Why can't these authors ever have the characters make smart decisions? Nearly every character in this short story did something completely irrational or wrong.
Hajji Guma, the father: First off, he set up his kids with their cousins… that’s super archaic and a bit disgusting. So his daughter (Khadija) is in love with Mas’ud. El Milady didn’t even mention if Mas’ud loves Khadija back. What really upsets me is how Hajji Guma treats Munir as though he were an object for barter, just because Hajji Guma wants his brother to feel that everything is fair in finance. “With shrewd foresight, the hajji had decided to ensure the happiness of his daughter Khadija’s marriage to his nephew Mas’ud by arranging the engagement of his son Munir to Mas’ud’s sister, Nafusa. This way he would return his brother’s favor and guarantee the happiness of the family forever… His son Munir had become a chief engineer with a monthly salary of almost forty pounds.” (p. 43) What should Hajji Abd Allah’s happiness have to do with this arrangement? Since when has a wedding been about something other than the bride and groom? Oh, right, this one’s an arranged marriage… I do feel somewhat sympathetic for Hajji Guma, however, when he has to pretend to be okay about not being invited to his own son’s wedding, making up an excuse to comfort the family and his pride.
Haniya, the mother: Although she is a very small character, I don’t like the few parts she plays. First off, she agrees right away with the idea of an arranged marriage, although it says that she and Munir are the ones with a very strong bond. Haniya also plans to use that bond to persuade Munir to agree with the marriage. How manipulative.
Khadija, the daughter: I suppose I should feel sorry for her, but I don’t. She doesn’t think about Munir’s feelings either. She gets too caught up in what all the adults are planning (since it’s based around what she wants), her hopes are raised, and then shattered. Her fault? The adults’ faults? Maybe both.
Nafusa, the cousin: I don’t feel sorry for her, either. If she really loved Munir, she wouldn’t be so self-centered as to cry when he doesn’t allow her to get what she wants.
Munir, the son: At first I was super sympathetic for him. He was going to come home for a festival, then have the bomb dropped on him that he’s marrying his cousin. He supports his family, and they’re about to use him. All this changed, of course, when he sent a telegram announcing his marriage. Furthermore, he didn’t invite his family to his wedding the following day. I realized he was just as much of a jerk who wanted to appear proud and profit from all the decisions made.
Well, my rant is done!
-Peyton
I agree with you 100%. In this story, everyone acts for their own benefit, and it doesn't work out in the end. I'm pretty sure that arranged marriages are common in the Middle East, and being forced to marry shouldn't be a shocker to traditional Middle Easterners. But what surprised was that Munir's dad claimed that his family wasn't that traditional, and since Munir has his own modern life as an engineer, forcing him to marry and be traditional, is unfair. At first I thought that Munir abandoned his family because he was ashamed of having poor relatives, but now, I think that maybe Munir didn't want to be sorrounded by selfish people. Of course, he was just as selfish and self centered as his family when he proposed without talking to them, and them abandoned them.
ReplyDeleteOverall, the author shows us how acting with your own interests at heart makes you selfish, and a horrible person. SO DON'T BE SELF CENTERED!!
I like the analysis (see, I'm NOT just tearing down your argument!!!!!!!), but just a couple comments:
ReplyDelete1. It says in the book that the hajji was reluctant to arrange the marriage for Munir. He didn't want to, but was somewhat pressured into it by the other hajji, the richer one.
2. Khadija: she did just want things for herself, which she would get through Munir's marriage, but even if she realized how unfair it was, what could she have done?
3. In general: that was how things were/are done there/then/now (when exactly does this take place? Now? 10 years ago?). I'm sure the hajji probably wouldn't have done what he did if it was not the custom of those days.
Other than that, though, good job. Nice quotations!