Literary Analysis Essay on Guest House for Young Widows

Introduction

Azadeh Moaveni wrote an indispensable and influential book on the motivations and inner lives of women supported or joined the Islamic State militant group. The Islamic women opted to join d the war after seeing brutal oppression in Syria. Women such as Nour from Tunis, Emma from Germany, and Sharmeena from Bethnal Green were trapped within the terrorist regime, which had chaos, violence, and various upheavals. Women in Azadeh Moaveni's novel portrays women in the current society who stand firm and fight for justice. Most women migrated from Europe, Central Asia, Russia, and the United States to join other Muslims in the war despite being from the families of trainee doctors, diplomats, desolate housewives, and working-class drifters. After the fall of the Islamic militants, women who had joined this militia experienced multiple challenges in their society. Therefore, due to the role played by women and the challenges they experienced after joining the Islamic militants, this paper will review the novel by Azadeh Moaveni " Guest House for Young Widows."

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In the novel, the author portrays the qualities of women living in the current society the challenges they encounter. Through determination and aggressiveness, women believe that they are capable of carrying out the practices believed to be conducted by men. Women in the Middle East have facilitated multiple state-building and resistance movements whenever there is war and predicted conflicts within their States. Also, in the novel, women sacrificed their lives and families to join the militants to find justice for their nation. This act portrayed women as strong and loyal people to the country. For example, Shamima Begun was denied her British citizenship since she was forced to join the caliphate by propagandists (Sinai, 2019). Shamima begged to return home since she was pregnant and did not want to lose her third baby, but she was denied her request. Therefore, joining the caliphate was a struggle among the women, and those who resisted were forced to commit suicide.

The novel represented the life of the Iranians who alter constructions, pressures, expectations, and definition of the females. In the Iranian government, modernization and religious dynamics are among the gender questioning and change in society. Decision making in the novel was conducted by the male gender, thus making women not to say much relating to their lives. For example, Shamima is rejected as a chance to return home despite being pregnant. Besides, I feel that the author could have concentrated on fewer characters who played a vital role in the novel. After Nour watches the Sheikh clip on YouTube, she decides to wear a niqab while going to school, and their teacher reprimands her to remove it (Sinai, 2019). This action shows that the media plays a significant role in determining the behavior of people. Also, the author describes that she feels frustrated since the ISIS accounts portray women as either calculating monsters of the naive jihadi brides. The decisions made by women in the novel indicate that they are complicated since most females made them while they were still young. Therefore, the events that occur before these women make their decision to join the militia are poorly thought of.

Consequently, in a globalizing and modernizing world, expectations and identities of young females are open to negotiations. Women try to juggle multiple cultural expectations as they find freedom and new opportunities in their activities. The conflicting voices which females encounter from socialization lead to dilemmas and confusion in their lives. For example, female behavior, dress, obedience, and limitations to the male family members serve as religious and cultural markers. For instance, males in societies force women to live and act according to their cultural expectations for the identity of a particular culture and reputation of their family. Women who are interested in modernization and social change tend to investigate the differences and legal systems and the personal and the formal decision-making personnel. Therefore, changes among women in society are facilitated by how they negotiate, respond, ignore, and utilize the societal rules.

Additionally, the lives of individuals are controlled by the news provided through the mass media either in our phones, homes, or classrooms as students exchange ideas. The social media transmits the cultural beliefs and rules through its representation and messages of different actions, people, and activities. For example, the author uses the inside kitchen table talks to create an image of the families and places in the caliphate that represents the "guest house for young widows." Women present in the novel wait to be remarried after their husbands died while at war. Also, the messages transmitted through the media produce a universal belief system of a specific culture and the norms of society. Therefore, whenever an individual inspects the social media frames, they provide a view used to understand why and how the social media organizes various events reports and rationalizes the societal events. For example, Nour watches sheikh clip on YouTube, and she decides to wear a niqab, thus obtaining an influence from the social media platforms (Sinai, 2019). Therefore, the framing capacity that promotes an opinion of understanding of specific issues or action is through the cultural magnitude of resonance.

Conclusion

I feel that Azadeh Moaveni has elaborated on how cultural norms, beliefs, and social media affect decision making. Women in the novel "Guest House for Young Widows" wait to become remarried after their husband dies hence facing discrimination from the societal members. Also, women portray courage as they opt to join the militia, which affects their lives negatively. The author tries to bring the reader to the kitchen table to understand the struggles the female gender encounter in daily life. Most women migrated from Europe, Central Asia, Russia, and the United States to join other Muslims in the war despite being from the families of trainee doctors, diplomats, desolate housewives, and working-class drifters. Decision making in the novel was conducted by the male gender, thus making women not to say much relating to their lives. For example, Shamima is rejected as a chance to return home despite being pregnant. Women try to juggle multiple cultural expectations as they find freedom and new opportunities in their activities. ISIS portrays women as either calculating monsters or the naive jihadi brides. Also, women encounter conflicting voices from socialization, thus leading to dilemmas and confusion in their lives. For instance, men tend to force women to live and act according to their cultural expectations for the identity of a particular culture and reputation of their family. Therefore, appreciating and protecting the female gender can lead to the improvement of society in terms of development and its relationship with people.

Reference

Sinai, J. (2019). Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS.