Pre-Reading Notes
For July 30.
Ibrahim al-Kunni’s “The
Golden Bird of Misfortune” pits the “indigenous” beliefs
of the Taureg people against the Islamic holy men who also inhabit the desert.
The foundation of the story is the age-old problem of the childless couple,
who go to great lengths, and maybe make a deal with malign forces, to have
their child. One might want to think about whether or not this child was not
the blessing it seemed to be, and where the author comes out in the debate
between the two belief systems.
Fatima Mernissi’s “The Harem Within”
is a feminist tale of tradition and transformation. Part of the discourse
and the tension is spatial—think of the interior space of the harem
and the escape possibilities that were offered, as well as the outdoor space
of the picnic and of the grandfather’s farm. Is the containment of women
different in these different spaces? Are there similarities? In the end, the
narrator is presented with the idea that the harem and its defining principles
are held within the individual women. Is this something you believe is true?
How does the elder with whom the narrator is speaking at the end of the story
believe the nbarrator’s life to hold different potential and possibilities?
Does her belief in this narrator seem out of character for this woman?
Hanan al-Shaykh’s “A Season of
Madness” is yet another story of the constrained role of women in the
Arab world. It’s interesting that the husband vows not to abandon this
wife, even though she does her best to make his life unpleasant. Inother words,
he’s a decent guy, not an abusive monster, and yet there is something
about the guy who watches her paint that calls to her. This desire for connection
to a real love is quite modern. This is an interesting story in which to examine
tradition and its strength, with the mother’s role and the different
cultural taboos that the narrator violates all playing a part in the story.
Is her confinement within this marriage even more frustrating than that of
the women in the harem?
With Alifa Rifcaat’s “My World of
the Unknown,” there is yet another example of the woman who is confined
in a less than fulfilling marriage. Is her discovery of the Jinnn and the
turn to this jinn for some satisfaction (and finally, obsession) something
that really happens, or is it all in her mind? What about the woman who had
occupied the house prior to the arrival of the couple?
How is the approach to understanding this entity different for the narrator
and her husband? How about the sheikh who is called in?
For July 25.
I. There is a sense in both
of the short stories of Naguib Mahfouz that part of the intent of the story
is to offer a critique of some aspects of modern Cairo. Since the stories
feature quite different perspectives (one is solidly middle-class, the other
a kind of underworld view) one might trace some of the differences in the
problems of modern Cairo.
This kind of analysis might be done as a comparison of the two stories, or
it might be a more in-depth analysis of one or the other story.
II. “Zaabalawi,” perhaps Mahfouz’s
most anthologized short story, is deeply rooted in the Sufi mystic tradition.
You might want to do some research about some of the basic tenets of this
tradition, and ofer an analysis of the ways Mahfouz connects the quest for
relief from the spiritual malaise suffered by the author to this tradition.
Are there aspects of the story that are surprising to the reader (particularly
the western reader)? Are there elements of the quest that seem surprising,
or blasphemous? Why does Mahfouz include these elements?
One might trace a story like this through a different kind of path. For instance,
if you look at the different kinds of clothing worn by the people the narrator
meets along the way, you might surmise that this is an important element.
Or one might trace the different kinds of occupations of these helpers, and
what the significance of these are to the story.
III. “Hanzal” employs the time-worn
device at the end, that sheds light on the utopian society that has emerged
in the story. While this device is usually hackneyed and sophomoric, somehow
it seems just right for this story. Why is that?
For July 26
I. The 1001
Nights has become as much a western set of stories in the orientalist
tradition as it is an Arabic set of tales. Even more, it has become a kind
of set of stories for youth. Examine one or two of the children’s versions
of the story and explain the choices made by the author on how to “translate”
it for children. Is there a mark of the era in which it was published in the
style of the translation (1930’s? 1960’s?). Does the theme of
the original version as you understand it survive the children’s version?
II. In the current age, the
1001 Nights is often used to explore traditions of narrative and
storytelling. Explain some of the complexity of narrative that one can find
within the story itself. Is there a didactic intent that might be meant to
instruct real people in power? Is there a fair assessment of the power of
literature in the story?
III. How do some of the tales reflect back upon
the situation of the frame narrative? When merchants and powerful genies are
offered life lessons in the tales, is that intended to affect Shahriyar as
well? What about the representation of women in the tales? Do they accord
with what we’ve come to know of Shahrizad and Dinarzad, or are there
different sorts of functions?
For July 27.
I. Mahfouz’s The
Arabian Nights and Days is meant to be a modern version of the original
text. How is this story marked as modern? Explore the modern elements in the
story. Are they meant to comment on some of the same human traits that exist
in the original? Does it share some themes with the original? An essay about
this treatment might focus on one or the other of the subplots, rather than
treating the stories as a whole, so as to develop a more in-depth analysis.
You might also discuss some of the other formal similarities between the two
texts. Is there something in the plight of the merchant that mirrors the plight
of the merchant in the original? Or that mirrors the fame narrative of the
original, or both?
II. Assia Djebar’s collection
of stories is meant to highlight some of the inequitable conditions for women
in Northern African countries. For an essay, it is fine to find the collection
and read a couple of other stories in it, and write an essay about the pattern
you might find in these stories.
The story itself is yet another kind of contrast between a romantic ideal
and a real situation in life. One might write an essay to show the kind of
sphere in which women exist in the story, where they might think that happiness
might be attained, and the critique that is offered by Djebar.