Essay for Columbia supplement;
Last Christmas, I was assigned to read "Miramar" by the great Egyptian author Nagib Mahfouz. The novel reminded me of an Egyptian soap opera with a distinct twist. Each chapter in the novel was narrated by a different character were they discussed their journey to seeking fulfillment. Ironically, the men were eager to seek love and promise but the only women character, Zohara sought after a job and a career. When I came back to class, I was surprised to discover that even after reading the novel multiple times my teacher still did not understand the underlining meaning. It was disheartening to think that because of the cultural barrier she could not read one of the best Arabic novels of all time.
This led me to read another Mahfouz book, but this time in Arabic. Whilst reading the novel I was clearly able to see the Arabic Idioms that if translated out of context would be meaningless. By then it was clear that no matter what language it is translated into one cannot enjoy literature without any cultural background. Ever since then I found myself really challenging myself to look beneath the words and really see the different cultural ideals that were expressed through literature. Instead of asking my friend what her national food was, asked her what funniest insult she has head in Hindi? She responded and said, "You look like a donkey. You?" I laughed and said son of a dog. If only she knew how widely that insult was used in Mahfouz's novel "The Thief and the Dogs".
Last Christmas, I was assigned to read "Miramar" by the great Egyptian author Nagib Mahfouz. The novel reminded me of an Egyptian soap opera with a distinct twist. Each chapter in the novel was narrated by a different character were they discussed their journey to seeking fulfillment. Ironically, the men were eager to seek love and promise but the only women character, Zohara sought after a job and a career. When I came back to class, I was surprised to discover that even after reading the novel multiple times my teacher still did not understand the underlining meaning. It was disheartening to think that because of the cultural barrier she could not read one of the best Arabic novels of all time.
This led me to read another Mahfouz book, but this time in Arabic. Whilst reading the novel I was clearly able to see the Arabic Idioms that if translated out of context would be meaningless. By then it was clear that no matter what language it is translated into one cannot enjoy literature without any cultural background. Ever since then I found myself really challenging myself to look beneath the words and really see the different cultural ideals that were expressed through literature. Instead of asking my friend what her national food was, asked her what funniest insult she has head in Hindi? She responded and said, "You look like a donkey. You?" I laughed and said son of a dog. If only she knew how widely that insult was used in Mahfouz's novel "The Thief and the Dogs".
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