"The Bamboo Stalk" and "For Bread Alone". Paper Example

Notably, characters tend to bring out a certain theme in a book and therefore to analyze them carefully has become a basic thing. They influence our understanding of the narrative, and the motive of the author is also brought out. Besides, every reading has a certain theme which is key to understanding the book. There are many types of themes although in this particular essay I will focus on economic disparity. In this case, we are addressing key novels namely, The Bamboo Stalk by Saud Alsanousi and For Bread Alone by Choukri Mohamed. The former involves the ill-treatment faced by the migrants' workers and their role in creating modern cities such as Kuwait and Dubai while the latter seeks to describe a young kid trying to flee drought and starvation while surviving his father's mistreatment.

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In addition, the former tries to show how elaborate a kid who faces rejection from his own family and this affects him negatively as his mother is weak and cannot help. A good example is when Isa's father said, "he portrayed Kuwait as he saw it, with love. He wanted to change reality with a novel that was candid and harsh, but his only motive was love". However, his was a direct contradiction of his words as he did not even show love to his kid. There is also a part where Isa's mother seeks to counsel him by telling him, "The decision wasn't your father's. A whole society stood behind him." However, if the decision would have been his father's then maybe this would never have happened, and he would have stood by him.

Moreover, the latter which is seen as creating criticism for poverty in the society has passages which are not what is expected in a social setting as I will highlight. In one certain point, he points, "There happen to be differences between him and the other kids in the neighbourhood that make him feel inferior while they are just poor as him." He goes further to lament by saying, "They see me as a Riffian. Who came from the land of starvation and murders. Who doesn't even know how to speak Arabic. Besides, the claim this year all Riffians are sick with the disease of hunger." In the first place, society is expected to be equal, but in this situation, he had undergone so many problems even scavenging bread from the garbage and having his younger brother strangled to death by his father. However, if the book could have emphasized his father's role in trying to work hard and provide for the family, then we could have viewed him differently.

However, the first novel brings out the theme of Individual versus society where Isa's mother comes out with points to address by telling him that it was not his father's decision but that of the community. Besides, his mother is secluded so much in the book, and she would have brought sympathy and played a role in uniting the family just as mother's do. Furthermore, the second novel seeks to elaborate on the theme of survival in that, as a young kid Choukri had to scavenge for food to live. There is a lot of remorsefulness while reading his autobiography as he narrates how his siblings died, and one had to be killed by his father. In the first novel, the characters are three names, the maid, Isa and his father while in the second it is an autobiography by Choukri. Although, in both novels, they lack a repetitive motif. However, there is an object in both.

Notably, the focus is the main character, and it brings out the mood of the book and therefore ensuring the message is realized faster and understood differently. In The Bamboo Stalk, the target is on Isa while in the autobiography it is on Choukri. In both, they use the texture structure form of passage which is easier to understand as there is a sequence of how events and a transition from one situation to another. They both use a dialect form of language while using descriptive literature to paint a certain image.

In the first story which is The Bamboo Stalk, the plot takes place in the Arab nations most notable one being Kuwait, and the main character is Isa and other characters being his father and mother. The main plot that is being developed in this narrative is on how Isa is so excited to meet his family and that he has so much confidence that he will love and also be loved back by his family but on getting to Kuwait, the reality checks in as the opposite happen. His family, however, takes Centre stage in the book and all the story is based on this. On the other hand, Choukri plays the starring role in his autobiography, and the plot takes place in Morocco. It shows how poverty and discrimination had become rampant and had dominated against Morocco's Arabs. His family had to die as they were so poor. He lost his other siblings, and the plot is therefore filled with a lot of sympathy towards him.

Furthermore, they both have a similar storyline in that in both narrative threads there is a lot of poverty, discrimination, and even similar characters. In both stories, the character has a lot to deal with as in Isa's case he has to keep up with being rejected by his own family while in Choukri case he has to deal with issues of discrimination and deaths from his family members. Poverty playing a major role in bringing out the theme in both. They both show how the secondary characters have been left out yet they could have played a major role.

As a result, major questions formulate in my mind which I crave to get answers. A major question that arises is how there can be an equal distribution of resources with each person being able to get an equitable share. For this reason, it can go a long way in ensuring that the bridge between the poor and the rich is shortened hence creating a harmonious community ready to work together for peace and prosperity in the future. Therefore many people would feel contented with what they have reducing theft and jealousness which is a significant factor that drives human beings towards theft.

Thus, I am trying to find out why the poor and the rich cannot work with each other as the rich despise the poor while the former also hates the latter with passion. Therefore if in any case, they can be able to come together and work the world could be a better place to live and very peaceful. Social security also gets to be enhanced playing a role in businesses thriving and also an increased lifespan. Social problems would also be solved communally, and children brought up with better parenting styles influencing their development in the future.

Besides, social problems are as a result of poverty as the less fortunate feel like the rich have earned their wealth by stealing from them, and therefore they should get back that wealth using all means. Therefore, they result in stealing from them and committing crimes they had never planned like killing. The government, therefore, goes forward and tries to catch up with the thieves and lives most of them either dead or even rotting in prison. Children are left without parents, and therefore they end up sinking in more poverty creating a cycle that becomes hard to eliminate. They live to hate those who made their parents go to prison and sometimes even plan to revenge in the future.

Notably, a good example is Choukri father who killed his young son as he did not want to hear his cries of hunger. This was a result of him not being able to provide for his family as he was poor. Choukri grew with the blood of vengeance and developed a lot of hatred towards his father and decided that one he would kill his murderous father. He fantasized about it and dated back events until the ultimate death of his father. Another example is Isa's mother who was taken advantage by his father as he was just a maid. She did not have any wealth and hence was easy to manipulate, and this was a key reason as to why she did not have any say even when his father was rejecting her son and going under so much suffering. Hence creating bad blood between Isa and his father and killing his dreams which he had been so ambitious about before.

Moreover, many other sources can be used to be able to understand and analyze this narrative effectively which include history books. They play a key role in describing the effects of poverty, replicas of ancient artworks, and reviews of research that describe how in a social setting various factors can play a great role in influencing the livelihood of the community and how its diverse effects that affect it.

Finally, it is clear that for a peaceful and harmonious community there must be a lot of factors to be considered key among them the issue concerning the rich and the poor. The issue has escalated to heights which have brought about a lot of pressure in the society, and certain measures must, therefore, be highly considered if the issue is to be rectified. The issues have been stated and well explained in the better part of the essay creating a clear understanding especially to the layman. Therefore addressing the said issues can be of great importance to individuals and society.

The outline for this essay will help you understand it better. The secondary characters have a huge role to play in the making ensure we understand the book better. However, in this case, they have not been taken so much into account; therefore, influencing their role in the book.

In the first paragraph, the writer does not show the role played by Isa's father in parenting and focuses on his weaknesses. However, they focus on how he rejected his Kid without explaining why.

In the second paragraph, it's about how the writer fails to show the agony of parenting such as watching your kids die and also go hungry. Choukri's father had to undergo all this, yet the book does not show all this as a problem.

The third paragraph I emphasized the role of the mother in society especially Isa's and how her role is not brought out in the book. Therefore impacting the role of the main character as we do not feel she has any role in parenting. There is also a focus on the theme, object, and motif.

The fourth paragraph I seek to focus on the main characters in both novels which happen to be Isa and Choukri and how their role affect the secondary characters while influencing the reader's opinion.

The fifth paragraph is all about the setting of both books, where they take place and the characters of the book and the role they play in the book. It shows how the book secludes the secondary characters while focusing on the main character.

The sixth paragraphs focus on the similarities between both books and the less role played by secondary characters in both,

The seventh paragraph is on a general question which comes into my mind, and in this case, I focus on the role played by poverty in shaping the society today.

The eighth paragraph is about the role played by the rich and the poor in society and how their differences affect even future generations.

The ninth paragraph is on the impact of the differences and highlighting the social problems of the society while showing how things could have been different if the secondary characters had played their role better.

The next paragraph is about the role played all the characters in proving my hypothesis right, showing clear examples from the book.

The last paragraph I analyze how other sources can be used to affect my understanding of the book I a perfect way.

The book does not bring out the role of the secondary characters into play, therefore, affecting the impact it would have had on the reader. The book, therefore, should bring out the role of secondary characters more.

Bibliography

Alsanousi, Saud. The Bamboo Stalk. Education City, Doha: Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing, 2015.

Choukri, Mohamed. For Bread Alone. Translated by Paul Bowles. San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1973.