Depictions of Jinn, or as we might say, genies.1. This chapter is in part about just how close a relationship Kamal has with his mother and his sisters. Can you cite evidence of these close bonds?
2. How knowledgable do you think Amina, his mother, is? What have been her sources of knowledge?
3. Consider Fahmy's answer to his mother's question as to whether the earth roatates on an exis in space or rests on the head of an ox (64). what doe shis answer say about Fahmy? What does his mother's reaction to the answer say about her?
4. Kamal and his mother discuss Jinn (genies, supernatural beings) on pp. 65-66. Whyare Jinn such a difficult topic for his mother? Are they a difficult topic for Kamal?
5. Notice something no one else has noticed about the reading and comment.
2. How knowledgable do you think Amina, his mother, is? What have been her sources of knowledge?
3. Consider Fahmy's answer to his mother's question as to whether the earth roatates on an exis in space or rests on the head of an ox (64). what doe shis answer say about Fahmy? What does his mother's reaction to the answer say about her?
4. Kamal and his mother discuss Jinn (genies, supernatural beings) on pp. 65-66. Whyare Jinn such a difficult topic for his mother? Are they a difficult topic for Kamal?
5. Notice something no one else has noticed about the reading and comment.
14 comments:
Yeena Sung
4. Kamal and his mother discuss Jinn (genies, supernatural beings) on pp. 65-66.
Why are Jinn such a difficult topic for his mother? Are they a difficult topic for Kamal?
“His mother’s eyes had an apprehensive and anxious look.”
“He recited the passage several times, emphatically pronouncing the dangerous word while he observed her anxiety.”
When Kamal recited his book there was a verse that talked about the “jinn”. His mother started to get very anxious of him saying “The Jinn” out loud. She reacted this way because she believes the jinn is the warning against dangers. She feels danger when he says such a dangerous name in a verse of holy Koran. In addition, Kamal does not think that it is such a big deal to say “Jinn” out loud. He believes that since it is even written in the sacred verse and his teacher’s saying that it is ok to say it out loud, makes him believe it is ok to say it out loud. He has strong opinion about this which shows in the book that he keeps saying “the jinn” over and over again even though he knows that his mom gets very nervous. Also it shows by him not obeying to his mother when she told him not to say it.
1. This chapter is in part about just how close a relationship Kamal has with his mother and his sisters. Can you cite evidence of these close bonds?
There are a few big examples in the chapter of how close Kamal and his mother, Amina, are. I think that perhaps the most prominent is how he used to sleep with her. Beginning at the bottom of page 67 it says: "How often he remembered with sorrow the time not so far distant when he and his mother shared a bed. He would fall asleep, his head resting on her arm, while she filled his ear with the sound of her gentle voice recounting stories of the prophets and saints." These memories of sleeping with his mother seem to be some of his fondest. For a child to sleep with their mother and to feel such heartbreak when they're too old for it, shows a distinct closeness between mother and son.
The relationship with his mother AND his sisters is displayed on page 65. It says, "the truth was that he loved the women's company with all his heart and did not want to be separated from them even when he was working." Kamal feels that he is happiest when in the presence of his female family members. He loves his mother "more than anything in the world," Khadija has "the role of a second mother in his life," and Aisha "loves him deeply," while he loves her equally in return. The respect and adoration shown in the chapter between Kamal, his mother, and his sisters is evidence of their close bonds. He even takes his own free time to teach his mother about the religion he learns in school.
The loving bonds between mother, son, and daughters is a very strong one indeed.
Sang Eun
2. How knowledgable do you think Amina, his mother, is? What have been her sources of knowledge?
"...she was intensely proud of her general knowledge, which had come down to her from antiquity through successive generations."
"She did not fell in need of further education or suspect there was any new knowledge worth adding to the religious, historical, and medical information she already possessed."
"Her faith her learning was doubled by the fact that she had gotten it straight from her father, or by growing up in his house..."
Her sources of knowledge have come from her family, especially her father who was a great scholar whom God favored. She has already possessed various information of all sorts of field. She, herself, even thought that she doesn't need to add in more knowledge. I think she is filled with enough knowledge, especially about her religion. Also, she seems to be a wise woman.
question 2
2. How knowledgable do you think Amina, his mother, is? What have been her sources of knowledge?
I think Amina not knowledgeable like the other womans today. In this chapter, it says that she was intensely proud of her general knowledge. The word general seems like as of the author was trying to say that she doesn't have a lot of knowledge because the word general means, broad, overview of things. She might know some simple things but long time ago when woman was like a survent for man, women didn't get a lot of educations. So, I think that she was not that knowledgable. Also in the book, it says that she didn't really get chances to hang out with other womans and that she would hear things from her husband Amad. In the chapter, she has time to talk to her sons about things and I think she also asks them during the coffee hour.
3. Consider Fahmy's answer to his mother's question as to whether the earth roatates on an exis in space or rests on the head of an ox. what does his answer say about Fahmy? What does his mother's reaction to the answer say about her?
Fahmy's answer to his mother's question as to whether the earth roatates on an exis in space or rests on the head of an ox was "that the Earth was held up by the power and wisdom of god".
This answer shows that Fahmy is very thoughtful. He knows that his mothers religiouse beliefs are very strong and held dear to her heart. He also knows that it might hurt her to know that her sons are being taught a more scientific way and don't believe in something that her family and ancestores have believed for centuries.
On hearing Fahmy's half truth answer his mother happily accepted it without any further question. I think that this shows she is content to listen to the men or "higher authorities" and believe them.
3. Consider Fahmy's answer to his mother's question as to whether the earth roatates on an exis in space or rests on the head of an ox (64). What does his answer say about Fahmy? What does his mother's reaction to the answer say about her?
On pg.64,"The young man thought he should be gentle with her and answer in language she would like. He told her that the earth is held up by the power and wisdom of god."
This answer shows that Famay, is a boy who is considerate of his mother's emotions, when he knows his mother's notions are false. Such as the ox holding up the earth. Famay answers the question correctly but in a way his mother would still believe in her conceptions and not feel dismay. As the text said, "he used language she would like," meaning an answer in which she would be happy with. His answer also shows he might have a tight and unique bond with his mother in which he does not want to upset her or cause her any harm. Although, then again, he might think of his mother who is ill tempered when she finds out she is wrong. For example, her response to his answer is, "His mother left content with this answer, which pleased her.." She was happy to hear his answer in which knowing she was correct and could further go explain this to her additional son. Showing him she indeed had great knowledge and great wisdom. This is the answer she had hoped for, although if she was to take the answer Famay had given her into a different perspective. She would realize she was wrong, and become upset, as she would no longer have the same "knowledge." Her reaction also shows that she was not too surprised to hear she was correct. She may sometimes think too highly of herself, and her knowledge on the world, causing Famay to answer in the way he did.
2. How knowledgable do you think Amina, his mother, is? What have been her sources of knowledge?
In my opinion, Amina is not terribly intelligent or knowledgeable. She has a wealth of "general knowledge" which is predominantly affiliated with her religion and with her place as a woman in society. Even with what little knowledge she possesses, she receives this information from her older relatives, as she learned from them when she was a child, and they learned from their parents. Overall, it is not the most reliable source of information.
Heather Rhee
Q4
Answer
When Kamal started the conversation with his mother Amina, Amina made an anxious look. The conversation was about "The Jinn" and this was the reason why Amina was so nervous to hear about the story. Jinn was a difficult topic for Amina due to her religion beliefs. She believed that it is a warning of danger and she mentioned it sometimes to frighten people.
"Her anxiety was so intense that she took refuge in silence."
Amina worried about her son keep saying Jinn out loud for the whole time when they were talking.
However, Kamal didn't had any difficulties to say the word Jinn out loud. He was believeing that it is okay to say the word because his teacher said that it was fine and he didn't had a strong beliefs toward religion comparing to his mother.
If I were Kamal, I would had stoped talking about this story for my mom to clam down. But Kamal didn't and he seemed like he was enjoying it for some reason because he was keep repeating to call the word, Jinn.
1. This chapter is in part about just how close a relationship Kamal has with his mother and his sisters. Can you cite evidence of these close bonds?
This chapter talked about how Kamal had a deep relationship with his mother, Amina, and his sisters.One of the part says that Kamal used to fall asleep with his mother and his head on her arm telling stories. On the other side, Kamal loves to be engaged with his sisters. He feels very content when he is engaged with his sisters and his mother when they are talking.
Sung Kun Kim
Q.1 This chapter is in part about just how close a relationship Kamal has with his mother and his sisters. Can you cite evidence of these close bonds?
- This chapter shows of the love of Kamal has with his mother and his sisters. The indications are shown several times in the book. " He loved his mother more than anything in the world." This shows the love of Kamal toward his mother. "Khadija played the role of a second mother in his life, despite the impudence of her tongue and the bite of her temper." This sentence show the love toward Khadija, the first sister. "Aisha, although she never went out of her way to help anyone, loved him deeply, and he reciprocated her love totally." This shows the love toward Aisha.
1. This chapter is in part about just how close a relationship Kamal has with his mother and his sisters. Can you cite evidence of these close bonds?
"The truth was that he loved the woman's company with all his heart and did not want to be separated from them even when he was working."
"She always had trouble getting away from him when she said good night."
Kamal and Amina have a very close relationship with each other. While the girls are having their evening coffee, Kamal studies in the corner and listens to their conversations to be close to his mother. He hates being away from her. Kamal and his mother have lessons every night that they both look forward to. Kamal teaches his mother his religious lesson from that day at school and she tells him old stories. This is a special time for them both and they never want it to end. It is their favorite part of the evening. Before Kamal goes to bed he uses every trick he knows to try and make his mother stay with him. It is very hard for him because when he was younger they used to share the same bed, and he is trying to cope with that loss. His mother also has a hard time leaving him at night because she felt so close to him. The relationship between mother and son here is an extremely strong one and is only between these two members of the family.
Answer to #3:
"The young man thought he should be gentle with her and answer in language she would like. He told her that the earth is held up by the power and wisdom of god. His mother left content with this answer..."
Fahmy's reaction to this question can be explained by one simple answer: he did not want to complicate his mother's view of the world. His mother, a deeply pious woman who believes strongly in folklore and fairytales, essentially, probably couldn't comprehend or want to accept the reality of science in the world. Famhy wishes to protect her from this; ignorance is bliss.
As to his mother's reaction, her own beliefs have just been confirmed by Fahmy, who she trusts and believes in. She enjoys her folktales and does not appear to want to have these opinions and thoughts changed.
Ka Yeon Nam
Question1.
This chapter is in part about just how close a relationship Kamal has with his mother and his sisters. Can you cite evidence of these close bonds?
Kamal is very close to his mother and his sisters. When his mother and his sisters are having their own coffee party after the coffee party with the whole family, Kamal sits infront of them comfortablly to read his books and sometimes listen to them. Also, when his sisters goes to go to sleep, he hurrys up to sit beside his mother and talk about the things he learned. When Kamal is going to bed, his mother have troble going away from him. He uses every trick to keep his mother from going. These tell that he is very close to his mother especially.
4. Kamal and his mother discuss Jinn (genies, supernatural beings) on pp. 65-66. Whyare Jinn such a difficult topic for his mother? Are they a difficult topic for Kamal?
"He recited "The Jinn" through the twenty-eighth verse. His mother's eyes had an apprehensive and anxious look. She had warned him against uttering the words "jinn and "afreet" as a precaution against dangers, some of which she mentioned in order to frighten him and other she withheld out of concern and circumspection. She did not know what to do when he recited one of these dangerous names in the a holy sura."
Their religion is very superstious and when Kamal says a dangerous name then his mother must believe that Kamal is in danger.
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