American Women’s Poetry

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Authors use literature work to identify and describe the day to day social issues in a society and to depict how distinct or similar one society is from others or the same society but in different times. There are typically numerous themes exemplified in every literary work existing in the world today. However, some of these literature pieces provide and relate to some contemporal themes. In the work of Ahlam’s Mostaghanemi’s Memory in the flesh, which is based on the Arabic contemporal literature in Algeria, the themes of love and politics are fully uncovered and discussed at length.

Through the protagonist, Khalid,the author uses to disclose the real picture about the themes of love and politics in the Arab society which was undergoing changes through the French authority.Khalid who served as a soldier in the military dedicated his life to his country and as a young man he was trying to set up his life as an individual. At this time Algeria as a nation was politically unstable,as the nationals were struggling to be independent by fighting the French colonisers who were oppressing them.In his prime age, Khalid was among those who were to fight the colonial masters and liberate their beloved country.

The french had taken over Algeria and had forced changes,they used assimilation method to rule.All those who were born during their reign including the author were to use French as their first language and not their mother tongues.The author openly stated that he had to write her original work in French and not arabic since it would have been considered as a sign of rebelion and disrespect to the their masters. The writer Mostaghanemi’s chose to “turn away” from the French audience and to direct her voice towards her own people. When seen in this light, the book’s inventive form and language present a troubling and confrontational alternative to the social and political norms in the Arab world. Reading this work in translation, and in a radically different setting, makes it difficult to gauge the impact of the original work. this shows the extent o which the French masters were forcefully changing the Arabic society.

In the great tradition of Arab romance from “Majnoun Leila” all the way to the lyrics sang by Farid al-Attrache and Om Kalthoum, Khalid is single-minded in his passion. He stakes his entire emotional structure on Ahlam, only to be shattered by inevitable disappointment. Although she is Si Taher’s own daughter, she cannot be the bridge back to those earlier times, nor the bridge to a better future. She belongs to a new generation that “found all things too heavy to carry, that exchanged old Arabic dresses for modern ones by Mostaghanemi (2000), this shows the change in the dressing mode of the Arabic ladies after independence.

The writer’s ability to sustain Khaled’s male point-of-view throughout his work is quite remarkable. The protagonist is treated to some rather thinly disguised masturbation references, mild sexual fantasy and other strong male egocentricity that can be interpreted as quite realistic. Although upon the first analysis it appears that the love story in “Memory in the Flesh” would have been more believable, more convincing and devastating, if Khalid and Ahlam had actually become lovers or at least had made plans together. Even in the deterring context of the Arab morality, the writer carefully conceals the sexual connection between the two characters who keeps their friendship chaste, but for one kiss. Khaled’s sense of betrayal should have been more vindicated had the young Ahlam made some kind of promise to Khalid. Instead, she remains uncommitted and detached towards him, displays such unwarranted bitterness towards her. Khalid is trying to start a relationship at his old age, but it will not be easy in his Arab society.

Among the many changes that the French masters tried to effect, Ahlam’s Mostaghanemi chose to focus on the love and political themes and how they changed and affected Khalid’s life. According to the literature by Mosteghanemi (2003), Khalid loses his hand in battle, showing the adversity that political turmoil the country had on nationals. The political state became more unbearable and fear and tension engulfed everywhere that some citizens had to go to exile for their safety, Khalid was one of them and it’s in exile that he explained why he fled, in his work , “The Constantine night creeps up on me from my window of exile…,” Mosteghanemi(2003). Such exiles not only affected the individuals but also scattered relatives hence affecting the family as a unit.

The heroes who stood and fought for their country were however never dismayed despite some of them being crippled. “He is proud of the loss in one way; it occurred while fighting to redeem their nation from oppressors and he also feels that part of his life was gone with that loss”. Mosteghanemi’s (2003).This shows the determination they had to liberate their country.

Many people lost their lifes in the civil war and the struggle for liberation and this is revealed on the author’s account; as observed through the eyes of Hassan, Khalid’s brother, “Casantinians only come back for weddings and funerals” (Mosteghanemi, 2003). The author describes the number of deaths using an imagery style; there seemed to be death all round, instigating this comment from Hassan. Hassan himself was to be killed in the civil war later. Years after this battle claimed his hand, and part of his mind per se… (Mosteghanemi, 2003) and people died in thousands.

However, even with the unstable political state the theme of love thrived. According to Foreland (2011) Arabs are a little conservative and sketchy when it comes to matters of love for a long time. They typically take religious approach when it comes to issues concerning love and intimacy. Their approach to love and such intimate matters is cautious, having stemmed from teachings of their prophet about respecting this kind of connection (Abdulrahim, 2013).

Although this literature work was written at the very beginning of the civil war, which claimed the lives of thousands, there is a sense of forbidding in the work that seems to prefigure the coming horror. “Casantinians only come back for weddings and funerals,” says Hassan, Khaled’s brother who later dies in the violence. “Literature is born from wounds,” remarks Khalid at numerous occasions. “We write novels in order to kill those who have become a burden on us,” explains Ahlam, the novelist. These statements about the intimate relationship between death and art confirm the tragic essence of this Algerian story which was not the case before.

The protagonist had a bad experience in his past life which left him without a hand, he lost his brother in the civil war, but he is still focused to start life again and move on. The protagonist depict the patriotism of the heroes in which they prioritized their country before their own life, this has although changed their lifes in many ways as Khalid finds himself in love with a young lady at his old age. Although Khalid is a hero, the same picture is not reflected in his daily life as he struggle to achieve what he has lost in the entire period he spent in the civil war to liberate his country.

In the first three lines of the A Damascene Moon poem by Nizar QabbaniGreen, he brings into picture the long distance he had come to see his suitor. He claims to have travelled several moon nights from Damascus which is his hometown to Tunisia. This reveals the theme of love and affection the Arabic literature embodies. The poet uses hyperbolic style to express how good and romantic he can sing and he says “whose singing turns the herbs green”, considering that they were living in deserts, the act of herb turning green was great magic, he compares his voice with such a wonderful act. From the poem it is clear that there is enjoyed peace and tranquility and free movement from different regions unlike during the civil war in Algeria when people were fleeing from their country.

Citations

Abdulrahim, S (2013). Between Empire and Diaspora: Identity Poetics in Contemporary Arab-

American Women’s Poetry. Web. Available from

http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/19525/1/Safa’a%20Thesis.pdf

Foreland, L.R (2011). Love versus Political Commitment An Arab Intellectual’s Dilemma as

Portrayed In Love in Exile. Web. Available from https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/24252/Ferdigxoppgave.pdf?sequence=1

Khalil-Habib , N (2008). Al-Awda: the Theme of Return in Contemporary Arabic Literature: a

Case-Study of Samira ‘Azam. Nebula. 88-97.

Mosteghanemi, A (2003). Memory In the flesh. American University in Cairo press, Cairo