The Arab Of The Future Summary

The book “The Arab of the Future” by Riad Sattouf talks about the life of Riad and his family when he lived in the eastern countries. Riad is the embodiment of Eastern and Western values because his mother is French and his father is Syria. He had lived in Libya when he was two years old, and in Syria when he was fourth years old. He had the difficult life and some memories he will never forget. The character Raid has been shown on three sides: the differences of his relationship between his father and his mother, the differences he learned in two cultures, and the cross-cultural challenges Riad faced. Firstly, Raid had the different his relationship between his father and his mother. He has a beautiful mother and an ambitious father. …show more content…
He learned in Syria, the man could decide everything in the family. They could never listen to their wife's opinion, and they thought they had a good idea for everything. Riad was so surprised when the kids in the family did not honor their mom. For example, when Riad’s cousin sawed at the toy’s neck, his mom yielded at him, but he did not care. He tried to hit his mom back. Riad’s cousin listened to only his father. So many the boy kids there said the bad words to their mother, but never said the same things about their father. The first time when he went to his grandma's house he saw his mother and aunt could not eat the same table with his uncle and father. The women were the one who always took care of the kids when the family went to the outside or the family meeting. They needed to stay in the different room, and could not complain of their husband. The man could go to the women's room, but the women could not. He felt so weird when he saw the women wore the black with the outfit when they went outside for making sure every man is not a relationship would not see their hair. On the other hand, he could see his mom, and every woman who lived in French was so different. His mom could say whatever she thought, and she wore the outfit she felt comfortable with. The women and men were equal, and the kids needed to listen to both. The another different culture Riad had learned was the people in Syria …show more content…
The first thing challenges he faced was language. He needed not know how to speak Arabic. He just knows only how to speak French. Although his father knows how to speak that language, he never taught Riad. When he came to Libya or Syria, he did not understand what his grandma or the people there talking about. That is why Riad was really hard to find friends to play. The second thing challenges he faced was he did not know how to speak Arabic but his father wanted Riad to go to school. Riad was scared he would not understand everything, and the kids at school would mock at him. At that time, he was treated as a Jew. Next, Riad needed to learn to use the hand to pick up the food and do the same thing with the kids there doing. If he did not learn that, that was hard for him because he was one difference with anybody. He could not integrate with life and the people of Syria. The people in his father’s hometown did whatever they wanted. They did not care about everything or everybody. For example, the kids there did not think the dog is a pet; they thought the dog is an animal, and they used a dog like a ball to play soccer, and they killed that dog after the game goes over. Riad family was seen as strangers. His mother did not wear the hijab like every woman who lived in Syria, and Riad was looked so different with other kids in the town. Riad was big, and he had blond curly hair. However, all