“You have to make choices even when there is nothing to choose from,” Quotes writer Péter Zilahy, who is absolutely right. This message can be seen through Nadia the Willful, the main protagonist from short story “Nadia the Willful”, who had been racked with grief when she and her father Terik, the chief of her Bedouin tribe, finds out that her best friend and older brother Hamed is dead after going out for a quest. Her father was so deeply sorrowed that he then forbade the tribe from uttering Hamed’s name. Hamed’s death had broken Nadia and left her more isolated from her tribe when his name was forbidden to be said. Soon after, it is clear that Nadia is an extremely loving person and she shows that by being bold and eventually disobeying
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For example, one day, she sees her brothers playing a game Hamed had once taught her. She noticed that they were playing incorrectly and says, “‘That is not the way! Hamed said that first you jump this way and then you jump back!’” (Page 2) Her brothers were shocked; Their sister had spoken his name even when the whole tribe was forbidden to do so! They were lucky, though, as their father was nowhere to be seen. Her brothers ask her for more, and she spoke more of Hamed. Also, she decided to visit the women who worked at the clothing looms and the shepherds who tended the sheep and told them about Hamed. This action was risky, as tribe members would’ve told her father- but she did not seem to mind at all, and nor did she mind the future consequences that would occur. As a result, Nadia continued speaking. Her tribe mates were hesitant to listen at first, but in the end, they “listened and laughed with her.” (Page 2) Then, “the more Nadia spoke of Hamed, the clearer his face became in her mind. She could see his smile and the light in his eyes. She could hear his voice. And the clearer Hamed’s voice and face became, the less Nadia hurt inside and the less her temper flashed. At last, she was filled with peace.” (Page 2) Even if Nadia’s father had forbidden anyone from speaking Hamed’s name, Nadia still went on reciting memories from her past with
For example, one day, she sees her brothers playing a game Hamed had once taught her. She noticed that they were playing incorrectly and says, “‘That is not the way! Hamed said that first you jump this way and then you jump back!’” (Page 2) Her brothers were shocked; Their sister had spoken his name even when the whole tribe was forbidden to do so! They were lucky, though, as their father was nowhere to be seen. Her brothers ask her for more, and she spoke more of Hamed. Also, she decided to visit the women who worked at the clothing looms and the shepherds who tended the sheep and told them about Hamed. This action was risky, as tribe members would’ve told her father- but she did not seem to mind at all, and nor did she mind the future consequences that would occur. As a result, Nadia continued speaking. Her tribe mates were hesitant to listen at first, but in the end, they “listened and laughed with her.” (Page 2) Then, “the more Nadia spoke of Hamed, the clearer his face became in her mind. She could see his smile and the light in his eyes. She could hear his voice. And the clearer Hamed’s voice and face became, the less Nadia hurt inside and the less her temper flashed. At last, she was filled with peace.” (Page 2) Even if Nadia’s father had forbidden anyone from speaking Hamed’s name, Nadia still went on reciting memories from her past with