Varying Perspectives in Home Fire

While I do not completely know why Shamsie gave each section of her novel a different character’s perspective, I do have some ideas. The plot of Home Fire resembles that of the Ancient Greek play Antigone, which is also divided into five parts. Shamsie may have wanted to draw further allusions to the play by giving her book the same structure. The varying perspectives may also serve to reinforce Shamsie’s idea that Muslims are not one and the same. The modern world of Home Fire seems to categorize Muslims into one hated group, obscuring their individualities. Shamsie wants her readers to begin to view the Islamic world from a different perspective and take the time to understand the vast scope of backgrounds, traditions, religious beliefs, and personal experiences that Muslims embody. In this way, each of the narrators of the sections in Home Fire presents a new way in which to examine the Muslim experience and gives readers a glance at the many varying ways to interpret thousands of years of traditions and beliefs. My guess about the order of the sections is that Shamsie intentionally placed them where she did in order to build mystery. In the text, each subsequent section seems to be from the viewpoint of the character we know (or think we know) least about. The intrigue about these characters motivate readers to continue to unravel their secrets page by page. But as soon as a character’s history and motivations are revealed throughout the section and their mysterious quality is diminished, Shamsie jumps to another character to envelope readers in confusion and curiosity once again.

Research Idea: Head Coverings of Women in the Middle East

My research will be centered around head coverings for women in the Middle Eastern region. Many have been mentioned throughout Home Fire so far, and I would like to better understand the significance and tradition behind them. During my reading, I noticed that Isma wears a turban, Aneeka wears a hijab, and the women of the caliphate wear burkas or niquabs. Some other types of head coverings that I may also explore are chadors and dupattas. However, there are so many varying types of head covering that I may need to narrow my research to only Islamic head coverings or another more specified topic. Whichever head coverings I choose to investigate, I will begin by finding scholarly sources that detail the different histories and cultural significance behind the pieces. From there, I intend on referring to the current protests in Iran about women's right to choose to wear head coverings and explore contemporary journalistic articles about feminism, agency, and personal sovereignty in the context of head coverings. One of the aspects I am most excited about for this particular topic is that it is multidisciplinary, spanning religious studies, history, politics, and gender studies. My prediction is that Shamsie chose for the female characters of her book to prefer different head coverings in order to communicate something about their personality, religious experience, and stance on women's rights, and with luck, I will be better able to understand what Shamsie is saying when my research excursion is complete.

An Ode To Lunch

I understand that lunch is almost no one's favorite meal. When I tell friends that it is mine, I am generally met with protests that it lacks the sweetness of a continental breakfast or the heartiness of a home-cooked dinner. But if a painting can be more than its colors, can't a meal be more than its flavors? Beyond taste, lunch reminds me of socialness, action, and energy. It feels like the imprint of plastic lunch benches on my legs, looks like clean tupperware, and sounds like good conversation. Currently, I squeeze in a lunch during the breaks between my classes and activities. It can be difficult to remember to make time for lunch when life is going on all around me, but I still try to make it a priority. For me, lunch isn't the beginning or conclusion of the day but its heart, the moments when I have too much on my mind and not enough on my plate. It is the pause in the middle of everything that brings me comfort and focus. This is especially true if I have lunch with friends who can get me out of my head and back into the present, but I am still able to find calm and enjoyment in lunches by myself. So even if lunch is not the most significant meal of the day, it remains my favorite one. I guess its insignificance is what I love about it the most. 

My Deal With Annotating

I wish I could have had a love-hate relationship with annotating, but I have only experienced the latter half of the phrase. Since elementary school, english teachers would encourage my classmates and I to ladle post-it notes over the pages of our texts, but it was never something I enjoyed. When I had to annotate while reading I felt like I was talking during a movie - each pause to note the symbolism, imagery, or vocabulary dragged me further and further from the world I was trying to lose myself in. Since then, I have adopted the method of reading the assigned section first and going back to annotate after. The actual annotation involves using post-it notes every couple of pages to identity key ideas, repeating symbols, and provocative moments of dialogue. I make sure to keep the post-it notes on the page of the writing that I am analyzing. That way, I can easily go back to find textual evidence if I am writing an analysis of any sort. By using the described method, I can enjoy the story's story and then later explore its teachings. That is the kind of annotation I hope to practice during this class; after all, in a World Literature course, aiming for the best of both worlds is probably not a bad idea.