Lost in Translation In her manuscript Trickster Travels, Natalie Zemon Davis was able to capture the life of a mysterious, elusive, and often times confusing man living in the Mediterranean area during the 16th century. In an attempt to understand al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmed al-Wazzan’s life as a traveler, diplomat, captive, writer, and translator, Davis analyzes primary and secondary sources alike in order to develop a comprehensive view of who al-Hasan al-Wazzan really was.
Davis finished her manuscript in 2006, after doing thorough research into both the writings of al-Wazzan as well as the historical context in which the writings were composed. Davis finally “…realized that silences and occasional contradictions and mysteries were …show more content…
As al-Wazzan approached each new situation, he changed more and more of himself, until finally too much was lost in translation and he found himself unable to return to his life of prestige in North Africa. From childhood through adulthood he lived a life of travel, learning customs, languages, and new laws. He was able to assimilate into cultures so well he even made a career out of it by becoming a diplomat for the city of Fez. However, in the end al-Wazzan, our amphibious bird, found himself tied down by the Italian culture in which he had invested and emerged so much of himself. Whether it was his now apparent ties to Christianity, or his apparent lack of attempts to return to his home, al-Wazzan was a changed man in the eyes of the North Africans. While he may have attempted to adapt to his new existence in North Africa, he would likely have not been accepted. His rise in Italian society left him too much of an outcast, scorned for sharing the Islamic religion with high Christian Italian officials. For perhaps the first time, al-Wazzan faced a nearly impassable barrier, where he found that sometimes change, even if one was forced to change to survive, may often times not be accepted by one’s former society, no matter how revered or respected one may once have
Davis finished her manuscript in 2006, after doing thorough research into both the writings of al-Wazzan as well as the historical context in which the writings were composed. Davis finally “…realized that silences and occasional contradictions and mysteries were …show more content…
As al-Wazzan approached each new situation, he changed more and more of himself, until finally too much was lost in translation and he found himself unable to return to his life of prestige in North Africa. From childhood through adulthood he lived a life of travel, learning customs, languages, and new laws. He was able to assimilate into cultures so well he even made a career out of it by becoming a diplomat for the city of Fez. However, in the end al-Wazzan, our amphibious bird, found himself tied down by the Italian culture in which he had invested and emerged so much of himself. Whether it was his now apparent ties to Christianity, or his apparent lack of attempts to return to his home, al-Wazzan was a changed man in the eyes of the North Africans. While he may have attempted to adapt to his new existence in North Africa, he would likely have not been accepted. His rise in Italian society left him too much of an outcast, scorned for sharing the Islamic religion with high Christian Italian officials. For perhaps the first time, al-Wazzan faced a nearly impassable barrier, where he found that sometimes change, even if one was forced to change to survive, may often times not be accepted by one’s former society, no matter how revered or respected one may once have