A Review of Cities of Salt and Running in the Family - Essay Example

?Insert A Review of “Cities of Salt” and “Running in the Family” Arguably a pioneer of the modern Arab literature, “Cities of Salt” is an interesting novel by Abd al-Rahman Munif whose publication in the twentieth century has attracted a wide readership from across the world. Munif focuses the story on the exploration of oil close to a tiny, far-flung urban Wadi in the Middle East. The story then traces the movement of the community as they lose their native home and resources to agents of Western civilization, which have created a new regime of technology-based culture and the local economy. Michael Ondaatje’s "Running in the Family" is also an interesting memoir chronicling experiences of life in Sri Lanka. The story traces the life of his ancestors throughout history in an immensely personal, yet culturally interesting manner. Throughout the book, readers are treated to an array of rich poetry and the imaginativeness of a novelist. The text has captivating imagery, unrivalled narration of the story coupled in settings that naturally creates a sense of humor. Ondaatje narrates how he was persuaded to move to Sri Lanka rejoin his kin and have an insider’s eye in tracing his family roots. The memoir was informed by an elusive a dream of a bright bone (Munif 202). These memories, the aura and sounds of his native land persuaded him to return home and capture the massive, interesting history in words. This paper explores how humor is used to raise questions about the characters, situations and themes in both texts. In “Cities of Salt”, Munif employs a unique structure of writing which deviates from the traditional development of a story around a protagonist or a group of characters. He ingeniously fills the gap of the lack of characters by throwing in explosive humor to the plot. The destruction of Wadi in the initial accounts of the story, followed by the urban neighborhood of Harran, the latter of which transforms massively from a quiet, remote place to a busy oil town that is complete with a fenced-off American neighborhood and a slum inhabited by Arabs satirically raises the interesting outcomes of the Western civilization in the 20th century Arab world. The laying of different forms of infrastructure, which links Wadi to the coastal town of Harran, symbolizes tremendous development in the town, even though “Haran had not changed completely” (Munif 313). In light of these developments, Munif humorously presents his major targets in the story. Despite the common belief that the American influence counts as one of these targets, he satirically dodges the presence of the foreigners by depicting them as aloof to the local culture by virtue of their literal confinement to the fenced-off neighborhood (Munif 81). The local Arab elite are depicted as ignorant of the pressing issues that affect their people due to their mesmerism by the American resources. For instance, towards the end of the book, Munif satirically depicts the Harran’s leadership as blind and easily fooled by trivial things like an American telescope and radio. Munif (288) portrays these technology items as playing an important role in the subsequent incursion of the foreigners into the society’s very core, a development that results in the society losing its vital unity of Harran and fundamental Islamic principles and beliefs. How the local core values were lost is simply laughable. The realistic stories surrounding the lives of the Americans and the Arab kleptocracy is embedded on satire. Munif (330) manages to reveal these previously untold stories in a humorous and more captivating manner to the readers than the gloomy portrayals of the local peasants who were forced to migrate to shantytowns by the foreigners. As such, irrespective of the side of life one finds themselves in, Munif restates the common fact that economic and technological revolution nearly often creates a miserable life for some people. It is interesting to imagine that key developments that ought to benefit those victims does not always reach them; instead the influential in society are depicted as exploiting the value of such progress through expansion of their own wealth base and status in the society as more and more victims who work harder are forced to suffer due to their forgotten plights. Munif’s depiction of the mediocrity among the influential segment of the Arab society is laughable; his story exposes how the migrant peasants toil in the petroleum industry to ensure successful lives of the higher-end is a reality, but what they get in return for treatment is regrettably akin to that of disposable assets. Ondaatje’s “Running in the Family” On his part, Ondaatje eloquently presents a unique, lyrical, exhaustive personal account of life in Sri Lanka. The portrayal of the geographic features, cultural values and the historical background of the author are ably satirical in nature. Ondaatje constantly revisits the realism of both fair and the unforgiving terrain, weather and disasters that are common to the local population. Scorching heat, rain, deluge, cool shade, impressive animals, colonial buildings and monuments, cuisine, tea plantations, jungle, vegetation and impressive infrastructure are all recounted with a rare sense of humor (Ondaatje 5). In these real and attractive settings, the reader is treated to equally impressive narratives about the living dead in the narrator’s family. The re-telling of these stories by those who were closest to the narrator’s father and maternal grandmother are amazing, poignant. For instance, the depiction of the grandmother’s personality and her love for flowers which prompts her to grace nearly every occasion with flowers that she picks herself is interesting. More laughable is the fact that the old woman’s love for flowers does not reflect in her activities in the recent past; Ondaatje recalls that “in her last decade (she) couldn’t be bothered to grow them” (128). These realistic stories recollected in the small, but sprawling island country that the narrator knew about in his childhood, coupled with some fictional elements is not only electrifying, but entertaining to the readers as well. This rare blend is faithfully reflected in the author’s accounts of fanciful, humorous family stories, dreams, reconstructions and evaluations of the traces of his kin’s history spanning many centuries. This balanced representation accurately transforms the sadness in the recount of losing some members recent generations into an entertaining experience. Whereas some readers may be baffled by the author’s use of several narrators, the strategy tends to add to the entertaining value of the work by giving it different approaches, which generally appeals to almost all readers. Moreover, humor adds to the strength of the character, and the general form of the relatively short memoir. The Ondaatje’s memoir set in Sri Lanka provides a near-first account of the tantalizing experiences that the author’s family had in the hands of the colonial masters. The multicultural legacy that spans many centuries as carried faithfully by people during their migration, conquest and influence is in itself an entertaining aspect of the story that keeps the readers abreast with the exact events that happened before the current generation came to be. Rich literary styles create an illusion on the readers mind and help take them back to the ancient times. For instance, by suggesting that “heat disgraces foreigners”, Ondaatje satirically refers to the negative impacts of underdevelopment, cultural conflict, and the unforgiving weather on the foreigners, who may include the narrator (79). In a nutshell, Ondaatje’s memoir is unique in its formation and presentation. It does not contain the many features that most of them, especially those that revolve around family issues have. The memoir takes the reader on an explorative experience, and allows them to grasp what interests them a lot for there is wide a variety of information and humorous episodes along the way. Issues relating to multiculturalism in a unique Asian society where few writers have ventured into is interestingly laughable to read. Following the close cultural ties between Australia and Sri Lanka, it is entertaining to see how the latter civilization, which closely resembles the American model, prepared the locals for the arrival of the Western influence in the recent years. Conclusion Munif’s “City of Salt” and Ondaatje’s “Running in the Family” are great literary works whose settings, characters, themes, and the storyline are rich with satire. Whereas the Munif takes the readers through a wealth of experience preceding the arrival of the Americans, their stay and the socio-economic and political impacts that their entry brought to the local population, the latter book basically explores the narrator’s family life. Notably, both pieces are rich in satire; humor effectively balances the social, cultural and economic challenges that the local communities went through in the wake of modernity and the challenges that come with it. Works Cited Munif, Abd al-Rahman. Cities of Salt. Pretoria: Cape, 1988. Ondaatje, Michael. Running in the Family. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2009. Xinos, Ilana. Petro-capitalism, petrofiction, and Islamic discourse: the formation of an imagined community in Cities of Salt. Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ), 28.1 (2006): 1. 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