Trevor Marzbanian
Arab Women Writers
November 17, 2014
Final Paper “The Persian Rug” by Hanan al-Shaykh is a short story having to do with a child who’s parents are divorced. The narrator’s mother leaves her father in pursuit of the man she loved before her family forced her to marry the narrator’s father. The narrator battles with her feelings towards her mother. At first she seems to despise the woman for leaving her and her sister behind, but when she first sees her again she is overcome by her emotions and is extremely happy to see her. The narrator discusses two characters throughout the story, both of which she loves. The mother and Ilya, a wicker furniture repairman, are the two people the narrator loves and wants to stay close with. These two characters are the most interesting in the story, because of their relation to the actual Persian rug and how that rug reveals the true nature of the mother. The narrator battles with her feelings towards her mother early on. “My …show more content…
“I used to stretch out on it as I did my homework, and find myself examining its pattern. Close up, it looked like slices of red watermelon, one next to the other.” (Cohen, 156). This rug seems to be important to the narrator. She has distinct, vivid memories of it. “The bouquets of flowers around the four sides were purple-colored, like a cockscomb.” She knows this rug well and would never mistake it for another. I believe the narrator associates the rug with Ilya. She was so attached to this rug and would examine it with her eyes. She would also examine Ilya as he did his work. She even connects the two by describing the colors on each. The rug looked like “slices of red watermelon” (Cohen, 156) and she would see Ilya on the bench with “his red hair shinning” (Cohen, 157). The color red can represent passion or love, and I don’t think it is a coincidence that the author chose to connect these two things with that
Arab Women Writers
November 17, 2014
Final Paper “The Persian Rug” by Hanan al-Shaykh is a short story having to do with a child who’s parents are divorced. The narrator’s mother leaves her father in pursuit of the man she loved before her family forced her to marry the narrator’s father. The narrator battles with her feelings towards her mother. At first she seems to despise the woman for leaving her and her sister behind, but when she first sees her again she is overcome by her emotions and is extremely happy to see her. The narrator discusses two characters throughout the story, both of which she loves. The mother and Ilya, a wicker furniture repairman, are the two people the narrator loves and wants to stay close with. These two characters are the most interesting in the story, because of their relation to the actual Persian rug and how that rug reveals the true nature of the mother. The narrator battles with her feelings towards her mother early on. “My …show more content…
“I used to stretch out on it as I did my homework, and find myself examining its pattern. Close up, it looked like slices of red watermelon, one next to the other.” (Cohen, 156). This rug seems to be important to the narrator. She has distinct, vivid memories of it. “The bouquets of flowers around the four sides were purple-colored, like a cockscomb.” She knows this rug well and would never mistake it for another. I believe the narrator associates the rug with Ilya. She was so attached to this rug and would examine it with her eyes. She would also examine Ilya as he did his work. She even connects the two by describing the colors on each. The rug looked like “slices of red watermelon” (Cohen, 156) and she would see Ilya on the bench with “his red hair shinning” (Cohen, 157). The color red can represent passion or love, and I don’t think it is a coincidence that the author chose to connect these two things with that