Three Cups of Tea
Omar Feddersen
Professor Bahgat
QU 301
21 February 2011
Memorable Quotes from Greg Mortenson
Throughout the novel “Three Cups of Tea,” the author Greg Mortenson learns several significant lessons about the Middle East during his time spent in the area. Greg Mortenson is one of only a handful of Americans who believes we need to have patience when dealing with the Middle East especially combating terrorism. He believes that the best way to do this is to establish an education system where Middle Eastern adolescents can attend school and give themselves the potential for a bright future instead of being recruited into a fundamentalist Islamic group such as Al Qaeda. Mortenson emphasizes these points throughout “Three Cups of Tea” that can drastically change the lives of not only the poor Middle Easterners but also the world’s citizens as well. Greg Mortenson believes the best way to combat terrorism is through education particularly the education of girls. In “Three Cups of Tea,” he states, “You can hand out condoms, drop bombs, build roads, or put in electricity, but until the girls are educated a society won’t change” (Mortenson, Three Cups of Tea). This statement is extremely accurate because women are so much more disadvantaged than men in the Middle East and to create a prominent society it is more important to educate women than men. He reinforces this philosophy by stating “if you really want to change a culture, to empower women, improve basic hygiene and health care, and fight high rates of immortality, the answer is to educate girls” (Mortenson, page 209). The girls are the ones that stay in their communities once they’re educated and are the foundation of a better society because once men finish their education they leave their own communities and go off to work. If disadvantaged girls can receive an education a society develops a sense of hope that anything is possible in time. Greg Mortenson learns another valuable lesson during his time
Professor Bahgat
QU 301
21 February 2011
Memorable Quotes from Greg Mortenson
Throughout the novel “Three Cups of Tea,” the author Greg Mortenson learns several significant lessons about the Middle East during his time spent in the area. Greg Mortenson is one of only a handful of Americans who believes we need to have patience when dealing with the Middle East especially combating terrorism. He believes that the best way to do this is to establish an education system where Middle Eastern adolescents can attend school and give themselves the potential for a bright future instead of being recruited into a fundamentalist Islamic group such as Al Qaeda. Mortenson emphasizes these points throughout “Three Cups of Tea” that can drastically change the lives of not only the poor Middle Easterners but also the world’s citizens as well. Greg Mortenson believes the best way to combat terrorism is through education particularly the education of girls. In “Three Cups of Tea,” he states, “You can hand out condoms, drop bombs, build roads, or put in electricity, but until the girls are educated a society won’t change” (Mortenson, Three Cups of Tea). This statement is extremely accurate because women are so much more disadvantaged than men in the Middle East and to create a prominent society it is more important to educate women than men. He reinforces this philosophy by stating “if you really want to change a culture, to empower women, improve basic hygiene and health care, and fight high rates of immortality, the answer is to educate girls” (Mortenson, page 209). The girls are the ones that stay in their communities once they’re educated and are the foundation of a better society because once men finish their education they leave their own communities and go off to work. If disadvantaged girls can receive an education a society develops a sense of hope that anything is possible in time. Greg Mortenson learns another valuable lesson during his time
Bibliography: Mortenson, Greg and David Oliver Relin. Three Cups of Tea. London: Penguin Books, 2006.