Homeland


The theme of Watan (homeland) is very much present in Mahmoud Darwish’s poem “Identity Card” because of the realism he writes of describing his homeland. Throughout his entire poem he writes about how his homeland which appears to be that of Palestine, furthermore that has been ripped right out from under his native land. In the beginning stanza of the poem, he focuses on making sure the reader understands his nationality fully as they will see him state it in every stanza from start to finish. I thought this was interesting because it shows that he is not ashamed of who he is, or what homeland he comes from. I also think that he states “I am an Arab” because he is attempting to be the voice for those who do not have a voice.

There also seems to be an element of humanism that Darwish is attempting to provide to his readers. There are several references to him physically describing himself such as in “put it on record – I am an Arab- colour of hair: jet black-colour of eyes :brown”(1608), yet I feel as though he writes about himself to  take readers slightly deeper. I think he is trying to express his frustration with the remote racism that Palestinian Arabs have faced at the hands of Israel. I am not here to write about who is right in the conflict as I am not too aware of the particulars. However, I do feel as though Darwish really makes the troubles of him and his people known throughout the poem by describing the day in the life of a Palestinian.

                                                             Works Cited

Darwish, Mahmoud. “Idenity Card.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Martin Puchner, et al. 3rd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 2013. 1607-1609. Print

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Neruda

In the poem “Walking Around” by Pablo Neruda there appears be several underlying themes of losing and almost near insanity. In the first stanza, Neruda sets up the reader to almost personify with the narrator of the poem, a man who is not lost with nowhere to go. Neruda writes, “it happens that I am tired of being man-It happens that I go into the tailor’s shops and the movies-all shriveled up, impenetrable, like a felt swan navigating on a water of origin and ash”(Neruda 1423). The city emerges in the first stanza as over populated yet homey sort of place. I am not sure as to why I feel that way, I can relate to the man who in the city as I have lived places where everyday seems to go with the next. I think it important to realize that this man comes off as crazy, yet as I read each stanza of the poem I do not see him as crazy. I see him as a man who has had enough of his present place and longs for something more exciting. In the sixth stanza a reader sees an even darker place...
Read more

I did it!

Finally after all this time I completed my thesis. It was an amazingly long process but in the end I am glad I completed it. I worked very hard to complete it. At times I thought I would not see the light at the end of the tunnel. But I hope by me writing this people take from my experience to never give up. I remember the quote and I am not too sure who it is by but it goes like this "you are responsible for the effort not the outcome" and with that in mind on my most insecure days I kept treading! It is truly a beautiful feeling to be completed with my creative thesis!
Read more

It has been a while!

I back and ready to write even more. I have been publishing and I even applied for a playwright residency. It sounds like a wonderful organization with a great potential. I wrote an article for Rain and Thunder which is an activist journal and heard back that they were pleased to publish it. I was also published in The Hessler Street Fair Poetry Anthology. It is great to be writing again and I am sorry for not posting anything sooner. I am back and will be talking about The Cleveland Museum of Art.
Read more