It is without doubt that in books the portrayal of women reflects her status and role in her current society. Thus, the way women and men are portrayed in books can defy or affirm the way they are portrayed in their respective societies. Often, women of certain cultures can be painted in a positive or negative light. More specifically, in American literature, Middle Eastern women tend to be portrayed as submissive or subservient. The basis of the connotation stands from the misunderstanding of the difference between Middle Eastern culture and the religion of Islam. American or non-Middle-Eastern authors tend to mesh the terms together; however, Middle Eastern culture and Islam are not interchangeable. And clearly over the years, people have
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After scrutinizing the following books: The Kiter Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Housseni and The Story of Zahra by Hanan Al-Shaykh and Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea, Middle Eastern literature depicts the Muslim women in a different manner than Western media through characterization/gender roles and figurative language. In order to further understand the depiction of women in these books, the culture, the background, and historical context of the books must be analyzed. Historically, when Islam emerged in 600 BC, the religion liberated the woman from the many oppressive laws of the time. However, the present oppressive culture did not mold itself to abide these laws. As an Oxford University study on Islam and women states, “… the status of women in premodern Islam in general conformed not to Quranic ideals but to prevailing patriarchal cultural norms. As a result, improvement of the status of women became a major issue in modern, reformist Islam” (Shuster 1). Thus, when a foreigner views the Muslim women, they attach the religion …show more content…
However, through their characterization and lack of development, Hosseini shares an immense amount of information regarding their role in society. Firstly, the role of women in Afghan society is subordinate. Hosseini writes “she was a shy woman, so courteous she spoke in a voice barely higher than a whisper and she would not raise her pretty hazel eyes to meet my gaze” (Hosseini 217). There is a lack of a voice for women in this book as there are no main female characters. Through the book, the reader can see the gender inequality. The “women aren’t even allowed to participate in such ordinary, everyday activities as kite flying competitions” ( “What Does Gender..” 1). Secondly, Hosseini subtly highlights the role of Afghan women in society when he writes “But the way she was looking at Hassan, he might as well have been sitting on a throne…” (Hosseini 217). It is heavily emphasized that women are to respect men than their own God. In The Kite Runner, female characters have a traditional role such as Farzana. “Farzana gave birth to a stillborn baby girl... Farzana stayed in the hut all day and wailed”; she had failed a doing the only job society had assigned her (Hosseini 221). Finally, as the book reaches an end, Hosseini introduces Soroya, the most important female character. She defies all of the stereotypes of women in the book— of course, she lives in America. She states, “their sons go
After scrutinizing the following books: The Kiter Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Housseni and The Story of Zahra by Hanan Al-Shaykh and Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea, Middle Eastern literature depicts the Muslim women in a different manner than Western media through characterization/gender roles and figurative language. In order to further understand the depiction of women in these books, the culture, the background, and historical context of the books must be analyzed. Historically, when Islam emerged in 600 BC, the religion liberated the woman from the many oppressive laws of the time. However, the present oppressive culture did not mold itself to abide these laws. As an Oxford University study on Islam and women states, “… the status of women in premodern Islam in general conformed not to Quranic ideals but to prevailing patriarchal cultural norms. As a result, improvement of the status of women became a major issue in modern, reformist Islam” (Shuster 1). Thus, when a foreigner views the Muslim women, they attach the religion …show more content…
However, through their characterization and lack of development, Hosseini shares an immense amount of information regarding their role in society. Firstly, the role of women in Afghan society is subordinate. Hosseini writes “she was a shy woman, so courteous she spoke in a voice barely higher than a whisper and she would not raise her pretty hazel eyes to meet my gaze” (Hosseini 217). There is a lack of a voice for women in this book as there are no main female characters. Through the book, the reader can see the gender inequality. The “women aren’t even allowed to participate in such ordinary, everyday activities as kite flying competitions” ( “What Does Gender..” 1). Secondly, Hosseini subtly highlights the role of Afghan women in society when he writes “But the way she was looking at Hassan, he might as well have been sitting on a throne…” (Hosseini 217). It is heavily emphasized that women are to respect men than their own God. In The Kite Runner, female characters have a traditional role such as Farzana. “Farzana gave birth to a stillborn baby girl... Farzana stayed in the hut all day and wailed”; she had failed a doing the only job society had assigned her (Hosseini 221). Finally, as the book reaches an end, Hosseini introduces Soroya, the most important female character. She defies all of the stereotypes of women in the book— of course, she lives in America. She states, “their sons go