a Cairo city-scape near al-Gamaliya Street, where Yasin's mother lives.
1. On p. 116 (this may be from the previous night's reading, but that's all right) Yasin's mother says," "I thought you were over the sorrows of the past. God knows they weren't worth the anger you displayed, keeping you away from me for eleven years."
His mother's words seem reasonable, yet Yasin finds them "reprehensible" (blameworthy), and is "amazed and infuriated." Can you explain why he would feel amazed and infuriated, and find the words reprehensible?
2. In the chapters we skipped over, we learn that Yasin in passionately devoted to a lute player that he hopes to have a love affair with. How can we reconcile his desire to have an affair, outside of marriage, with a woman with his fury at his mother for wanting to remarry? How can Yasin have both feelings in himself at once?
3. Can you see any parallel between Yasin and his father in this chapter?
4. His mother says (p.119) "Since you have no feelings for me anymore, the best thing is for you to leave me and my concerns alone." Do you remember why Yasin is visiting his mother in the first place? Is Yasin remembering?
5. From everything you know about Yasin, is he one of the more attractive characters in the book, or one of the less attractive characters? Why?
6. Notice something no one else has noticed about the reading so far.
13 comments:
Sang Eun
5. From everything you know about Yasin, is he one of the more attractive characters in the book, or one of the less attractive characters? Why?
I think that Yasin is one of the attractive characters in the book. Yasin is a son of al-Sayyid Ahmad and a woman who is not a current wife of al-Sayyid Ahmad. His father and mother divorced and his father has already married Amina and his mother is planning to get married to another man. Yasin has been staying away from his mother for 11 years and when he visited her after 11 years, he realizes that he had been longing for his mother. However after being reminded of his mother's remarriage, he gets furious and shouts at his mother. In his inside, he gets hurt about his actions but he can't stop himself. The characteristics of Yasin in this book is quite different from other characters or al-Sayyid Ahmad's other sons and so he stands out. He has different backgrounds of his past life and I think that's what makes him attractive character.
1. On p. 116 (this may be from the previous night's reading, but that's all right) Yasin's mother says," "I thought you were over the sorrows of the past. God knows they weren't worth the anger you displayed, keeping you away from me for eleven years."
His mother's words seem reasonable, yet Yasin finds them "reprehensible" (blameworthy), and is "amazed and infuriated." Can you explain why he would feel amazed and infuriated, and find the words reprehensible?
“He was amazed and infuriated by her criticism. He found it so reprehensible that it felt like salt poured on his angry wound.”
In the second paragraph of page 116 tells that he felt amazed and infuriated by his mother’s saying that his sorrows because of the past is not worthy. He feels that reprehensible because he has always had weakness and sadness because of that. In this page it says that he thinks that her mother’s continuous patterns of getting married and getting divorce is ungraceful and embarrassing that she should not do. This shows that in childhood, he might have felt less confidence that he had a divorced mother. Having less confidence effects your life a lot and it would have taken him a long time to overcome it . In my thought, I think instead of overcoming it, he hid himself. That comes to a conclusion that he stills feel the sorrow of the past and that it was hard for him to meet his mother in eleven years.
Heather Rhee
3. Can you see any parallel between Yasin and his father in this chapter?
Answer
At the biginning of the chapter, I thought that Yasin and his father was very different. The father is a stern man who doesn't show his feelings to others. However, Yasin didn't hide his feeling this time and he visited his mother to stop her from having re-marriage because he worried about his mother so much.
My opinion had changed as soon as I began to read the other half of the chapter. I saw a parallel thing between Yasin and his father.
When his mother didn't agreed with him, he got very angry. After he became angry about the situation, he was not able to control himself. He forgot that he was trying to help his mother and he lost the reason of his visit. He just yelled at his mother, who he really loved and roared at her.
"What a woman you are... You criminal!"
"I wish I could kill you."
I was able to see that Yasin was saying these due to his anger not because he really hated her. Showing anger to his family and acting harsh when he is mad was a thing which his father did all the time. Yasin seemed very similar to his father when we got angry. He was not used to show his true feelings.
ka Yeon Nam
Question 3
Can you see any parallel between Yasin and his father in this chapter?
Yasin's father is a man who does not show his feelings and is always stricked. Also, he gets angry when one of his family does not follow his words. However, Yasin does not hide his feelings very much. When I read this chapter, I found some parallel things between Yasin and his father. When Yasin goes to meet his mother, he says things that he does not mean. He also gets very angry.
"I'm no sinner.... I'm not a sinner. But you are as cruel and hardhearted as your father."
Like above, Yasin's father is very hardhearted infront of everyone. Like him, Yasin acts like his father, using very cruel words to his mother.
4. His mother says (p.119) "Since you have no feelings for me anymore, the best thing is for you to leave me and my concerns alone." Do you remember why Yasin is visiting his mother in the first place? Is Yasin remembering?
Yasin forgets to tell his mother things that he was thinking of telling when he was at her house. In the book, it says that "When he reached the street and began to come to his senses, he rememered for the first time that he had forgotten to discuss the real eatate and property". when he comes out of the house and thinks he realizes that he has forgotten to say things that he was supposed to. Before he goes to his mother's house, he thinks of things to tell his mother, and he talks with his father, but when he goes to her house and talks with her, he gets overwhelmed and he comes out of the house mad.
5. From everything you know about Yasin, is he one of the more attractive characters in the book, or one of the less attractive characters? Why?
On page 16 (I know it's far back) it says, "The covers slipped off one side of his body, which resembled his father's in size and bulk." Also, later on, on page 57, the book states: "With his large body, sprouting mustache, and mature masculinity he seemed much older than he was." In a later chapter we read, on page 107, it says "his handsome, black eyes."
I think that Yasin is supposed to be a pyhsically attractive character. He's described as "corpulent" on page 119. That means he's obese, but it's also a very interesting way to say it. Obese seems to mean lazy, while corpulent gives the feeling of simply big with strength. He's supposed to have the appearance of being successful and manly. I think that although Fahmy is the lean one, who we, as Americans, would probably find more physically attractive, Yasin has his father's power. He compares himself to a bull in the section we just read before this one, and I think that's sort of what he looks like. He has a mustache and is big with dark hair. He's supposed to have beautiful eyes under all that masculinity, too. I think that, yes, he is physically attractive.
Now, for the attractiveness of his actual character, whether he is attractive on the inside. I think, again, that the answer is yes. The way he feels about his mother, and they way he reacts to her shows a deep passion. On page 118 he looses control of his tongue and lashes out, saying perhaps too much of what he really means. Then, the book says, "He was comfortable with everything he had said until this final answer." He regrets hurting her, even if he can't tell if he said the truth or not. Again, a few lines down, it says: "He was angry with himself, furious, and poured his wrath on everything but himself."
Yasin's need to lash out at others when he's upset with himself shows a weakness in self-confidence and a weakness with disappointment. I think that it's a trait he inherited from his father, and I think it makes him so much more attractive. Because he has this problem, this human problem, and contains so much pain and horrible memories, I think that it makes him rounder. His brothers and sisters do not know from experience some of the things he does, and they will not make the same decisions as him in the future because of it. Yasin knows so much, and the knowledge he has is the kind that helps people. He understands pain, disappointment, total rage. I think that makes him more attractive than unattractive. It's like all his unattractive faults are what make him such an attractive person.
1. On p. 116 Yasin's mother says," "I thought you were over the sorrows of the past. God knows they weren't worth the anger you displayed, keeping you away from me for eleven years."
His mother's words seem reasonable, yet Yasin finds them "reprehensible" (blameworthy), and is "amazed and infuriated." Can you explain why he would feel amazed and infuriated, and find the words reprehensible?
After hearing these simple words from his mother, Yasin,"felt the fires of anger flaming through his veins..." He is so outraged because his mother is taking this situation (in his point of view) in a non mature manner. She did not know what she was talking about and thought her actions were insignificant. Well to Yasin, her actions of getting married, and divorcing, and getting married and divorcing, was getting pretty tiring. Also, Yasin, was not over the fact of her marrying right after his parents divorced. His mother was not taking into consideration his feelings, and how they can't heal in a short period of time, and they may not be able to heal at all. Yasin's mother also thinks it is quite childish to stay away from her for over 11 years over the fact of her marriages. She then asks him "What's wrong with a woman remarrying after she gets divorced?" The problem with this is, that if it was any other woman, he wouldn't care. But since it is his mother, and it affects his life, he does become very angry.
Notice something about the reading
"Don't keep on tormenting me. You're my only child."
I find this comment very interesting. Yasin's mother has an undying love for her son and tells him to stop tormenting her while she has caused so much pain to him already. Yasin recognizes that he is her only son and feels strange that that would have an effect on him, but it also gives him something else to be outraged about. How could she say that? He is her only son and she treated him cruelly sleeping with so many men and disgracing him for life. Now she is planning to remarry and that brings on a new level of disgrace. Yasin can not believe the fact that she brings up that he is her only son even though she has caused so much pain on him. I do agree that she has a point and Yasin could be a little nicer to her but he has a right to be outraged with her at the same time. She really doesn't count that much as a mother to him because he has Amina now and he has forgotten about his real mother. Amina has taken better care of him then his actual mother ever did.
5. From everything you know about Yasin, is he one of the more attractive characters in the book, or one of the less attractive characters? Why?
He is the most attractive character in various way from this book. One of the way is that he is very handsome where he got the pretty nose structures and pretty eyes from his parents. on the other side, this chapter talks about how Yasin's mother is getting remarried after Remarrying then divorces. I personally think this is the one of the major problem from this book. Since Yasin is the only child from current Ahmad's family that is not borne by Amina, he is definitely one of the attractive character to the readers. It is something that is very interesting to the readers.
Sung Kun Kim
Q.3 Can you see any parallel between Yasin and his father in this chapter?
- When Yasin meets his mother, he starts to say about things that his mother has done wrong and gets angry so quickly. He was in a rage, shouting words that hurted his mother's heart till she even said, " But you are as cruel and hardhearted as your father." This part shows the similarity that Yasin and his father has. Not only the handsome face, but their characteristics are so similar. This is the main chapter that shows the parallel between Yasin and his father have.
Answer to #4:
"How had he forgotten when it was the main reason for his visit?"
"His anguish reached its peak. He threw her a final look filled with loathing. AS he left the place, the floor of the room shook with his footsteps."
Yasin had had specific reasons for coming to his mother's house - to talk about real estate and the property. Perhaps he knew it would arise, but his contempt for his mother overwhelmed him before he could reach the subject. Yasin obviously couldn't control his temper and became furious quickly. It seems to me that his mother is actually quite kind, and only wants the love of her son. I also think that Yasin is much to hard on his mother, although he does have some reason to be angry with her.
Either way, it is seems to me that Yasin couldn't hide his disgust for his mother long enough to negotiate with her, and ended up leaving, infuriated, from her house.
4. His mother says (p.119) "Since you have no feelings for me anymore, the best thing is for you to leave me and my concerns alone." Do you remember why Yasin is visiting his mother in the first place? Is Yasin remembering?
Yasin was visiting his mother for the sole reason of business and honor. Yasin did not wish for his mother to disgrace him by marrying another.Also if she married another it would put his inheritance in jepardy. He did not care aout her or anything else to do with her, at least he didn't think he did.
At his mothers house Yasin becomes completly lost. On the way there he had planed what to discus and how he would handle it but the moment he arrives and sees his mother an aray of confusing thoughts and emotions sprung at him. How touched he was at his mother's happiness upon seeing him, her one and only child, how furiouse he was at his mother's ignorance towards his pain, and how loyal he was to his father who he loved, feared and admired.with all these conflicting thoughts and emotions he snaped under the pressure saying tthings that broke the already thin bond between him and his mother.
4. His mother says (p.119) "Since you have no feelings for me anymore, the best thing is for you to leave me and my concerns alone." Do you remember why Yasin is visiting his mother in the first place? Is Yasin remembering?
The reason he went to visit his mother in the first place was to confront her about remarrying someone who is younger then her. Because he hadn't seen her in a long time wasn't the reason he visited her for the first time in a long time. His mother figured out why he came and said "Since you have no feelings for me anymore, the best thing is for you to leave me and my concerns alone."
I feel what the mother is feeling horrible because her son stayed away for many years then just came back to confront her over her remarrying. She feels he doesn't love her anymore after doing this.
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