Author: Christina Saldat

How I strangely can relate to Changez in the TRF

As soon as I read the Reluctant Fundamentalist I knew that I wanted to do my research essay on this novel. The character of Changez is what made me so fascinated. I was quickly drawn to Changez’s life in America where he had attended an Ivy league school and was working at one of the top businesses in New York. I  think that the reason why I was so drawn to this was because this was the type of dream that I had wished for myself when I was younger. Like Changez I think that many young adults believe that if they attend a highly sought after university and receive a well-paying job, then they have lived their lives correctly. I initially thought that the novel would play out to Changez living a much more conservative “workaholic” life, but the ending was much more surprising and this is what gave me hope for my own life path.

As the novel proceeded I was shocked at how abruptly Changez’s life goals and aspirations changed so quickly due to the events of 9/11. This is what I will be researching in my essay throughout the rest of the term. I find it very fascinating how quickly someone’s life path and career orientation can change so quickly because I am a person who struggles with trying to find a certain path and sticking to it. Changez’s life ended up much differently than what I expected it to end up like when I started reading the novel. As I finished the novel and discovered that his life diverted onto a completely different direction than one would have expected this gave me a feeling of comfort with my own life. I did not find comfort in the fact that Changez was seen as a potential terrorist, but I found it refreshing that someone who had followed classic rules of “success” (good education and good career) could end up being more content with his life after he had left the hectic chaos of living this type of “successful” life that many of us are striving to obtain.

Although TRF is centered around the theme of terrorism and Islamophobia I would like to highlight that it also entails the theme of self-discovery.

Cheers,

Christina

 

How a culture of fear is impossible to escape in today’s modern world

Ever since the media started broadcasting stories about ISIS I have found myself being very aware of the universal culture of fear. It seems these days that it is almost impossible for me to escape the notion that we should always be aware that a terrorist attack could potentially happen at any time and at any location. I believe that just over the past three years my culture of fear has been heightened due to emphasis that social media has put on terrorist attacks. My first memory of being concerned about fear was in my grade ten social studies class where our teacher played us a news report detailing an ISIS recruitment video shortly after the Charlie Hebdo incident in Paris, France. This was my initial exposure to what it was like to experience fear from an issue that was geographically very distant.

Becoming increasingly aware of the continuous terrorism that takes place around the world has made me more paranoid than I realistically should be. The fear of terrorism is globally very prominent right now and in the novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist we can see just how much racial stereotyping takes place in the Western World. No matter where you go discussion about terrorism is a common theme. Before boarding a flight, watching a big concert or going to a tourist attraction that attracts large crowds I find myself thinking “this would be a perfect place for a terrorist attack”. Having knowledge about terrorism has almost been a curse in my case because it is something that I know is very unlikely to affect me but it still gives me anxiety. Culture of fear is culturally constructed and is made out to be worse than it actually needs to be. Society has put pressure on us to constantly be alert about the cautions of terrorism, especially with Donald Trump winning the presidential election and adding emphasis on how Muslims are an issue in America and may potentially be banned from entering the United States.

As a Western culture we are so addicted to instant gratification and drama through the news media  and constantly receive news updates through social media, phones etc that it is giving many people a distorted view and distrust of the world and our surroundings which is totally unfounded. The culture of fear is constructed from stereotypes and is limiting and affecting more innocent muslims than ever and needs to be changed.

How do the artifacts change your understanding of the book’s place in Canadian (or World) history?

I believe that in many cases artifacts bring stories to life and provide support to show that a certain event did happen and that it affected so many individuals. For me personally I like to have a hands on approach when trying to fully understand something and seeing the archives really helped me understand the larger picture of Obasan. Before I had seen the artifacts that related to Kogawa’s book I knew that the event had taken place in history but didn’t have any solid evidence presented to me to back up the idea that this awful event did happen and profoundly impacted our country. The archive that stood out the most to me was the letters i read from people telling Kogawa just how much her book impacted them. One 11 year old girl from Ontario wrote to Kogawa asking for help on a school project about the Japanese internment camp. She then sent another letter saying that she would remember this project forever unlike some of the other meaningless ones she had done in school and thanked her for her help with the project. Kogawa received another letter from a man from Vancouver who was a pilot during the period of the Japanese internment camp. He wrote her to apologize for his actions and the guilt he had felt after reading her book. He said that his actions during the Japanese internment camps were a typical Canadian response to how the Japanese were supposed to be treated and now he realizes how wrong that was. She also received a letter from a little boy in London saying how he liked her book and drew her a picture and was very concerned about her father eating mushrooms in the book. I was amazed at the variety of people Kogawa’s book had touched and influenced. Not only was her book impacting people in Canada but it was impacting people all over the world regardless of their age or political views. Reading these archives brought everything to life for me. The archives prove as evidence to show that this major historical event is now being recognized worldwide and is deserving the attention it should have received many years ago. I believe that having archives available for major historical events is very beneficial when trying to understand what actually happened during the time of the event because it allows people to personally connect with how it directly affected individuals internationally.

How receiving my mark for my first university paper changed my perspective on writing

The first essay I wrote for my ASTU class in first year university was quite a shock compared to how I would typically approach an essay I would write for my high school classes. In my high school career my schedule for writing an essay would consist of writing the essay the night before and knowing that I would still receive a decent mark. I would sit in my room for around two hours and write out a standard five paragraph essay with not much thought and incorporating a few quotes that I found online to make it seem like I had a better understanding of what I was actually writing about. When I approached my first university academic essay the steps were a bit different. I learned from reading articles like ones by American literature scholar Hillary Chute, that there is no standardized way to write an academic essay and that you do not have to write your typical five paragraph essay. The way Chute constructed her academic essay consisted of claiming what the big idea was, how it related to your theme, and then went into detail about your position on this claim. I used this format when I wrote my essay. I also learned that instead of using my old tendencies to throw in a couple of quotes into my essay there is actually a proper way to cite someone else in your academic writing. I discovered that a common theme in academic writing is to have an “Orchestration of voices”. This is several ??? scholars are introduced and it almost seems as if they are having a conversation between themselves. Another key thing to be aware of is how you are introducing an other ??? and if an author tag is needed to explain what discipline they are from.

When I look at the essay I wrote I now recognize that I did revert back to some of my old tendency of just throwing in a few quotes that seemed to add a decent flow to the sentence instead of incorporating or “sandwiching” them into a sentence. I did not introduce the scholars I spoke about in an academic way which is something that I could work on. And another thing I now notice about my writing is that I do not develop an idea clearly and don’t go into a detailed enough explanation. Yes maybe in high school that was satisfactory, but I have now realized that in order to be an english scholar you must develop your own personal opinion and give reasoning.

Overall my grade was lower than what I used to receive for similar work in high school, but instead of passing by with not putting in much thought I am actually developing my skills. Since I have learned techniques on how to be a scholarly writer I am now able to evaluate my own writing and see where I can make valuable changes to see improvement. And this, in my opinion, is much more valuable than receiving an A on a poorly written paper.

When I look back and think about what I thought a memoir should be before I read Running in the Family it was much different than what my perspective is now. Last year in my English 12 class we were given a writing assignment where we had to craft a memoir. We were told that we had to write a personal historical account about our life or a specific event that made an impact on ourselves. This was the very first time I was introduced to what a memoir was. I wrote my memoir from my point of view and told my story the way it happened and how it impacted me. This was all about myself and my experience. Looking at how Ondaatje wrote his memoir it is quite different than what your standard memoir would include. Ondaatje blurs the lines between fiction, a travel book, a memoir and even adds in poetry when he tells his journey about finding his father and how this impacts his identity (Boland). Reading this book was almost refreshing in the sense that it was not your typical historical account of someone’s life. It was the journey of someone finding their identity and piecing together all of the history from his family’s past.

Ondaatje broke the unsaid rule that a memoir is supposed to be about what the author personally and truly experiences. Many times throughout the book Ondaatje recalls things that he wasn’t even alive for and he just simply heard these stories from other people. The quote “No story is ever told just once.” (26) is evidence showing that Ondaatje believes that a story is a circulation that is retold in different ways and by different people. Ondaatje’s memoir is interesting because it leads the reader to question whether some of these stories about his family actually did happen or if it is what he wished had happened. He shows us that your memoir is your story and can be told in whatever way you want to describe the events and how they occurred. This style of writing led me to think about how we recall stories in general and how we portray our lives to the public eye. Of course when we are telling others stories about our lives we want it to sound the best it can be which sometimes leads one to add small details to make a story more extravagant. 

In today’s modern time this is happening everywhere with social media. People are becoming famous by tricking the majority of the population that they live a life of luxury through posting amazing photos. In reality most of the pictures are fake and staged and that is not their real life. An interesting article in the Telegraph spoke about how easy it is to fake a ‘perfect  life’ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/one-man-proves-how-easy-it-is-to-fake-a-perfect-life-on-facebook/. In the article a quote stuck out to me “Dr Sherry said that social media had the power to ‘undermine the coherence between our real, lived lives and memories.’” This quote not only represents how easy it is to fabricate appearances on social media but also how easy it is to fake things anywhere including a memoir. I believe that the majority of people subconsciously embellish their stories when they are being told but they just aren’t recognizing it. Whereas Ondaatje recognizes that his story is not all from his personal experiences but he has taken these pieces of information and made it his own. So overall yes my perception on what a memoir is has changed. It has made me realize that people often tell stories in the way that they want them to be perceived and that there are no rules or regulations when it comes to a personal account.

Citations:

Boland, Rosita. “Why I Love: Michael Ondaatje’s Running in the Family.” The Irish Times. N.p., 2014. Web. 14 Oct. 2016.

The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2016.

Welcome to UBC Blogs. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Good afternoon,

 

    My name is Christina Saldat and I recently began CAP Global Citizens at UBC. In this program our classes are intertwined around the common theme of global citizenship and understanding the world from all different points of view. Over the past three weeks I have learned that depending on whether you are a sociologist, a political scientist or a literature expert, you will have differing views on a variety of topics. Today I will look through the lense of a literature expert as I discuss the polarized debates of the veil in the West which is discussed in the text I recently read called Persepolis.

 

    In Persepolis we are exposed to the personal relationship that Marji has with religion. Marji who is the protagonist in Persepolis, is living in Iran during the time of the Iran-Iraq war whereby women were being forced to wear a veil whether it was against their will or not. Marji’s family had a more modern outlook on religion and opposed the new regulation that strictly enforced the veil as well as the requirement to wear conservative clothing. Throughout the book, Marji is fascinated by the way the government works and why certain rules are inflicted. In realizing this, she begins to rebel in her clothing choices and wears her veil with her hair protruding which is against the law. Her family is opposed to the new restrictions and often go to protests to support those views as Marji’s family does not support the law that all women must wear a veil and dress conservatively. At home you would see Marji and her mother not wearing the veil and dressing in ripped jeans and jewelry, all of which was forbidden. Although her family was going against their country’s regulations, I respect this as I believe that every women should have the right to decide what they choose to wear.

 

    I looked into further research and discovered that there are many laws and regulations that apply to different Muslim countries. Some say it is the law that women must be covered up while others have more relaxed laws and are now more lenient regarding women’s dress. I also discovered that in the West, Muslim women have the freedom to choose whether or not they want to wear head scarves, or if they want to wear even more complete forms of hijab. Many Muslim women believe that this is a symbol of  faith and respect their belief that the Quran requires. The laws pertaining to the veil or the hijab brought me back to thinking about the current debate happening in Canada at the moment about wearing one’s hijab while in court. Currently there is a controversy pertaining to whether women should have to remove their hijabs in the courtroom in Canada for safety reasons as it is harder to identify someone when their faces are covered by a veil.

 

    In 2011 the Canadian immigration minister introduced a new law stating that face coverings were banned when taking the Canadian Oath to become a citizen.However, after many women argued that it was violating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, this law was dismissed and as of 2015 women can once again wear headscarves while taking the oath. With the recent terrorist attacks in Canada and around the world, this law allowing women to take the oath wearing their head scarves is a continuing controversy and has the possibility to change. Just this week a woman in Montreal was told by a judge that he would not hear the case until her headscarf was removed. She stated that, “When I swore by God to be a good Canadian citizen I was wearing my hijab, and the judge, I shook hands with him the same day I became Canadian. I was really very happy. But what happened in court made me feel afraid. I felt that I’m not Canadian any more (Rania El-Alloul ).” Further information regarding this event can be found here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/5-head-covering-controversies-in-canada-1.2975181.

 

I personally believe that the discrimination of Muslim women based on their choice to wear a headscarf must stop. If we are accepting of Jewish people who wear a Kipa, Sikhs wearing turbans or Amish wearing bonnet we should not limit what Muslims can wear. In the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms it states in Part 1 subsection 2a) that everyone has the “freedom of conscience and religion”. If we pride ourselves on being a diverse and welcoming country then we must stay true to these claims and accept everyone no matter what their religion is. But Canada is not the only country that has banned wearing a burka. In Europe many countries such as France, Switzerland and Belgium have banned full face coverings and women who actually do wear them will receive a fine. To read more on this see below: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/burka-bans-the-countries-where-muslim-women-cant-wear-veils/

 

Reading Persepolis changed my views on the current debates in the West pertaining to the veil in such a way that it made me realize that religion and the associated stereotyping is inevitable. In Canada women are pigeonholed for wanting to wear a veil as a Canadian citizen, but in Iran women are stereotyped for not wanting to wear the veil and in Europe it has evolved to the point where women get fined for wearing a burka. I believe that all women should have the freedom to wear whatever they wish and to practice whatever religion they desire because that is a right that every human is entitled to. In conclusion, Persepolis has changed my views in the way that it has made it more clear to me that the world is not as welcoming as I once believed and that the world as a whole still has a lot of work to do in regard to cultural acceptance.

 

Christina Saldat

 

Links to articles and sources used:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/5-head-covering-controversies-in-canada-1.2975181

 

http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-15.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/burka-bans-the-countries-where-muslim-women-cant-wear-veils/