essay on Anil
A) How does Aboulela present the feelings of the young man in ‘Something Old, Something New’?
B) How does the writer present the feelings of a character from a different story in Sunlight on the Grass?
In the story ‘Something Old, Something New’ Aboulela presents the feelings of a young man as someone that is always being judged and looked down upon because of his religious choices and how he had converted from Catholicism to Islam. ‘They did not understand that side of him’, from this quote I can infer that the young man’s parents did not approve or understand his choice to convert from Catholicism to Islam. The word ‘understand’ in the quote shows how the parents could not relate to this ‘side of him’. It also shows how this may create a barrier between the relationship of the young man and his parents as the convert may not have been what the parents had wanted but nevertheless, the young man still persisted with his choice in faith.
In addition, the young man is shown by Aboulela as someone who is uncomfortable with the big change in culture. This is shown by the quote: ‘Her country disturbed him’. This displays how the young man finds everything unusual. Zooming in on the word ‘disturbed’ shows the reader that the young man has been put out of his comfort zone completely. The word ‘disturbed’ brings negative connotations to my mind this shows that he is not only seeing a huge change, but he dislikes it too.
Alternatively, the writer of the story Anil (Noor) portrays Anil who is restricted by the life he was born in to. ‘His dreams were bigger than him’, this shows that he had huge ambitions but they are too big for him and unachievable. This was different to the people that surrounded him with very little ambitions in life, or none at all. This is why Anil, the little boy, stood out in the story. The word ‘dreams’ is positive and therefore shows that he has hope for the future and still a little bit of happiness, despite his unfortunate lifestyle.
B) How does the writer present the feelings of a character from a different story in Sunlight on the Grass?
In the story ‘Something Old, Something New’ Aboulela presents the feelings of a young man as someone that is always being judged and looked down upon because of his religious choices and how he had converted from Catholicism to Islam. ‘They did not understand that side of him’, from this quote I can infer that the young man’s parents did not approve or understand his choice to convert from Catholicism to Islam. The word ‘understand’ in the quote shows how the parents could not relate to this ‘side of him’. It also shows how this may create a barrier between the relationship of the young man and his parents as the convert may not have been what the parents had wanted but nevertheless, the young man still persisted with his choice in faith.
In addition, the young man is shown by Aboulela as someone who is uncomfortable with the big change in culture. This is shown by the quote: ‘Her country disturbed him’. This displays how the young man finds everything unusual. Zooming in on the word ‘disturbed’ shows the reader that the young man has been put out of his comfort zone completely. The word ‘disturbed’ brings negative connotations to my mind this shows that he is not only seeing a huge change, but he dislikes it too.
Alternatively, the writer of the story Anil (Noor) portrays Anil who is restricted by the life he was born in to. ‘His dreams were bigger than him’, this shows that he had huge ambitions but they are too big for him and unachievable. This was different to the people that surrounded him with very little ambitions in life, or none at all. This is why Anil, the little boy, stood out in the story. The word ‘dreams’ is positive and therefore shows that he has hope for the future and still a little bit of happiness, despite his unfortunate lifestyle.