Burned Alive Sparknotes

Nonfiction Book Assignment Burned Alive by Souad takes readers on a journey like no other. The book retells the life of a young Palestinian girl named Souad. She grew up in a small village where the treatment of women drastically differs from that in North America, Europe, and many other parts of the world. Honour crimes and killings are a regular occurrence for their village and unfortunately, Souad fell victim to one. In most cases, the intention of the crime is death, and they are usually successful in this. Luckily for Souad, she was blessed with a miracle and survived her attempted murder by her brother-in-law. “I will always have to conceal my scas under long sleeves. I dream of being able to wear open-necked blouses and short sleeves like other women, but i have to wear clothes that button up to the neck. Other women have that freedom. Even if i am able to walk freely, I am a prisoner in my own skin.”(Souad, 55.) Throughout the entire first half of Sound's life, along with many other woman in her village, she was forced to hide. She had to hide her voice, emotion, opinion, self expression… the list goes on. After being rescued by an non-profit organization, Terres des Hommes, and brought to Europe, it would be assumed that she would no longer have to live in hiding. Sadly,
this is only the partial truth.
She does not have to conceal thoughts and opinions anymore, as she is now a free woman, but she will forever continue to hide her past, the awful memories that torture her,
and the scars she was left with. Everyday individuals are bombarded with hundreds of images, yet it is rare one stops to analyze the photograph and the meaning behind it. In the Port of Spain, Trinidad, photographer Michael Nichols captures a woman hiding behind curtains. This image conveys a feeling of loneliness and a sense of calmness. The reason being that the woman is the only being in the photo. Nothing else shows any sign of life making her appear isolated. Her body language portrays the feeling of calmness, her stance is relaxed and her grip on the curtain is loose, like it is about to slip out from between her fingers. The aesthetic elements most strongly portrayed in this photograph are line, colour, and light/shadow. The colours are limited but powerful. They are all warm and the light is soft which builds upon the calm feeling. The shadows create depth as the lines in the folds of the curtains lead the eye to the focal point, the woman. The shadows also create the frame of the image. I believe for this photograph to be fully appreciated, the audience needs to be able to analyze a piece of art because if you do not, it cannot be fully appreciated.
After reading Burned Alive and analyzing Nichols’ photograph, it is impossible to deny the similarities the two share. Just like the woman in the image, Souad is constantly hiding behind a curtain out of fear. She feared her family and community as it was the one way to remain safe. Woman who did not do so in her village would end up victims of abuse and murder. In the second part of her life, being a free woman in Europe, she remains the woman behind the curtain, out of fear that if she does not, her family will find and try to kill her again, and that society will reject her and her loved ones due to her scars and past. Alas, Souad has only known, and will only ever know, what life is like hiding behind a curtain.