Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Catching up #4(Last one, Bookseller of Kabul)
I think that Bookseller is really effective in showing not just that women are oppressed, but that women are REALLY oppressed in her country. It makes all other life struggles seem trivial compared to the daunting task of trying to overcome something to deep rooted as the Muslim way of life. She really goes out of her way to dehumanize the woman to the farthest extent. What particular struck me was her use of synechdoche. She dehumanizes the women to the point where they are nothing more than "burqas." The Burqa is a symbol of oppression, of inequality and of similarity. The women are closed off from the rest of society, all made to look the same, but different from the men. It makes them stand out, but all look the exact same. The Burqa takes away all that amkes them unique and human, their facial features and expressions. It's truly a devastating image that the author uses to shock the reader and expose the horrible conditions that women are forced to live under.
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Sing me back home...
(And I still, obviously, have not yet figured out blogging. I know what synecdoche is, but cannot figure out how to post a blog. Pity.)
Since Jennings mentions Johnny Cash every other line, I thought it would be only appropriate that I write about the chapter "Ring of Fire." I thought it was rather interesting that there was an entire chapter dedicated to cheating on husbands and wives, with explicit details on what and what not when cheating. The chapter does not concern whether or not one should cheat, but rather assumes that one does so, and provides advice on how to best do it. It followed the same general pattern of the book (i.e. a bigger focus on outside events and cultural and historical perspective and less focus on his personal life [though he probably would want to avoid publishing his personal stories about cheating, if any!]), but with a more indulgent flare, tending to use more profanities, informal language use, and sarcasm. This is an excellent literary choice because he is discussing something of great indulgence and something that breaks away from the "should," so his language does the same. I thought it was sort of ironic that he tossed in such formal literary references at the end of the chapter like Dante, and even the Bible. The Biblical reference, to Bathsheba, just seemed out of place. I realize, of course, that he was in part describing sin, but nonetheless I feel like that religious specificity in the midst of a seamy, unholy chapter seemed odd.
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