Sury's Lang and Lit Class

Chapter 7: "To kill them both  —  Nabawiyya and Ilish  — at the same time would be a triumph. Eve better would be to settle with Rauf Ilwan, too, then escape, go abroad if possible. But who'll look after Sana? The thorn by my side. You always act impulsively, Said, without thinking, but you mustn't rush this time; you must wait until you've arranged things, then swoop like an eagle. But there's no point in delay either; you're a hunted man —you became a hunted man as soon as they knew you were coming out —and now, after the car incident, the search will be intensified. Only a few pounds in the wallet of the factory owner's son —another stroke of bad luck. If you don't strike soon everything will collapse. Who'll look after Sana, though? That thorn again. She rejected me but I still love her. Should I spare your unfaithful mother for our sake then? I must find the answer right away.  Analysis: This passage reveals that Said is not a mindless b...

The novel The Thief and the Dogs, written by Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz is a novel which is celebrated for its use stream of consciousness. The novel follows the life of Said Mahran, a thief released from prison and corrupted by malicious intent to exact revenge on the people who betrayed him. This novel was published in 1961, post Egyptian Revolution and Said struggles to cope with the conflict he experiences when exacting revenge on his enemies and adapting to the new society. These struggles can be followed by the reader through Mahfouz's use of the stream of consciousness technique. This technique is used because it helps the reader to understand Said's emotions and internal conflict and why Said commits the notorious actions that he does and which allows readers empathize with him. The stream of consciousness technique is used in this novel through the present events which unfold which connect to a past experience, flashbacks and unfiltered narration. This technique...

Translation in literature is the process of translating literary works through a precise way to convey the same message as the original. However translations are difficult as there are certain grammatical differences and syntax in some languages which are different and/or don't necessarily exist in other languages. Therefore translations while precise can also be creative to try and convey a message which is accurate but also meaningful and open to interpretation. Text C ( What makes a good literary translator?) explored the challenges and advantages associated with translating a literary work through the perspective of professional translators. In the interview, Ted Hodgkinson asked Daniel Hahn; director of the British Centre for Literary Translation and Fahmida Riaz questions about what makes translations unique and what are some difficulties in translating a text. The translators claimed that every word, phrase and even syllable changes in translation. Daniel Hahn claimed tha...

How could the text be read and interpreted differently by two different readers? The news article titled "For women under 30, most births occur outside of marriage" was an article which highlights the phenomenon of non-marital births and single parenting within the United States. In news media, the information communicated can vary between each individual depending on the context of a reader and their ideologies. In this article, textual bias is evident to demonstrate the author's negative notions towards single parenting and having children before or without marriage. This is evident through the author's choice of diction of words with negative connotations such as illegitimacy and normal being used in the same sentence to show frustration towards the topic. An individual with a traditional ideology of having kids after marriage and opposed to the idea of single parenting would resonate with this text. On the contrary, individuals with a feminist ideology will rea...

Chapter 1: So the beginning of this was a woman and she had come back from burying the dead. Not the dead of sick and ailing with friends at the pillow and the feet. She had come back from the sodden and the bloated; the sudden dead, their eyes flung wide open in judgment. The people all saw her come because it was sundown. The sun was gone, but he had left his footprints in the sky. It was the time for sitting on porches beside the road. It was the time to hear things and talk. These sitters had been tongueless, earless, eyeless conveniences all day long. Mules and other brutes had occupied their skins. But now, the sun and the bossman were gone, so the skins felt powerful and human. Chapter 2: "Look at me, Janie. Don't set dere wid yo' head hung down. Look at yo' ole grandma!" Her voice began snagging on the prongs of her feelings. "Ah don't want to be talkin' to you lak dis. Fact is Ah done been on mah knees to mah Maker many...

This is Water written by David Foster Wallace was a commencement speech which encapsulates and emphasizes the importance of recognizing and understanding various perspectives, particularly in situations that usually induce frustration and anger. He stresses the issue of being self-aware in our surroundings; to take an honest view of the world around us instead of centering and putting ourselves in front of everyone else's emotions and thoughts. The ability to understand and be aware of a person's thoughts and emotions and to control your own expression of emotions is called emotional intelligence. Having a higher emotional intelligence enables you to show more empathy for people in various situations.  Empathy is the ability to understand and share feelings with a person. In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God written by Zora Neale Hurston, readers are able to empathize with Nanny's decision in trying to ensure that Janie obtains financial security through marriage....

Prompt:  The personal history of an author can have a significant influence on the way meaning is constructed in his/her writing. Comment on specific instances in response  to the prompt.  Chinua Achebe is a descendant of the Igbo people howbeit he is a Christian and has been brought up with both Western and Igbo values due to colonial rule. His novel " Things Fall Apart" was written in 1958, two years prior to Nigerian Independence from British colonial rule. However this novel is set during the time of the first involvements of British rule in Nigeria and the initial stages of colonialism. Achebe uses his personal history to allow him to discuss historical context and  to tie him to his cultural roots, to create a book which presents early life before colonial rule. This is done to provide a new insight into colonialism and to show that the British had assimilated the Igbo people's culture, however due to Achebe's duality in being both an Igbo descendant...

What is the significance of Okonkwo’s character? What does he represent or is symbolic of? Okonkwo represents the tragic hero in Things Fall Apart as he held a position of power and prestige because he was a clan leader of Umuofia however it was stripped away from him when he was exiled. Okonkwo is significant because his character/ personality is quite orthodox and different compared to other Umuofians and he is dissimilar to the cultures and customs of Umuofia.  In Umuofia, people tend to see the middle ground between two plausible causes however Okonkwo is fixated on one aspect and believes in it to the extreme and thus can not see other views about it which displays his resistance to change. In addition Okonkwo embodies strength both physically and mentally and it is portrayed through his personality however Okonkwo suffers from internal conflict due to his fear of weakness and failure thus it is important as it shows how someone so dominant can also be suffering.  He...

Why would Achebe choose to set his novel prior to and during the arrival of the colonial administration as opposed to during the context of composition? Things fall apart, a novel written by Chinua Achebe was published in 1958 ( two years before Nigeria gained independence) and discusses the chronicles prior to pre-colonial life in Nigeria and the arrival of the Europeans during the late nineteenth century. Achebe being born and raised during the time of British colonial rule however decided to illustrate his vision by showing readers the Igbo society of Nigeria during the time of its colonisation by the British as opposed to reiterating what life was like during colonial rule. The context which Achebe chose to write in was an important factor in Things Fall Apart because it allowed readers to view African culture and colonisation from a different perspective. Due to Achebe’s exposure to english and European customs have enabled him to capture the European and African perspe...

Link to annotated doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qNC-M6lSoB-R7f_WGQvkUh5_SE8VMrIJSBoa6gm6Ecg/edit

Caius Martius is the main protagonist in Shakespeare's play Coriolanus. In Coriolanus, the plot takes the form of a political play; two chief opposing forces within Rome which includes Caius Martius and the plebians and tribunes. Caius Martius was introdueced as an arrogant and rude general, hated by many and loved only by few. The play begins with a food riot among the commoners protesting against Martius' authority. He is shown to be the "chief enemy to the people" (1:1) with a disrespectful attitude. However when he gets sent off to war and fights in the battle of Volsces, he is shown to be a brave warrior and a fearless leader as he gave words of motivation to his fellow warriors to continue fighting. He is also portrayed as tough and persevering by withstanding bleeding battle wounds. In addition Caius displays modest behavior by choosing not to accept his share of the war spoils. Shakespeare characterizes Martius as both stubborn and rude but also as courageous...

Pop/ popular culture is a term which describes the lifestyle, ideas and tastes among a culture, specifically Western culture and it is predominantly apart of the younger society ( adolescents and young adults ). Despite the media’s ability to communicate and express information and ideas it also influences and creates pop culture, and through our study of pop culture, we can construct a deeper understanding of the media. There are four core concepts in media analysis; Media messages are constructed using creative techniques, but the construction process is invisible to viewers, readers, and listeners. This is statement is especially true in our society. As viewers of advertisements, we only see the final product but we do not see how an advertisement is produced. This can also be related to how the media shapes pop culture into what it wants it to be for the best attraction and it may be a false pretense of what the original pop culture actually is. For example, in the docum...

Our group was tasked with advertising a bike share program in Abu Dhabi.  The main appeals that we focused on in our presentation was the appeal to nurture and the appeal to achieve. We concluded that these would be the most effective appeals to utilise because the appeal to achieve can help persuade the citizens of Abu Dhabi to achieve a better lifestyle, a fitter body and a more environmentally friendly Abu Dhabi. The appeal to nurture was also used to bring an awareness to the lifestyle of younger citizens and children. Obesity rates are quite high in UAE and using these statistics which appeals to logos, we tried to persuade guardians to help better the lifestyle of their kids. As mentioned previously logos was used to bring an awareness to obesity rates in the aim of persuading parents to better the lifestyle of their kids. We also tried to implement ethos with the use of a famous cyclist to promote our bikes, trying to appeal to credibility and persuade the audience that ...

Through the image manipulation portrayed from this advertisement, it creates a powerful appeal to prominence and attention due to the use of diction “ Men talk about women, sports and cars. Women talk about men inside sports cars”. The manufacturer of this car Mercedes - Benz is also highly reputable for producing high-end luxury cars and consumers knowing of that reputation are more inclined to buy this car to possibly satisfy their desire of owning a sports car and to gain respect, social status and attention. In addition, this ad also evokes a sense of escape due to the serene background which leaves viewers with a sense of wonder. The diction used is also targeted towards  men and more specifically, appealing to men that are in need of prominence and attention. Additionally it persuades men to buy this car despite possible financial issues because it appeals to a man's desire to be recognised by a woman and to spark an attraction between a woman and man driving this vehicl...

Do you think that advertisers have a moral duty to avoid stereotyping people?  Advertisements and advertising is a prime form of marketing communication for companies, campaigns and organisations to make people aware of their product, services and message. Advertising has spread into many forms of media; television, newspapers, magazines, posters, billboards and social media platforms, thus it has become a norm in our society. As you may know, companies typically use advertisements to persuade people to buy their product, however advertising also has great potential in embedding false information of societal, racial and gender expectations and stereotypes in our minds. Unconsciously stereotyping in advertisements influence us to make inaccurate pretenses of other individuals and groups.  Advertisers are the primary culprits behind these deception however as much as it is the unjust thing to do, I do not believe that advertisers have a moral duty to avoid stereotyping peo...

In our current society, housework is common to be done by both  men and women, however it is still common to see women predominantly appearing in cleaning advertisements as the main " cleaner" of the ad. Due to historical gender stereotypes, women tend to be portrayed as the dominant gender that cleans the house and after her family. For example, in the second advertisement by Swiffer, the spokesmodel is dressed as a cultural icon called Rosie the riveter which represented women working in factories and shipyards in WWII.  In all of the ads, it appears as the spokesmodels are portrayed decoratively and in each advertisement, interpretation of these ads develops typical gender stereotypes. In the first two pictures, women are shown as the spokesmodel which tends to be typical in the cleaning products industry. It insinuates that women should be responsible for cleaning based off historical gender stereotypes of women usually obligated to do household chores. I...

MLK's intended audience through his speech " I have a dream" are the African- American community but more specifically those that are living through oppression, suffering from segregation and discrimination, and whom are living in poverty. MLK tries to persuade the African American Community to continue to fight even if the nation goes into turmoil and to only stop fighting once the black society has gained racial equality and justice. In addition, MLK tries to  spread hope to his fellow African - Americans by intensifying their frustration and anger to provide a sense of empowerment, in the hopes of advocating and creating change in the American Society. MLK often uses metaphors and anaphoras to enrich his persuasion. His expressive choice of phrases such as " chains of discrimination" and "let freedom ring" are examples of rhetorical devices which were used throughout this speech. His style directly correlates to the racial tensions which occurred ...

Suryha Maniraj ‘ 16 Abu Dhabi Sarah E Needleman: For those that did not read the original article this post addresses my opinions on text speaking and arguments for and against hiring managers judgements on turning away potential interns and employees using text speaking. “Textspeak” is bound to happen especially in our ever increasing use of technology and its technological advancements. Through the use of technology and social media “textspeak” has become a dialect in its own right however it  is putting off hiring managers as it shows a sign of unprofessionalism and even childishness and to some extent I do agree with the judgements that managers make when hiring employees. Text Speaking in a formal context such as a “thank you email” to a hiring manager is not appropriate since managers are most likely looking for a level of sophistication and formality. Managers would and should be worried when this type of communication is brought into the workplace and used wit...

May 30th 1978 On December 3 rd , 1976, Bob Marley was shot two days prior the “Smile Jamaica” concert, allegedly motivated by political views. Despite this mishap, Bob still performed at the concert and told the crowd “ The people who are trying to make this world worse aren’t taking a day off”. “How can I”? Last month, Bob performed at the “One Love Peace Concert” where he managed to unify the two leaders of both factions to embrace on stage.   Bob’s music tends to stem from political tensions, social injustice and black roots however he tries to advocate change in a more subtle and relaxed way rather than forcing change through anger and frustration. Suryha Maniraj (SM): Why did you still perform at the “Smile Jamaica” concert despite rumors of the assassination attempt supposedly being politically motivated? Bob Marley (BM): I wanted to calm the tension between powers and like I said to the crowd at Smile Jamaica, people who are trying to make this world worse aren...

“My block” is a song produced by Tupac Shakur in which he expresses the various factors that are present in the lives of African – Americans living in the “block”. He discusses his past experiences and the alarming struggles of living in an African-American community most predominantly crime, racism and substance abuse. The line “the only time they notice a n*gga is when he’s clutching on a four-five” exhibits the prejudice against African Americans since they are not recognized by the public unless they commit an act of violence or crime.  Substance abuse is another reoccurring factor which Tupac communicates and this can be demonstrated through the line “fearing jail but crack sales got me living…. staying trapped forever in this drug life” and “hanging out picking a game, sipping cheap liquor”. It is evident that through this song Tupac is bringing awareness to the hardships that African-Americans have to bear and why it is challenging for African -Americans to leave their “bl...