Issues Emphasized on Fadia Faqir's Novel "Pillars of Salt"

Response Paper
Name of Student:
Name of College:
Date: Synopsis
Faqir’s novel, Pillars of Salt, is one of the violent novels written in the history of Middle East particularly during the colonial period. The storyteller opens the novel with a mixture of fact fable. The story in this novel develops and narrows down to women’s experience and rights in the Arabian country of Middle East. The novel illustrates the disparate juxtaposition between masculinity and femininity. The storyteller explores the traditional roles of men and women in society during the period after independence.
In this novel, Faqir pays particular attention to the inheritance rights, lack of representation of women in important matters of society. The author also emphasizes on the issues of female mobility, westernizing or colonial forces, and cultural preservation and modernization tensions among other themes.
This story also captures two women Maha and Um Saad. These women are strangers at first but they later get used each and are seen to be sharing a lot from their life experiences. The two women meet during the British Rule in a mental hospital where they are roommates. The two women share a lot of experience which is seen to develop for the better part of the story.
Analysis
Faqir’s Pillars of Salt comes at a time when the British have just finished ruling over the Arabian country of Middle East. Women activists are up in arms yearning for the emancipation of their fundamental rights. In the development of this novel, the storyteller detaches himself from the politics of the Arabs because of his half-Arab nature. However, it comes out that the storyteller is not happy whatsoever about the British rule.
The storyteller uses the Balfour Declaration to bring out another political dimension in his views. He use the Balfour Declaration to portray a very negative political perspective especially to the colonial rule. The story about two women is used to expose the claimer for women representation in societal matters. The juxtaposition between femininity and masculinity further exposes the male chauvinism Arabian community. This is shortly after the English has left the Arabian country.
Maha as a woman is portrayed a sharp sword because of fearless and fierce nature. The manner is Maha defends Harb proves her fierce tendencies. She even threatens that she’d drink the blood of any man who ever wounds Harb. Maha gets upse...