So Long A Letter by Mariama Ba

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

This novel depicts the situations of Muslim African women that evolved in Senegal. In this book, Ramatoulaye is the primary character who faces a lot of tests or sufferings in her life. The crisis in her life starts when her husband,  Modou Fall marries another girl named Binetou who has the same age as her daughter, Daba. Ramatoulaye somehow does not expect this marriage to happen despite all his efforts to tackle her prior to and during their marriage for more than thirty years.

I want to comment on Modou who has totally abandoned Ramatoulaye and his children after his second marriage. This is the root of Ramatoulaye’s sufferings. Indeed, Modou does not practice the concept of polygamy correctly which requires him to be fair on both sides. It is clearly seen that he is more inclined to Binetou’s side which Ramatoulaye has concluded Modou has chosen another path of life with Binetou when he leaves them with empty hands and avoids Ramatoulaye. In Islam, it is explained in Surah Al-Nisa verse 3 that a man can marry up to four women but provided he is able to treat his wives fairly and equally. The worst is Modou is not being honest with her about the marriage. Surprisingly, Ramatoulaye discovers the news from Tamsir, Mawdo Ba and local Imam who come to her house after Modou Fall’s solemnization. In this context, we can see how a man can easily change his attitude for a woman by just following his desires and being illogical to say that it is his fate to have a second wife.

Besides that, Ramatoulaye also suffers due to irresponsible acts of Modou who releases his responsibilities towards his family just like that when he has a new wife. Basically, she takes up all Modou’s responsibilities and all the burdens of rearing twelve children are being placed on her shoulders alone. Unfortunately, Modou does not only cut off the family ties but he also does not provide financial support to them. Modou’s actions have contradicted with Islamic law which stated in Surah Al-Nisa verse 34 mentions that men are the protectors and maintainers of women as well as it is the duty of a father to earn money so that the needs of his children are taken care of. In fact, she has to handle youth’s issues alone that occur among her children such as the trio (Arame, Yacine and Dieynaba) smoking in their bedroom and Aissatou carries a wedlock child after the death of Modou.

In my opinion, Ramatoulaye should ask a divorce from her husband due to the total neglect and mentally tortured by Modou because she is lonely and everyday she tries to spot her faults in the failure of her marriage. She pays electricity bills, replaces the locks of broken doors all by herself and even goes to the cinemas alone. Yet, she refuses to do so because she remains faithful to the love of her youth.

All in all, despite everything- disappointments and humiliations, Ramatoulaye has forgiven her husband after his death and continues to find her own happiness instead of giving up on her life. She is one of a strong, kind-hearted and amazing woman. This book is very related to the feminism theory which women do not get equal treatments, rights and status. They struggle to set  path of their life and overcome the various injustices in their society like what Ramatoulaye did.

Film Review: Zootopia

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

Hi, guys! How’s your holidays? Anyway, have you watched ‘Zootopia’? Directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore, some critics acclaim that this animated film might be the most political Disney film ever made. Praised for its themes about discrimination and social stereotypes, this 55^th Disney film is the third highest-grossing film of 2016 and the 25^th highest-grossing film of all time. Cutting to the chase, there are several theories found throughout this motion picture including feminism, marxism and postcolonialism.

Feminisim

First and foremost, the film ‘Zootopia’ criticizes the oppression of women in the workplace. In simpler words, this animated film does promote feminism. As the first ever rabbit on Zootopia’s police force, Judy Hopps is continually underestimated and overlooked by those who think she is not cut out for the job. To add, her struggles roughly parallel those of women who are trailblazers in any field. Besides that, another female character is the assistant major of Zootopia named Dawn Bellwether who is “more of a glorified secretary”. Quoted from the film, “I never get to do anything this important”. It is obvious that she mostly does paperwork and menial jobs whereas the mayor himself is somewhat of a glory hound who dumps the work on her and gets all the attention. Thus, both female characters are depicted as the struggles of working women in the male-dominated workforce.

Marxism

Secondly, this animated film also obstructs marxism which aims to bring about a classless society. Neither predators nor preys, they are all animals. In the film ‘Zootopia’, predators are the minority and they are the only ones who are “going savage” as a result of the night howler serum which is a metaphor of cocaine. To support, 10% of the population living in Zootopia are predators, showing a similar mark to the number of black people living in the U.S. which is 12.2%. Based on a research, 85% of crack-related arrests are the minority themselves (Hendricks & Wilson, 2013). While the Zootopia major – Leodore Lionheart – struggles to maintain the peace between preys and predators as he is a predator, his own assistant masterminds the prey-supremacist conspiracy to get rid of the minority group. In reality, the assistant represents any white supremacist who tries to get rid of all minority groups out of the country.

Postcolonialism

Speaking of postcolonialism, Zootopia is set where predators and prey can live together. According to Judy, there were two groups years ago which are “meek preys” and “vicious predators”. She added, “But overtime, we evolved and moved beyond our primitive, savage ways”. In succinct words, this is also a postcolonial film. Although predators no longer predate whereas preys are no longer eaten, predators are still mistreated by the majority group. Back then, Nick Wilde was prejudiced by the other scouts for being the only predator in his division. When the news of the disappearance of predators is exposed to the public, a wave of protests against predators shows the mistreatment of minority group in any country. According to Chief Bogo, they are now in their postcolonial era where both groups can live in harmony without their natural instincts. Hence, this symbolizes the postcolonialism of Zootopia but the majority group still mistreat predators.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthrone

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne highlighted three important characters which are Hester Prynne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. The first character that has been introduced by Hawthorne is Hester Prynne. She is portrayed as a sinner in this novel as she must wear the scarlet letter ‘A’ as a sign of punishment because of the illegal affair. This is because she is the wife of Chillingworth. Prynne is known as strong women as she has to support her daughter alone unlike other women during that time. Other than that, she refused to name the men whom she commits adultery with and as the result, she has to stand the humiliation alone. She is visualized as a mother figure to her society by which she is not only good in taking care of her daughter but she is also good at the society. She is good to the poor and provides some clothes and food for them.

The second character that can be found in this novel is Roger Chillingworth. He is Prynne’s husband, who abandons her by living her alone in America while he is in Netherland. His action shows that he is very uncaring and not responsible towards his wife as if he is gambling his own wife. He claims to be seeking revenge for the sake of his wife as she is publically shamed and was forced to wear the scarlet letter. Besides that, he is known as the true devil as he is associated with secular and misuse of knowledge. Besides He is also interested in seeking revenge for what has happened to his wife and not because of justice. He always thinks about the destruction of others rather than a compensation for a wrong.

The third character is Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. He is a scholar and respected minister, whom has an illegal affair with Prynne and led to the birth of an illegitimate daughter, Pearl. He is portrayed as the secret sinner in which he betrays his own core by committing one of the biggest sins and hid it. He feels guilty to Prynne as no one knows that he is the father of Pearl and she has to face the punishment alone and led to the deterioration in his spiritual and physical condition. At the end of the novel, he admitted that he is the father of Pearl before he died, holding Prynne’s hand. 

Rethinking Muslim Women and The Veil by Katherine Bullock

This book by Katherine Bullock is basically telling us about the experience of Muslim women who wears hijab does not being reflected in Western belief which things that they are being oppressed. According to the writer, there is a problem in the method of studying Muslim women as they are studied by using the Orientalism and neo-Orientalism approach. The West believe that hijab is traditional and backward. However, modernity does not mean that women should not wear their hijab.

Colonialism Theory

During the era of European Colonization of the Middle East in the nineteenth century, The European perceived Muslim women as they were oppressed by their culture. The hijab became the center of attention. Not only the European, the native elites also believed that they themselves were uncivilized and their women were oppressed by the reason they felt for their betterment, they should follow the Western ideology. Uncovering was seen to be the starting point to improve their society. The idea that the hijab is oppressive came from the Western’s main objective which is to dominate the Muslim world. Any argument that emphasized hijab as a sign of oppression is actually originated from Orientalist and colonial discourse about the hijab.

According to Colonialism theory, the Western need to show their power and superiority to the native population in order for them to control and maintain the colonialism. This is because, without power, they are hopeless and the colonialism will disappear. One way to show their superiority and power over the native population is by spreading their religious teaching and belief to all parts of the world, especially Muslim world. They believe that by spreading their teaching, they can establish their power more on others. Thus, they spread the idea that revealing some parts of their body help in developing their country as well as their country. They also made the idea that hijab was a symbol of oppression as Muslim women cannot express themselves freely and properly.

Feminism Theory

            People in the West does not consider women wearing hijab as women and even at the worst situation, they do not even perceive women wearing a hijab as a human being. This is due to the reason that people believe Islam is a terrorist religion in which Muslim practice terrorism in their daily life by killing and torturing people from other religion without valid reason. The truth, we know that Islam is not a terrorist religion as it practices peace and equity in its teaching. The effect of the Western belief can be seen on women in which women is being oppressed by other people from other religion as they believed that Muslims are bad. They rarely oppress Muslim men as Muslim men always wear the same thing as non-Muslim men should wear but for Muslim women, they can be easily identified due to their hijab. Even after being oppressed by other people, no one will help them including all the West feminist movement. This is because, as mentioned earlier, they do not perceive Muslim women as women.

Muslim women are viewed as being oppressed by other religion due to the reason mentioned above. They believe that Islam forces its believers to wear hijab at anywhere and anytime. The truth, Islam never forces its believers to wear hijab and Muslim women have their own rights to make their own decision. Women wear hijab only when there are unrelated men in front of them. So, they are not wearing hijab all them time. Other than that, the purpose of women wearing hijab is because they want to protect their dignity as well as to preserve their identity as devoted Muslim women. Wearing hijab does not mean that women cannot beautify and dress up. They can wear something beautiful as long as it is base on the teaching of Islam. Thus, I cannot be said that women wear hijab as they are forced to do so as hijab is a symbol of devoted Muslim as well as it does not deny feminity. 

Theory of Marxism in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

             By referring to The Free Dictionary by Farlex as cited in American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language from the fifth Edition, by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, Marxism is defined as the concept of class struggle which has been introduced by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in understanding society's apparently unavoidable development from middle-class oppression under capitalism to a socialist and ultimately classless society.

            The word Marxism is derived from the name of a person who is responsible for introducing this concept, Karl Marx, a German philosopher and revolutionary socialist. He had published The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital, ant-capitalist works that form the basis of Marxism. (biography.com, n.d.). Besides, he became famous for saying that "Religion is the opiate of the people".  (Delahoyde, n.d.).

This theory has been used by Khaled Hosseini in one of his masterpieces, The Kite Runner. He has portrayed the social class differences as one of the main elements in the story. Introducing Amir and Hassan as the main characters and their friendship has somehow shaped the story in which both possess different social background. Amir has been portrayed as the luckiest child as he has everything, as what other kids are wishing for. As what Hossein has mentioned in his book, Amir lived in a big house and he actually proud of it.

“Everyone agreed that my father, my Baba, had built the most beautiful house in the Wazir Akbar Khan district, a new and affluent neighborhood in the northern part of Kabul. Some thought it was the prettiest house in all of Kabul. A broad entryway flanked by rosebushes led to the sprawling house of marble floors and wide windows. Intricate mosaic tiles, handpicked by Baba in Isfahan, covered the floors of the four bathrooms. Gold--‐stitched tapestries, which Baba had bought in Calcutta, lined the walls; a crystal chandelier hung from the vaulted ceiling.” (Chapter 2, Hosseini, 2013)

 In contrast to that, Hassan is their servant’s only son who lived together with their master in the same house, yet different room. “On the south end of the garden, in the shadows of a loquat tree, was the servants’ home, a modest little mud hut where Hassan lived with his father.” (Chapter 2, Hosseini, 2003).

These excerpt has braced the idea that there are two different classes which have been introduced by Hosseini and they suit the Marxism concept well. Even though Amir and Hassan were two best friends, there are still boundaries between them. Being a son of a servant, the status will remain forever.

“When the sun dropped low behind the hills and we were done playing for the day, Hassan and I parted ways. I went past the rosebushes to Baba's mansion, Hassan to them mud shack where he had been born, where he'd lived his entire life. I remember it was spare, clean, dimly lit by a pair of kerosene lamps. There were two mattresses on opposite sides of the room, a worn Herati rug with frayed edges in between, a three--‐legged stool, and a wooden table in the corner where Hassan did his drawings. The walls stood bare, save for a single tapestry with sewn--‐in beads forming the words _Allah--‐u--‐ akbar_. Baba had bought it for Ali on one of his trips to Mashad.” (Chapter 2, Hosseini, 2003).

By applying the theory of Marxism, Hossein also made Hassan treats Amir well, although they are at the same age and just kids, he still needs to treat Amir as his master. This can be braced by this excerpt when Hassan addressing Amir as “Agha or Master” in Turkish. “I remember Hassan and I crouching that next morning outside my father's study, as Baba and Rahim Khan sipped black tea and listened to breaking news of the coup on Radio Kabul.”Amir Agha?" Hassan whispered. "What?" "What's a 'republic'?" I shrugged. "I don't know." On Baba's radio, they were saying that word, "republic," over and over again.” (Chapter 5, Hosseini, 2003). Here, it can also be said that Hassan does not receive the proper education, as he is just a son of a servant, and just be friend with the master’s son. This shows exactly the same with what Marx has mentioned in his theory of Marxism, the main element in the control of the working class is the use of separation in all aspects of society, including the family, the education system, and the media. (Trueman, n.d.).

            Other than that, the concept of Marxism can also be found through the social class distinction of Hassan’s father, Ali, with the community leaving there. They perceived Ali as an alien living together with them in the same place. Ali, who belongs to the Hazara is considered as strangers and they are Pashtun, who are the owner of the land. That is why, Ali is always being bullied, mentally, by the Pashtun. As stated in this excerpt, "Hey, Babalu, who did you eat today?" they barked to a chorus of laughter. "Who did you eat, you flat--‐nosed Babalu?" They called him "flat--‐nosed" because of Ali and Hassan's characteristic Hazara Mongoloid features. (Chapter 2, Hosseini, 2003).

            Overall, The Kite Runner tells the reader that there is a huge gap in the social class between the superior and the inferior. Throughout the story, the reader might be seeing that there are a lot of examples of the Marxism concept that has been used in this story. Moving on to the next excerpt which perhaps may give a clear picture of the theory, in Chapter 19, where Amir has grown up and went back to his hometown which during that time, and the place was dominated by the Taliban, who seemed to be superior at this time. Hence, indirectly it created a huge social distance in the lifestyle of these two groups, the Taliban as well as the local there. “A SHORT WHILE LATER, Maryam and her mother brought two steaming bowls of vegetable show and two loaves of bread.”I'm sorry we can't offer you meat," Wahid said. "Only the Taliban can afford meat now”. (Chapter 19, Hosseini, 2003). These two different types of food depict that the gap between them is real. The lower-class people (the local) could not afford to buy meat which has been considered as an expensive food which can only afford by the superior.  This proves that the abnormality in any behavior that varies from the societal norm which becomes the belief of Marxists. The deviation can differ from simply odd behavior to behavior that can harm society or is considered dangerous or disrespectful. (Trueman, n.d.).

            Moreover, based on the same chapter, (chapter 19), there are few other excerpts that seem to be important in which demonstrating the Marxism theory. For example,  

“As I ate, I noticed Wahid's boys, all three thin with dirt caked faces and short--‐cropped brown hair under their skullcaps, stealing furtive glances at my digital wristwatch. The youngest whispered something in his brother's ear. The brother nodded, didn't take his eyes off my watch. The oldest of the boys--‐--‐I guessed his age at about twelve--‐--‐rocked back and forth, his gaze glued to my wrist”. (Chapter 19, Hosseini, 2003).

“I was about to go back inside when I heard voices coming from the house. I recognized one as Wahid's. "--‐--‐nothing left for the children." "We're hungry but we're not savages! He is a guest! What was I supposed to do?" he said in a strained voice. "--‐--‐to find something tomorrow" She sounded near tears. "What do I feed--‐--‐" I tiptoed away. I understood now why the boys hadn't shown any interest in the watch. They hadn't been staring at the watch at all. They'd been staring at my food”. (Chapter 19, Hosseini, 2003)

Based on these excerpts, we can see that the problems faced by them are also dissimilar. The Proletariat might be facing problems which bourgeoisie perceive them as not a problem at all. Like what Hosseini portrayed in The Kite Runner, Chapter 19, Amir did not think that food is a problem for the Wahid’s family because Amir has never encountered that problem in his entire life. 

            However, the social class discrimination according to the Islamic perspectives is obviously impermissible. As Allah (SWT) says in Surat Al-Hujurat, "O Mankind! We have created you from a male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you in the sight of Allah is he who has most Taqwa among of you. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware." Noble Qur'an (49:13). In Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) last sermon, he said that “All mankind is descended from Adam and Eve, an Arab is not better than a non-Arab and a non-Arab is not better than an Arab; a white person is not better than a black person, nor is a black person better than a white person except by piety and good actions. Learn that every Muslim is the brother of every other Muslim and that Muslims form one brotherhood.” Therefore, this concept is totally not aligned with the Islamic teachings as it introduces the inequality among humankind.

            All in all, the social class distance which has been introduced by Marxists in the Marxism concept, has also being used by Khaled Hosseini in one of her masterpieces, entitled The Kite Runner. The discrimination of the upper-class people to the lower class people happened in various aspect, including the family, the education system, the media, and so on and so forth.