the responsibility of a man is great when it comes to maintenance and protection of his family (Talut, II). Al-Sayyid Ahmad represents a Muslim man who, at times, is overprotective towards the women in his family, controlling of everyone and everything around him, and experienced in forbidden pleasures like extramarital affairs. But, throughout the novel we learn that he worries mainly about his social appearance rather than what is best for his family. Through this all, Mahfouz shows us a transformation in Al-Sayyid Ahmad’s behavior as the novel progresses and by the end of the book, we see a side of Ahmad that we had yet to see throughout the novel.
At the beginning of the novel, we see Al-Sayyid’s wife, Amina waiting on her husband to arrive after a night out with friends. She weighs on him hand and foot, removing his cloak, loosening his sash, removing his shoes and socks, pouring water for him to wash his face, and just sits around waiting for him to tell her what to do or giving her permission to speak. Mahfouz described Ahmad’s attitude towards this when he wrote, “Her husband spared no effort to safeguard his dignity and authority” (10). This made it apparent that he made it obvious that he was the one who held the authority in the marriage – something that is apparent in Muslim marriages. But, we also see that Ahmad cares more about his appearance outside of the home and puts in as much effort as possible into his outside relationships rather than those that should be most important, being his family’s. According to Talut’s article, this is not the responsibility of a man. Ahmad’s desire to seem perfect and powerful in public isn’t his responsibility, his responsibility is to protect his family and do what is best for them, not him (Talut, II). This strengthens the idea that Ahmad is selfish and careless with the relationship between him and his family.
As the novel progresses, we see Ahmad dismiss the idea of Amina marrying the man she loves clearly because he is afraid of what people may say about the engagement since no man had ever seen his daughters. He was worried about what people would say about this rather than his daughter’s happiness. As Daniela said in her blog, “Worshipper Blinded by Love and Fear” Ahmad’s family treats Ahmad as if he were a God. She gives the example of Aisha’s feelings towards Ahmad after she’s told that she cannot marry. It is clear that Aisha is upset, but Aisha couldn’t bring herself to stand up to her father. In Talut’s article, he writes that a man’s responsibility is also to protect and defend a woman and to make his family feel safe and secure (Talut, II). It may seem that Ahmad is protecting his daughter but in reality, he’s simply protecting his image and by putting fear into his family, he is doing something that he shouldn’t do – especially if he expects to create a safe environment for his family.
Later in the book, at the beginning of Chapter 65, we see the beginning of Ahmad’s transformation. Mahfouz shows us how Ahmad reacts when he sees two British soldiers approaching him and describes his reaction by saying, “With a pounding heart and a dry throat, al-Sayid Ahmad watched the soldier approach” (442). This clearly means that Ahmad was scared. Anyone else would be scared by a man in a uniform, fully armed, and physically strong, but if Ahmad was so “God-like” why wouldn’t he be scared? God’s are usually all powerful and nothing frightens them. Seeing how Ahmad could do nothing to communicate with the foreign soldiers and get himself out of the mess made Ahmad look just as inferior as everyone else. He was no longer giving orders to everyone, he was the one taking orders. Mahfouz also shows us how Ahmad begins to care for his family as he thinks about never seeing them again when he writes, “When he [Ahmad] remembered his family, he felt such painful homesickness that tears almost came to his eyes” (445). By doing this, Mahfouz reveals part of Ahmad’s transformation in which he is no longer the “God” he was once portrayed as. He shows Ahmad finally worrying about the future of his family and how their lives will be after he is gone seeing as how he is the one that is responsible for their well being. But, he is now also shown just like any other citizen who has to give in to someone else’s commands and has to endure the possibility of possibly never seeing his loved ones again.
By the end of the book, we are introduced to a completely different Ahmad than we first were at the beginning. The death of his son, Fahmy brought forth a surprising reaction from Ahmad. At the beginning of the novel, we saw Ahmad as a man who cared solely of himself and how he was viewed. As LaurenF wrote in the blog named, “ Ahmad’s Priorities ,” Ahmad didn’t care about his relationship with his family as much as he cared about his relationship with others and his image in the eyes of the public. He did what he wanted and was content with the happiness of others rather than that of his family. But, when Fahmy is killed during a demonstration, we see Ahmad breaks down. We see him finally thinking about how his family, Amina, will take the news. We see his pain on page 495, when he replies to the young man offering his condolences to him by saying, “…Dead! I’ll never see him again at home or anywhere else on the face of the earth? How can I have a home without him? How can I be a father if he’s gone? What has become of all the hopes attached to him? The only hope left is patience…. Patience? Oh…. Do you feel the searing pain? This really is pain. You were mistaken previously when you claimed to be in pain. No, before today you’ve never known pain. This is pain…” (495-496). This was the first time Ahmad showed such vulnerability. It was the first time that he showed his pain and emotions to a complete stranger. Even more shocking was how, on page 497, he started thinking of how Amina would take the news of Fahmy’s death. Mahfouz writes, “He remembered Amina for the first time and his feet almost failed him. What could he say to her? How would she take the news? She was weak and delicate. She wept at the death of a sparrow” (497) informing the reader of Ahmad’s first realization of how Amina would feel about what had happened. For the first time, Ahmad actually worried about someone other than himself and accepting the responsibility he has as a father and husband.
Naguib Mahfouz’s novel showed the transformation that one person can undergo as a result of specific events. Ahmad’s transition in the book was clear and surprising. It was evident that Ahmad had undergone such a huge change, but it was surprising that he did and in the manner that it happened. Ahmad didn’t seem as superior to the others as he once did and as the novel came to an end, we saw how Ahmad went from caring solely of himself and his image in the eyes of others to worrying about the feelings of others, being able to express his vulnerability to strangers, and finally acknowledging the responsibility he had as a father and husband.
Works Cited
Daniela. "Worshipper Blinded by Love and Fear." Web log post. Diggingevendeeper.blogspot.com. The Chinquapin School, 17 Feb. 2010. Web. 22 Mar. 2010. < http://diggingevendeeper.blogspot.com/2010/02/worshipper-blinded-by-love-and-fear_17.html >.
LaurenF. "Ahmad's Priorities." Web log post. Diggingevendeeper.blogspot.com. The Chinquapin School, 10 Feb. 2010. Web. 22 Mar. 2010. < http://diggingevendeeper.blogspot.com/2010/02/passage- >.
Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk. New York: Anchor Books, 1991
Talut, Abu. "The Status of Women and Men in Islam II." 28 April 1998. 02 April 2010 < http://www.iol.ie/~afifi/BICNews/AbuTalut/AbuTalut5.htm >.
At the beginning of the novel, we see Al-Sayyid’s wife, Amina waiting on her husband to arrive after a night out with friends. She weighs on him hand and foot, removing his cloak, loosening his sash, removing his shoes and socks, pouring water for him to wash his face, and just sits around waiting for him to tell her what to do or giving her permission to speak. Mahfouz described Ahmad’s attitude towards this when he wrote, “Her husband spared no effort to safeguard his dignity and authority” (10). This made it apparent that he made it obvious that he was the one who held the authority in the marriage – something that is apparent in Muslim marriages. But, we also see that Ahmad cares more about his appearance outside of the home and puts in as much effort as possible into his outside relationships rather than those that should be most important, being his family’s. According to Talut’s article, this is not the responsibility of a man. Ahmad’s desire to seem perfect and powerful in public isn’t his responsibility, his responsibility is to protect his family and do what is best for them, not him (Talut, II). This strengthens the idea that Ahmad is selfish and careless with the relationship between him and his family.
As the novel progresses, we see Ahmad dismiss the idea of Amina marrying the man she loves clearly because he is afraid of what people may say about the engagement since no man had ever seen his daughters. He was worried about what people would say about this rather than his daughter’s happiness. As Daniela said in her blog, “Worshipper Blinded by Love and Fear” Ahmad’s family treats Ahmad as if he were a God. She gives the example of Aisha’s feelings towards Ahmad after she’s told that she cannot marry. It is clear that Aisha is upset, but Aisha couldn’t bring herself to stand up to her father. In Talut’s article, he writes that a man’s responsibility is also to protect and defend a woman and to make his family feel safe and secure (Talut, II). It may seem that Ahmad is protecting his daughter but in reality, he’s simply protecting his image and by putting fear into his family, he is doing something that he shouldn’t do – especially if he expects to create a safe environment for his family.
Later in the book, at the beginning of Chapter 65, we see the beginning of Ahmad’s transformation. Mahfouz shows us how Ahmad reacts when he sees two British soldiers approaching him and describes his reaction by saying, “With a pounding heart and a dry throat, al-Sayid Ahmad watched the soldier approach” (442). This clearly means that Ahmad was scared. Anyone else would be scared by a man in a uniform, fully armed, and physically strong, but if Ahmad was so “God-like” why wouldn’t he be scared? God’s are usually all powerful and nothing frightens them. Seeing how Ahmad could do nothing to communicate with the foreign soldiers and get himself out of the mess made Ahmad look just as inferior as everyone else. He was no longer giving orders to everyone, he was the one taking orders. Mahfouz also shows us how Ahmad begins to care for his family as he thinks about never seeing them again when he writes, “When he [Ahmad] remembered his family, he felt such painful homesickness that tears almost came to his eyes” (445). By doing this, Mahfouz reveals part of Ahmad’s transformation in which he is no longer the “God” he was once portrayed as. He shows Ahmad finally worrying about the future of his family and how their lives will be after he is gone seeing as how he is the one that is responsible for their well being. But, he is now also shown just like any other citizen who has to give in to someone else’s commands and has to endure the possibility of possibly never seeing his loved ones again.
By the end of the book, we are introduced to a completely different Ahmad than we first were at the beginning. The death of his son, Fahmy brought forth a surprising reaction from Ahmad. At the beginning of the novel, we saw Ahmad as a man who cared solely of himself and how he was viewed. As LaurenF wrote in the blog named, “ Ahmad’s Priorities ,” Ahmad didn’t care about his relationship with his family as much as he cared about his relationship with others and his image in the eyes of the public. He did what he wanted and was content with the happiness of others rather than that of his family. But, when Fahmy is killed during a demonstration, we see Ahmad breaks down. We see him finally thinking about how his family, Amina, will take the news. We see his pain on page 495, when he replies to the young man offering his condolences to him by saying, “…Dead! I’ll never see him again at home or anywhere else on the face of the earth? How can I have a home without him? How can I be a father if he’s gone? What has become of all the hopes attached to him? The only hope left is patience…. Patience? Oh…. Do you feel the searing pain? This really is pain. You were mistaken previously when you claimed to be in pain. No, before today you’ve never known pain. This is pain…” (495-496). This was the first time Ahmad showed such vulnerability. It was the first time that he showed his pain and emotions to a complete stranger. Even more shocking was how, on page 497, he started thinking of how Amina would take the news of Fahmy’s death. Mahfouz writes, “He remembered Amina for the first time and his feet almost failed him. What could he say to her? How would she take the news? She was weak and delicate. She wept at the death of a sparrow” (497) informing the reader of Ahmad’s first realization of how Amina would feel about what had happened. For the first time, Ahmad actually worried about someone other than himself and accepting the responsibility he has as a father and husband.
Naguib Mahfouz’s novel showed the transformation that one person can undergo as a result of specific events. Ahmad’s transition in the book was clear and surprising. It was evident that Ahmad had undergone such a huge change, but it was surprising that he did and in the manner that it happened. Ahmad didn’t seem as superior to the others as he once did and as the novel came to an end, we saw how Ahmad went from caring solely of himself and his image in the eyes of others to worrying about the feelings of others, being able to express his vulnerability to strangers, and finally acknowledging the responsibility he had as a father and husband.
Works Cited
Daniela. "Worshipper Blinded by Love and Fear." Web log post. Diggingevendeeper.blogspot.com. The Chinquapin School, 17 Feb. 2010. Web. 22 Mar. 2010. < http://diggingevendeeper.blogspot.com/2010/02/worshipper-blinded-by-love-and-fear_17.html >.
LaurenF. "Ahmad's Priorities." Web log post. Diggingevendeeper.blogspot.com. The Chinquapin School, 10 Feb. 2010. Web. 22 Mar. 2010. < http://diggingevendeeper.blogspot.com/2010/02/passage- >.
Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk. New York: Anchor Books, 1991
Talut, Abu. "The Status of Women and Men in Islam II." 28 April 1998. 02 April 2010 < http://www.iol.ie/~afifi/BICNews/AbuTalut/AbuTalut5.htm >.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Kamal's Innocence
An important character that often gets overlooked in Palace Walk is Kamal. Kamal is very important because as a small child he is very innocent and in his innocence he says and does many things that affect greatly how some things play out in the novel. Like Dee explains in her blog, “Kamal was seen through my eyes as one of the characters that a lot of people blew off, but he offered an important role to a lot of the situation in the book that were significant to the over all theme of innocence and honor…We can see Kamal’s feelings when he says, “In that coffee hour Kamal frequently felt lost and neglected by his family. Hardly anyone paid attention to him” (53).”
I also agree with what Aby says in her blog, “Kamal seems to want to be like his dad and brother.” Like Dee and Aby say, all Kamal wants to do is be an adult, so he tries to act like a grown up and in doing this he says and does many things that have important repercussions throughout the novel. Although he has no intention to Kamal impacts greatly his family’s lives.
One example of this is how he becomes good friends with the soldiers that camped outside his house. Kamal is attracted very attracted to them because they are foreigners; he is especially interested in their appearance and the language they speak. Because of this Kamal begins talking to them and becomes acquainted with them. One day they give him a caricature they had drawn of him. Kamal looked at the picture and didn't think it looked like him. Then he saw that the men were laughing and realized that they were joking. However, when he showed the picture to Fahmy, he thought something else. Fahmy told him, "'O Lord, this picture omits none of your defects and exaggerates them . . . the small skinny body, the long scrawny neck, the large nose, the huge head, and the tiny eyes'" (438). He went on to say, "'It's clear what the secret of their fondness for you is. . . . They like to laugh at your appearance and foppishness. To put it plainly, you're nothing but a puppet to them'" (438). When Kamal saw this caricature of him he though it had simply been a joke between friends. However, when he showed it to Fahmy he learned otherwise. This episode could have fueled Fahmy’s anger towards the English, which eventually lead to Fahmy’s death. This innocent act by Kamal could’ve been a lethal consequence for Fahmy.
Another instance that shows Kamal's innocence is when he is telling a story at the evening coffee hour. He tells about how one day that he arrived at the encampment he saw Julian, one of the English soldiers, waving his hand to Maryam who was smiling at the her window. As soon as she saw him she left the window looking terrified. As soon as he finished relating the story he receives alarmed responses from everyone. Amina, incredulous, warns her son against making false accusations. However, Famhy commented, "'He's not lying. No sensible person would accuse him of lying about this. Don't you see that a person his age wouldn't be able to invent such a story?'" (439). As Fahmy said, Kamal in his innocence did not know what he was talking about. Although this was an innocent remark it led to Fahmy’s learning the truth about Maryam.
Work Cited
Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk (Cairo Trilogy). New York: Anchor, 1990. Print.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Not a God, Not so Strong
The final section of Naguib Mahfouz’s, Palace Walk, brought forth a number of surprises, the most obvious being Fahmy’s death and the revelation of Ahmad’s affair with Maryam’s mother. But, one thing stood out to me the most. The way Ahmad didn’t seem as superior to the others as he once did was really surprising to me. As the novel came to an end, we saw how Ahmad, at force, had to obey the British soldiers who held him at gun point and forced him to work. For a man like Ahmad, it seemed like something so degrading.
Throughout the whole book, Ahmad had been described as all powerful and so much better than everyone else. As Daniela said in her blog, “Worshipper Blinded by Love and Fear” she writes about how Ahmad’s family treats Ahmad as if he were a God. She gives the example of Aisha’s feelings towards Ahmad after she’s told that she cannot marry. It is clear that Aisha is upset, but Aisha couldn’t bring herself to stand up to her father. This may have been simply because Aisha didn’t want to disrespect her father, something that is written in the Koran as wrong, but why couldn’t she at least say what she wanted to say? At the beginning of Chapter 65, we see how Ahmad is confronted by two soldiers. When Ahmad sees the soldiers coming, Mahfouz describes Ahmad’s reaction by saying, “With a pounding heart and a dry throat, al-Sayid Ahmad watched the soldier approach” (442). This clearly means that Ahmad was scared. Anyone else would be scared by a man in a uniform, fully armed, and physically strong, but if Ahmad was so “God-like” why wouldn’t he be scared? God’s are usually all powerful and nothing frightens them. Seeing how Ahmad could do nothing to communicate with the foreign soldiers and get himself out of the mess made Ahmad look just as inferior as everyone else. He was no longer giving orders to everyone, he was the one taking orders.
Fahmy’s death brought forth a surprising reaction from Ahmad. At the beginning of the novel, we saw Ahmad as a man who cared solely of himself and how he was viewed. As Lauren wrote in the blog named, “Ahmad’s Priorities,” Ahmad didn’t care about his relationship with his family as much as he cared about his relationship with others and his image in the eyes of the public. He did what he wanted and was content with the happiness of others rather than that of his family. But, when Fahmy is killed during a demonstration, we see Ahmad breaks down. We see him finally thinking about how his family, Amina, will take the news. We see his pain on page 495, when he replies to the young man offering his condolences to him by saying,
This was the first time I actually saw Ahmad showing such vulnerability. It was the first time that I saw him show his pain and emotions to a complete stranger. What shocked me even more was how on page 497 he started thinking of how Amina would take the news of Fahmy’s death. Mahfouz writes,
Ahmad’s transition in the book was clear and surprising. It was evident that Ahmad had undergone such a huge change, but it was surprising that he did and in the manner that it happened. Seeing him take orders from someone and not be able to fight for what he wanted allowed readers to remove the perception that Ahmad was god-like. The way Ahmad went from caring solely of himself and his image to others to worrying about the feelings of others and being able to express his vulnerability to strangers was a huge turnaround from the beginning of the novel. But is his transformation legit? Is it a transformation or simply temporary feelings? Could Fahmy’s death have sparked something in Ahmad or will Ahmad go back to being the way he was before?
Works Cited
Daniela. "Worshipper Blinded by Love and Fear." 27 February 2010. diggingevendeeper.blogspot.com. 22 March 2010 < http://diggingevendeeper.blogspot.com/2010/02/worshipper-blinded-by-love-and-fear_17.html >.
LaurenF. "Ahmad's Priorities." 10 February 2010. diggingevendeeper.blogspot.com. 22 March 2010 < http://diggingevendeeper.blogspot.com/2010/02/passage-im-writing-about-is-on-page-10.html >.
Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk. New York: Anchor Books, 1991.
Throughout the whole book, Ahmad had been described as all powerful and so much better than everyone else. As Daniela said in her blog, “Worshipper Blinded by Love and Fear” she writes about how Ahmad’s family treats Ahmad as if he were a God. She gives the example of Aisha’s feelings towards Ahmad after she’s told that she cannot marry. It is clear that Aisha is upset, but Aisha couldn’t bring herself to stand up to her father. This may have been simply because Aisha didn’t want to disrespect her father, something that is written in the Koran as wrong, but why couldn’t she at least say what she wanted to say? At the beginning of Chapter 65, we see how Ahmad is confronted by two soldiers. When Ahmad sees the soldiers coming, Mahfouz describes Ahmad’s reaction by saying, “With a pounding heart and a dry throat, al-Sayid Ahmad watched the soldier approach” (442). This clearly means that Ahmad was scared. Anyone else would be scared by a man in a uniform, fully armed, and physically strong, but if Ahmad was so “God-like” why wouldn’t he be scared? God’s are usually all powerful and nothing frightens them. Seeing how Ahmad could do nothing to communicate with the foreign soldiers and get himself out of the mess made Ahmad look just as inferior as everyone else. He was no longer giving orders to everyone, he was the one taking orders.
Fahmy’s death brought forth a surprising reaction from Ahmad. At the beginning of the novel, we saw Ahmad as a man who cared solely of himself and how he was viewed. As Lauren wrote in the blog named, “Ahmad’s Priorities,” Ahmad didn’t care about his relationship with his family as much as he cared about his relationship with others and his image in the eyes of the public. He did what he wanted and was content with the happiness of others rather than that of his family. But, when Fahmy is killed during a demonstration, we see Ahmad breaks down. We see him finally thinking about how his family, Amina, will take the news. We see his pain on page 495, when he replies to the young man offering his condolences to him by saying,
“…Dead! I’ll never see him again at home or anywhere else on
the face of the earth? How can I have a home without him? How can I be a father
if he’s gone? What has become of all the hopes attached to him? The only hope
left is patience…. Patience? Oh…. Do you feel the searing pain? This really is
pain. You were mistaken previously when you claimed to be in pain. No, before
today you’ve never known pain. This is pain…” (495-496).
This was the first time I actually saw Ahmad showing such vulnerability. It was the first time that I saw him show his pain and emotions to a complete stranger. What shocked me even more was how on page 497 he started thinking of how Amina would take the news of Fahmy’s death. Mahfouz writes,
“He remembered Amina for the first time and his feet almost failed him. Whatinforming the reader of Ahmad’s first realization of how Amina would feel about what had happened. For the first time, I saw Ahmad worrying about someone other than himself.
could he say to her? How would she take the news? She was weak and delicate. She
wept at the death of a sparrow” (497)
Ahmad’s transition in the book was clear and surprising. It was evident that Ahmad had undergone such a huge change, but it was surprising that he did and in the manner that it happened. Seeing him take orders from someone and not be able to fight for what he wanted allowed readers to remove the perception that Ahmad was god-like. The way Ahmad went from caring solely of himself and his image to others to worrying about the feelings of others and being able to express his vulnerability to strangers was a huge turnaround from the beginning of the novel. But is his transformation legit? Is it a transformation or simply temporary feelings? Could Fahmy’s death have sparked something in Ahmad or will Ahmad go back to being the way he was before?
Works Cited
Daniela. "Worshipper Blinded by Love and Fear." 27 February 2010. diggingevendeeper.blogspot.com. 22 March 2010 < http://diggingevendeeper.blogspot.com/2010/02/worshipper-blinded-by-love-and-fear_17.html >.
LaurenF. "Ahmad's Priorities." 10 February 2010. diggingevendeeper.blogspot.com. 22 March 2010 < http://diggingevendeeper.blogspot.com/2010/02/passage-im-writing-about-is-on-page-10.html >.
Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk. New York: Anchor Books, 1991.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Disobedient
Picture taken by Gilzee
Fahmy has been the most responsible of Ahmad’s children. “He was the only one in the family to adopt a skeptical attitude toward incantations, charms, amulets, and the amazing deeds performed by saints” (411). Being the most educated of the family, after Ahmad, Fahmy continues to pursue his beliefs until his life is taken away from him.
Fahmy had never failed to disobey his father’s orders until his patriotism took over him. At different occasions Fahmy tried to seek companionship with his family members, but always failed. He usually tried to share his beliefs and convey his message to his family members during the coffee hour, but his family wasn’t enthusiastic enough. They all believed that the war was important, but their minds were busy with other things. Yasin was busy thinking about women, Kamal with his soldier friends, and his mother trying to figure out what was really going on. Since there was nobody at home to share his thoughts, Fahmy was forced to look elsewhere. He discovered that his classmates were all he had. Fahmy wanted to be with them more than he wanted to be with his own family because he could pursue his faith without being judged.
After being confronted by his father and being told to stop distributing handbills, Fahmy continues to pursue his beliefs at his own will. There was no way he was going to give up what he had started with his classmates and easily give up and please his father by swearing on the Qur’an. Fahmy was never able to discover where he obtained the courage to reply to his father with determination and enthusiasm; “We are all ready to sacrifice ourselves for our country” (422). Amazed by his ability to confront his father, Fahmy gains more courage to continue fighting for what the freedom of his country. He sets danger aside and continues his transformation to a disobedient child. Fahmy ends the confrontation he has with his father by telling him:
“Forgive me, Papa. I’ll obey every command of yours more than willingly, but I can’t do this. I can’t. We work like a single hand. I can’t accept shrinking back and abandoning my brothers, and I don’t think you would like me to. There’s no way that life would be bearable if I did. There’s no danger in what we’re doing. Others have more exalted tasks like participating in the demonstrations in which many of them have been martyred. I’m no better than those who have been killed. There are funeral processions for the nation. Even the families of the victims shout slogans instead of weeping. 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).
It is very hard for Ahmad to forgive his son and not to do anything about it because of his principles. He mentions that “[his] heart [wishes] to forgive him, but [he is] afraid he’ll think then that it’s okay to disobey [him]” (486). Ahmad is a typical father who forces his entire family to be submissive to him. He is strict to the point where he manipulates the way his wife and children act. The reason why Ahmad doesn’t show affection towards his own family is because he believes that if he does then they will take advantage of him. Every Muslim could understand Ahmad’s behavior because they all believe in what the Prophet (alayhis-salam) once told them: “Each of you is a shepherd and each of you shall be asked about his flock”. If Muslim fathers don’t man up then their children will do as they wish, just as Fahmy did.
Fahmy’s disobedience is very important in the novel because it shows that emotions have no limits. Not even the most responsible of Ahmad’s children is able to control his emotions to please his highly praised father. Just like Marcell previously wrote: “Fahmy is known to control his emotions and yet … he lets his emotions take control”. Stepping up and confronting his father made Fahmy a disobedient son, but at least he got the opportunity to participate in something that he believed to be the very important. Unfortunately his life got taken away from him before his father could forgive him.
Work cited:
Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk. New York: Anchor, 1990
Yahya. "Why Muslim Fathers Have to Man Up." Web Log post. Muslim Fathers. 12 Feb. 2010. Web. 24 Mar. 2010.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Ahmad transforming Zaynab
Even though we are now more than halfway through the novel Palace Walk the way Ahmad views women doesn’t cease to amaze me. In this particular section what shows us how he feels about women is how he reacts when Yasin sleeps with his wife’s personal maid, Nur. When this occurs Ahmad is enraged but not at the fact that Yasin has slept with a woman that isn’t his wife; he’s enraged because of who that woman is. Also, he strongly critiques Zaynab’s reaction when she finds out that Yasin has cheated on her. He goes as far out as to say that the way Zaynab reacted was a greater mistake than that which Yasin committed by sleeping with her personal maid.
When Ahmad learns about the affair that Yasin had with Nur he is enraged but not because he has cheated on his wife, Zaynab. He is enraged because of who he cheated on her with. He explains why giving us examples of his own affairs
Just as he loved beauty in the abstract, he loved it in its glittering social framework. He liked to be noticed and to have a widespread reputation…. This social use of his love did not require him to sacrifice beauty, for in his circle beauty and reputation went hand in hand, like an object and its shadow. Beauty was most often the magic wand that opened the door to reputation and noteworthy status. He had been the lover of some of the most famous entertainers of his time. Not one of them had disappointed his yearning for beauty or his craving for loveliness. For these reasons he thought scornfully of Yasin’s conquests. He repeated disapprovingly, “Umm Hanafi! … Nur! … What a beast he is (391)!
With these statements Ahmad is basically saying that he disapproves of Yasin’s conquests because they weren’t beautiful, distinguished, or influential. Yasin had no criteria to choose his mistresses; when lust blinded him he would be content to lie with any woman. And this was exactly what enraged Ahmad; he didn’t like that his son was a savage willing to sleep with any woman regardless of what she looked like or who she was. He was not at all concerned with the fact that Yasin had just cheated on his wife.
Another notion that shows how low Ahmad thinks of women is how he disapproves of Zaynab’s reaction when she finds out that Yasin was cheating on her. He thinks, “It was not appropriate for a good wife to implicate her husband in a scandal as she had, no matter the circumstances. How she had wailed! How she had screamed! What would he have done if Amina had surprised him one day in a comparable situation? But what was she compared to Amina? …Yasin had made a mistake, but she had made an even greater one” (389). Here Ahmad makes it clear that he thinks Yasin was in his rights to sleep with Nur, and that Zaynab shouldn’t have complained at all. He compares Zaynab with his wife, Amina, who is very compliant with everything that Ahmad says and does. He believes that Amina is a good wife and all women should be like her. In Ahmad’s eyes, Zaynab made a greater mistake than her husband because she complained about his cheating on her.
Because of the way Ahmad views women I agree with Lauren's Blog when she says that it’s very difficult for Zaynab to adjust to living in her new home. Zaynab was raised in a household with more progressive views towards women so it’s difficult for her to adjust herself to the strict ways of Ahmad’s home. When she was younger she was allowed to go out and see the world with her father. Now she has to stay in the house all the time. This and the way Yasin’s affair with Nur was treated are examples of how Zaynab is being transformed into Ahmad’s image of a perfect wife.
Source Citation
Mahfouz, Naguib. Palace Walk (Cairo Trilogy). New York: Anchor, 1990. Print.
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