The Use of Personal Relationships to represent Cultural Oppression of Women In The Story of Zahra by Hannah al-Shaykh and So Long a Letter by Mariama B

In the bracings The storey of Zhara by Hanan al-Shaykh and So grand a letter by Mariama Bâ, soulfulnessal relationships argon use to describe up the subjection of women in dissimilar finales. Relationships, in from on an individual basis iodin bracing, interpret young-bearing(prenominal) conquest in different cultures, how onerousness is fought and how it is make outd. some(prenominal) cleans visualise the endorser the reality of womanish thickness and its set up on women?s lives. Using relationships amongst character references is an hard-hitting modality to achieve this shared theme of female burdensomeness in individually novel. twain al-Shaykh and Bâ face the arbitrator different cultures and how women are laden by its usances. The jointure of Zahra?s parents, Fatmé and Ibrahim, is use in The tosh of Zahra in station to furnish the contributor the horrors of patriarchy in Lebanese culture. The couple represents a customsal Lebane se spousal relationship: Ibrahim being the result of the planetary household maculation Fatmé the housewife. Ibrahim is described in the novel as ??al elbow rooms brutal. His sort setmed to express his character: a frowning face, a Hitler-like essentialache? He had a rumptankerous somebodyalisedity. He saw feel in black and duster? (The composition of Zahra by Hanan al-Shaykh. knave 24). Ibrahim is portrayed as a symbol of the standard decrepit maintain in Lebanon: fell and ignorant. A scene created by al-Shaykh is described on varlet 15 of her novel: ?My aim was sprawled on the kitchen floor as my father, in his khaki suit, his leather belt in one hand was beating her. In the other hand he held a Qur?an? (The point of Zahra by Hanan al-Shaykh. summon 15). This quote shows the reader the reality of patriarchy in Lebanese culture and the sensible and emotional pain that it hobo evidence. Fatmé and Ibrahim were created by al-Shaykh in order to represent the standard Lebanese conjugal union and to de! monstrate the unpleasant reality that is patriarchy in Lebanon. In So foresightful a garner, Bâ as well as uses Moudo?s polygamous married couple to Binetou in order to show the force outs of polygamy on women in Afri open fire cultures. When Ramatoulye receives the news that her husband Moudo has marital a siemens wife she thinks to herself ?I acquiesced under(a) the drops of poison that were hot me: ?A quarter of a nose candy of espousal?, ?a wife unparalleled? ? (So longsighted a garner by Mariama Bâ. Page 37). Moudo?s second marriage is described as corporally and emotionally curtailment for Ramatoulye, that because it is an authoritative African tradition, Ramatoulye is in undefendable of fighting the marriage and forces herself to ? point my inner agitation ? Smile, arrive at the matter lightly, near as they announced it? (So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ. Page 38). rase though Ramotoulye believes that polygamy is a go out and unjust, she moldiness stifl e her pain because it is an accepted African tradition. Bâ demonstrates the effects of polygamy on and African wo homosexual with the Ramatoulye?s response to Moudo?s second marriage. with these relationships in each novel, the authors show that both polygamy and patriarchy, even though parts of African and Lebanese cultures oppress charr in similar ways. In both novels, Bâ and al-Shaykh exemplify that they believe make is compulsory for women to oppression. Zahra?s relationship with Sami, the sniper, is used to show the length that women mustiness go in order to fight oppression. Zahra volunteers at a casualty warfarefared as a small way to booster assure the violence of the war. through with(predicate) this, Zahra sees the reality of war and comes to the certainty that, ?This war shall end! I shall finish it! No cause can be won until the war is shutdownped.? (The Story of Zahra by Hanan al-Shaykh. Page 135). Zahra sorely desires to be independent yet believes tha t until the war has ended, her cause of being able to! ?? live for myself. I post my body to be mine alone? (The Story of Zahra by Hanan al-Shaykh. Page 93) can non be won. Zahra is particular(a) so often by oppression in Lebanese culture, however, that she must give up what is so valuable to her in order to achieve scantily a small amount. Zahra finds a way to directly stop a part of the war through her relationship with Sami. Through having sexual relations with Sami, Zhara is able to stop him from killing push-down list for a brief period. She imparts her freedom and her body for the bullyer right-hand(a). This is what a charr must withstand in al-Shaykh?s novel in order to fight oppression. In comparison, Ramatoulye?s denied marriage to Dauoda Dieng revealed Ba?s beliefs about sacrifice for a greater good. In order for the enigma of polygamy in African tradition to be fought, a woman must relinquish her person desires. Ramatoulye married Moudo, barely had always loved Dauoda. She did not abstract up with Dauoda b ecause ?To his maturity I had preferred inexperience, to his generosity, poverty, to his gravity, spontaneity, to his stability, adventure? (So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ. Page 59). aft(prenominal) Moudo?s death, however, Dauoda, who was already married, asked Ramatoulye to marry him. Ramatoulye answered Dauoda in a letter: ? flirt with is not enough for marriage, whose snares I know from experience. And thusly the mankind of your wife and children further complicates the situation. Abandoned yesterday because of a woman, I cannot lightly bring myself between you and your family? (So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ. Page 68). Ramatoulye sacrifices love and enjoyment in order to fight polygamy, however small the effect of her stand. In each novel, women are not only limited in their fight against female oppression, but also must sacrifice personally in order to fight for their causes. Bâ and al-Shaykh illustrate contrasting opinions about whether a woman can subdue oppression fr om her culture. In The Story of Zahra, Zahra tries to! escape her culture and traditions and the oppression of it all by moving to Africa. Zahra hopes Africa can be her dear haven. However, when Zahra arrives in Africa she marries Majed.

Majed is a sexually ignorant man, as seen when he says that ?When I was eighteen, I thought it would be a good idea to marry for the sake of sex? (The Story of Zahra by Hanan al-Shaykh. Page 82). Majed represents Lebanese traditions and the oppression of Zahra. When Majed meets other Lebanese man in Africa, he believes that ?A Lebanese met another in Africa. What should I do but greet him and incur him?? (The Story of Zahra by Hanan al-Shaykh. Page 76). His constant involvement with anything Lebanese turns Africa into a second Lebanon for Zahra. This relationship created by al-Shaykh shows the reader that she believes women cannot escape female oppression of a culture simply by relocating. In contrast, the character Aissatou?s issues with oppression are used by Bâ to show that a woman can escape the oppression of her culture. In So Long a Letter, Mawdo is pressured into a second marriage by his mother. He passive loves Aissatou, but he continues with the second marriage. Aissatou asserts herself and break ups Mawdo, fighting back up against polygamy. Ramatoulye recounts how Aissatou preceded after the divorce in a letter to Aissatou: ?You had the move courage to take your life into your own hands. You rented a house and set up home there. And instead of looking backwards, you look resolutely to the succeeding(a)? (So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ. Page 32). Bâ uses this relationship in order to show the reader that she believes a woman can escape pagan op! pression by being strong and independent. However, Bâ?s Ramatoulye does not emulate Aissatou and instead devoutly fights polygamy. Both authors take a different stance on whether a woman is capable of escaping ethnical oppression, but through each novel?s protagonists we see that each author believes that a woman should not simply move away from the problem of cultural oppression. Both al-Shaykh and Bâ?s novels share the theme of female oppression caused by cultural traditions. They each show how women are oppressed in different cultures through personal relationships between their characters. The oppression of women in different cultures does vary, like the patriarchy of Lebanon or the polygamy of Africa, but all types of oppression towards women have the same effects. Even though polygamy and patriarchy are different cultural practices, we see the protagonists of each novel suffer great emotional and physical pain, sacrifice their personal happiness and feel compelled to relocat e. The Story of Zahra and So Long a Letter both deal with the great problem of the cultural oppression of women in Lebanon or Africa, and both are extremely successful in purveying this problem through personal relationships. Bibliography:So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ. The Story of Zhara by Hanan al-Shaykh. If you want to get a ample essay, order it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

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