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This is the case for Fatima Mernissis book, Dreams of Trespass
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Introduction
Autobiographies have been some of the most crucial works of literature used in outlining events, in the life of an individual. In most cases, autobiographies are written in the sunset days of an individual so as to depict the life journey of that person from birth to the level in which he or she is currently. In addition, many are times when autobiographies are written by individuals who have excelled in a certain field or have passed through certain unique experiences that make their story worth telling. In essence, autobiographies, like other works of literature are aimed at imbuing certain lessons mostly gained through the life journey of an individual irrespective of his or her age. Either way, they come as some of the most compelling literary works to examine or read. In most cases, they leave a vivid picture in the mind of the reader as to the things through which the author has gone. This is the case for Fatima Mernissi’s book, “Dreams of Trespass”.
In this book, Fatima outlines what it was like to be brought up in a harem in Morocco. The girl is growing up in a Moroccan household in the 40’s and early 50’s. Fatima outlines a world where the family would employ the services of a doorman so as to hinder or restrict women from leaving the houses without their husband’s permission. This is a world where an extended family composed of four households lived under a single roof, something that speaks of poverty.
From the surface, “Dreams of Trespass” comes as simply an enjoyable read that incorporates stories pertaining to daily life in Morocco, as seen from the point of view of women who lived in the harem of the father and uncle to Mernissi. On close inspection, however, “Dreams of Trespass” comes with more than a simple analogy of such events. It comes across as an insider’s account on the experiences of women and Islam in this country in the dawn of its independence from France.
This book’s title, “Dreams of Trespass” is a representation of the invisible, as well as visible barriers that these women faced in their lives. These barriers have everything to do with or revolve around Islam and women, as well as the problem pertaining to the country’s borders. After all, France had occupied what Moroccans rightfully felt was their country. In addition, the French had created various invisible lines between the varied groups of people in this country. However, it is also imperative that one examines the various barriers that revolve around the concept of the Moroccan harem. In this rich and exotic narrative of a childhood, Fatima weaves her memories with the memories and dreams of women who were surrounding her in imagination. Scholars have described it as a provocative narrative of a girl who is facing the mysteries pertaining to place, time, sex and gender in the Muslim world, the courtyard of youth women who recreate the outside world from sheer imagination as they have been denied from accessing it. The fascination in this book is based on the exploration of the meaning that these barriers have on her, as well as her family.
Of exceptional note would be the fact that no one was allowed to ask questions about the way of life in the harem. As a little girl, Fatima is constantly asking questions that are seemingly of little or no importance. In fact, her aunts and mother persistently tell her to stop asking so many questions. At a closer glance, however, the reader would acknowledge that the young girl is questioning the life that they live in the harem. As she notes, the people in this place did not ask questions so as to have answers, rather they asked them simply to comprehend the things that were happening to them (Mernissi, 22).. There are numerous frontiers underlined in this book with the most obvious one being that of the harem, which is the same for a large number of women in the book. As Fatima notes, the women needed permission to step out or into the compound or house. Getting to the gate, she states, was a procedure and women were required to justify every move that they made (Mernissi, 21).
This, however, does not negate the other frontiers that were encompassed in and out of the harem all of which had their respective areas. These included the rules imposed on women pertaining to dressing, listening to radio (Mernissi, 7), as well as the divide between Muslims and Christians (Mernissi, 1). All in all, the description that Fatima gets of the harem from Yasmina underlines the fundamental theme of the book. She states that the harem revolved around the private space, as well as the rules that govern it. The harem never needed walls to restrict an individual. Once the individual knew the things that were forbidden, he or she carried the harem with them in their heads (Mernissi, 61-62).
It may be surprising, however that Fatima does not take a stance on whether she opposes of agrees with the frontiers. Instead, she takes the role of an investigative reporter or intermediary. In essence, she enjoys everything that pertains to being a child and concentrating only on childless and trivial matters. There are instances, however that Fatima has an outburst usually when supervised by adults. In most cases, she regurgitates about things that she hears them discussing.
The climax of Fatima’s book comes towards the end, when Fatima asks the appropriate questions. She asks why she had to be detached from Samir, her lifelong partner, and why adults, all of a sudden were objecting to their being together. This is where she understands and feels what she had only experienced through listening to stories from women in harem; prejudice. At this point, the readers understand that the frontier is composed of varied circumstances that are identified by varied people and administered by varied power houses. However, the fundamental feature that characterizes all of them is the unique oppression that sets people apart in strictly controlled groups. At this stage, it becomes evident that the definition that Fatima was longing to discover was merely prejudice, which has been prepackaged into visible and invisible boundaries that characterize harem.
As much as Fatima writes the book from a feminist perspective, she gives a fond outline of her childhood and the moments that she had with the extended family. She has incredible honor for her roots, even as she outlines the flaws of the lifestyle in the harem. On one level, the book simply a biographical sketch of a girl living in a unique culture and outlining her experiences with the world. On the other hand, the book is an incredible social commentary pertaining to the cultural practice of imprisoning the minds of people through prejudice. Either way, the book makes for an incredible read.
References
Mernissi, Fatima. Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood. Cambridge, Mass: Perseus Books, 1995. Print.
This is Our All-American Youth, A Comparison and Contrast Essay
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This is Our All-American Youth: A Comparison/Contrast Essay
Both the play by Lonergan, “This Is Our Youth,” and the poem by Dickman clearly depict some of the major challenges that the youth encounter during their transit to adulthood. Consequently, this is the major theme that dominates both texts. Furthermore, these are the issues that focus on adolescence and maturity. More often that not, some of the major challenges that the youth face include drug abuse, violence, early sex as well as stealing to satisfy their expensive lifestyle. The theme of adolescence and maturity is explored in detail. In Lonergan’s play, the theme of transition into maturity is depicted by the main characters in the play, which include Warren and Dennis.
Warren is merely 19 and has been rejected by his father due to the fact that he stole $15,000. He is also a chain smoker as he agrees that another reason that made his father kick him away was because he used to smoke too much. Moreover, he used to do hard drugs and bring some Marijuana to his friend Dennis, who is similar to him in many ways. He already has cocaine in his possession as Warren knocks on his door (Lonergan, 31). This clearly shows that these two youths have missed the correct path and have been driven to drug abuse as a form of lifestyle. Subsequently, their drug abuse does not enable them to live closely to their parents.
Some of the poems by Mathew Dickman in his collection include “The Trouble,” “Grief” and “Slow Dance.” These poems clearly explore the theme of transition of the youth from the adolescent to maturity (Lonergan, 23). The poems also entail some of the major challenges as well as activities that the youth engage in during this crucial stage.
In the poem “The Trouble,” the theme (which is reflected in the title) is evident in the following lines: “Marilyn Monroe took all her sleeping pills,” “Sarah Kane hanged herself,” and “lit a cap of dynamite in his own mouth though it took six hours for him” (Dickman, 88). Meanwhile, in the poem “The Grief,” the theme is evident through the use of the following lines: “Some nights, when I know she’s coming,” “all the smoking and all the drinking,” and “Romantic? She says” (Dickman, 41). In the poem “Slow Dance,” the theme of transition into maturity is evident through the use of the following lines: “opportunity to dance with really exquisite strangers,” “Scrapping for joy,” and “A little music. An empty bottle of whiskey” (Dickman, 59).
Therefore, there are major similarities in the themes that are brought out in both Lonergan’s play and in the by Dickman. First, the two focuses on the youth at their transition stage from adolescent as they enter maturity. In line with this, the fact that youth is likely to engage into drug abuse as well as fornication is shown. Moreover, in this stage, they are likely to lose the love of their parents because of their changed behavior. For example, Warren loses the trust of his father and ends up being sent away from home. Youths tend to cling to what they cannot afford, and due to the fact that it is beyond their reach, they are likely to use any means to satisfy their expensive lifestyle. Most drugs are expensive that is why one needs a lot of money to buy them. Because of this, they are likely to steal from their parents and develop violent tendencies. To most youths, morals upbringing is lost and becomes elusive at this stage.
In the poem “Slow Dance,” readers can come across youths clubbing and dancing with exquisite strangers. They become reckless about their future. They develop I-do-not- care tendencies that may lead to negative results such as suicide and early pregnancy. For instance, smoking and drinking are brought out in the poem “The Grief” as the major area that the youths are really eager to satisfy and that takes most of their time. Meanwhile, in the play “This Is Our Youth,” Dennis and Warren are portrayed as drug addicts who will do anything to get money for drugs and sex (Lonergan, 41). For example, Warren plans to use the stolen money to ensure that he seduces Jessica Goldman to have sex with him. Warren comes up with a plan of how he will replace the stolen money through the sale of cocaine. Thus, it can be evidently seen that both the play and the poem explore the theme of sex as a major challenge for the youths as they transit from adolescent to adulthood.
However, Dickman’s peom and Lonergan’s play have some differences in the themes that are brought out. First, the play “This Is Our Youth” focuses on the essence of human relationships in detail (Lonergan, 58). According to Lonergan, loyalty and betrayal are vital concepts in maintaining and determining the type of human relationship that may exist between two parties. In this case, Warren and Dennis try their best to return the stolen money to his father in order to mend the broken relationship between them. Despite the fact that Warren had previously been beaten by his father, he still wanted to develop a good relationship with him.
The other major contrast between the play and the collection of the poems by Dickman is that the dominant theme in the poems is that of sexual desire. For instance, “I take her hand in mine. I spin her out and bring her in” is a line in the poem “Slow Dance” that explicitly brings the theme of romance (Dickman, 46). This is a different scenario by the play as the characters are involved in other major challenges in their life. They are entangled in a series of problems concerning their life. This is something that makes Warren decide to return the money he had stolen from his father to see whether he could again return to his home and be in good terms with his father. In addition, the title “Slow Dance” is a metaphor that describes the act of dancing slowly. This is in line with the desire to seek strong companionship for the protagonist in the poem. The youth are also depicted in the poems as being in search for love and companionship (Dickman, 81). Most of the poems are set in expensive and lovely places such as restaurants and coffee shops. Moreover, it is evident from the poems that the lack of love leads to longing and the feeling of being lonely. This has serious repercussions as one my resort to committing suicide.
Nevertheless, in the play, readers can come across Warren and Dennis constantly planning how they will take the two ladies, Jessica and Valerie, to bed once they sell cocaine and get money to rent a hotel room. However, the extent of sexual desire is low compared with that brought out in the poems. In the process of transition from adolescent to adulthood, youths have to embrace new conditions as the new form of life. However, the difference depends on the type of lifestyle that one is exposed to and the guidance he or she is likely to get. Some youths neglect the virtue of ethics and decide to follow their own understanding due to peer pressure. In relation to this, both the poem and the play depict cases of youths who deviate from the right path in this difficult stage in life.
Some rebel against the societal values and norms that have been set by their precedents and take the world in their own hands. Warren decides to move away from his father’s hand due to his weird behavior of smoking excessively. Nevertheless, the tendency for most youths to deviate from the right way is brought by the fact that most youths lack moral guidance. Warren’s father does not care about the impacts of sending his son away from his household (Lonergan, 76). Indeed, Lonergan, throughout the play, does not bring an instance where readers can see his father trying to give advice to him. In fact, it is the son who seeks reconciliation instead of the father.
In his poem, Dickman uses a lot of imagery and metaphors to bring out the major themes mentioned above like the transition from youth to adulthood. On the other hand, Lonergan employs reality when describing the folding events in the life of the two protagonists, Warren and Dennis. Consequently, this brings a major contrast between the two pieces of art.
Works Cited
Dickman, Matthew. American Poetry Review. 1st Ed. 2008.
Lonergan, HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Lonergan” o “Kenneth Lonergan” Kenneth. This is our Youth. New York: Overlook TP publishers, 2000.
This is an introductive speech outline
This is an introductive speech outline
Prized Possession
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Informative speech
Topic: Prized Possession
General Purpose: To Inform
Specific Purpose: Inform people and create awareness on the asset I value and its connection to my daily duties and hobbies.
Thesis Statement/ Central Idea: My Car is the prized possession I value since it determines my hard work and propels my hobby of travelling and adventure.
Introduction
[My Film speech is about my car, how to maintain it and its importance in my daily operations.)
Attention Getting Device: With a chorus answer, “Can a car improve one’s standard of living? My car being a valuable prize in my life, it has created a job for me. I have transformed it to a tax of ferrying people to different destinations at a cost.
My car has also simplified my hobbies of adventure and travelling as I can reach all the desired destinations with ease.
Body of Speech
Main Point#1:- origin of my car.
Due to my hobbies of travelling and adventure, my father promised me a car if I passed my final secondary examination. The promise made me to exercise more effort where at the end I emerged the winner. My father had no option but to award me the car.
I mostly travel to different places as my hobby and the prize has made my travelling faster and lesser expensive.
My car is my everything. When it breaks down, all my plans comes to a standstill.
I have constructed a garage for it and also employed a person to guard it at night time.
Main Point#2- Living Standard.
My car describes my true image and values. When speaking with people I love talking about my car and how I can better improve it.
The discussion disconnects me from my friends who do not own a car as they view me as a person of high class.
In the past, I had no knowledge on generating my own money and saving.
Since I owned the car, I can eat the food I want, purchase the clothes I need and also visit places I feel since my car generates some cash for my consumption.
Conclusion
I really value my car since it has created many positive impacts in my life and more importantly maintained my high living standards.
My car has a great impact to the community. There are situations like sickness, labor and transportation where I assist the community in solving by rushing them to destinations.
Imagine being the only youth owning a car in your village.
My car has earned me a lot of respect and recognition in the community. I love visiting places and assisting the community at large. My car has enabled me achieve my desired dreams.