Well, I'll start with the sympathy I had for the characters...oh wait, there is none! I felt hardly any sympathy for this family.
The only sympathy I felt was for Munir, but it was lost after he wrote that horrid telegram! I felt bad that he had to help support his family and then come home with money to hear that he is forced to marry his cousin, Nafusa (ewww). I felt sorry that he was so committed to his promises and he had to break his first with his family, the people who raised him. Though, I most definately do not feel sorry for that stupid telegram he sent! I cannot believe he would say he couldn't invite his family because of how poor they were and how he needed to impress important people! I mean, look at how much and far they have gone for him. The least he could do is invite them to one of the important parts of his beginning marriage!
The second only sympathy I felt was a little bit towards Nafusa. She has loved him all her life, even through her childhood years, and now she has been waiting for the moment she probably has dreamed of. Then, out of the blue, her hopes are crushed because of this stupid wealthy important wedding through a telegram! She has to toss away everything she wanted into a river that passed down her life. And, on top of it all, she had to experience it on the day Ramadan ended, a very important date! How sad...
I liked how in the beginning the author was explaining the big impact that Munir had on Hajji Guma's life. It seemed as if the author was leading up to something important that would crush that support. When I first read this short story, I thought that Munir would do something bad but not anything close to what he actually did. I thought maybe he wouldn't show up and that action would show his parents that he is not always the responsible kid they thought he was. I also would like to point out that I think it is sort of silly for Nafusa to cry just because she didn't get what she wanted. The only exciting parts of this story were when they found out what Munir did and the last paragraph where Nafusa and Khadija tore the letter in bits of paper. Wow, how exciting...
What was Haniya's part played in this short story? I didn't really understand what she was there for. Maybe to show what a great relationship she and Munir have together and how that will help get the marriage to work. Or maybe how calm and flexible she is around pressure and troublesome times. What do you think the influence of the water and river at the end of the story was significant? Why do you think Khadija started crying in the end, also?
Thanks and I cannot wait to hear back from you! <3
Marmar
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I'm not quite sure about the significance of the water and the river at the end. One possibility that I was considering was that the river could signify their tears, and their letter to him "drowned in the tears." Also, the river could just be a little detail that I am over-thinking. I think Khadija was crying at the end, because she really wanted to be married to Mas'ud, and her parents plan was for Mas'ud to marry Khadija and for Munir to marry Nafusa. Now that Khadija knows that Munir cannot marry Nafusa, maybe she thinks that her marriage will be cancelled as well. Also, maybe she think that Nafusa will always be upset at her, if she marries now (when Nafusa could not). These are just some possibilities.
ReplyDeleteI actually don think that the river wasn't really important. The only essential section of the ending was how the girls where upset with Munir's marriage, and they ripped up the letter and threw it into the river, since he ruined Khadija's marriage and Nafusa's hopes of marrying him. This just means that the letter will never get sent, no one will ever see it again. But, I do agree with you in that there is no sympathy for the characters at all. I thought it was going to be like L.A. Confidential, you would kind of give the reader more insight into their character at the end, but there was none of that.
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