Quais De Raisin Conflict

The main conflict introduced in Act 1 of Quais de Seine is how François decides he should act around women. François struggles with this because of how his two friends treat women, which is rudely. We can see this clearly in François’ silence as his two friends catcall women—he isn’t comfortable behaving in the same way as his friends. He makes a step towards overcoming this conflict when the young Muslim woman, later known as Zarka, trips and falls. Unlike his friends, who laugh and comment sarcastically, “Nice trip!,” François jumps up to help her and says ,”That’s not cool,” to his two friends. This first decision marks the start of his growth as a character, and in Act 2 François will continue to develop his character by forming a relationship
This happens first as Fraçois attempts (poorly) to rewrap Zarka’s fallen hijab back on to her head. The two laugh about it together, and François take a picture to show her what it looks like. This picture will become important later on in the narrative, as it represents to François the genuine connection he had with Zarka, a connection his friends failed to make with any other women. This connection is furthered when Zarka opens up and begins to talk about her perception of beauty, to which François nods and appears to agree. Things continue to become complicated when François sits and waits for Zarka outside her mosque. When the door opens and Zarka walks out, François stands quickly to his feet and a huge smile crosses his face. From this, viewers can tell that François is trying to make a deeper connection than just helping a stranger up—he’s found a nearby mosque and waited for her, and when she finally comes out his face lights up. However, after Zarka emerges from the mosque, so does her grandfather. François perceives this as a bad sign, and his face falls. At this point, François and the audience are unsure of how things will be resolved in Act