Analysis of Works of Literature Jesus Loves Me by Eli Evans and Zaabalawi by Naguib Mahfouz - Essay Example

Quote: “We’re far more connected to other people than our society encourages us to realize. We’re taught to think of ourselves asseparate beings, but we’re part of a people, part of a history, part of each other”. The two works of literature, “Jesus Loves Me” by Evans, Eli and “Zaabalawi” by Mahfouz, Naguib best embody the above quote. The society has caused the two main characters in the two stories much confusion in life, since the characters are searching for the essence and meaning of life through others when it is too late, having been encouraged by the society to live as separate people, yet in the end they find the world interconnected.

Sonny Evans is the major character in the work “Jesus Loves Me” by Evans, Eli, whom is constantly seeking to gain the understanding of the value of Christianity and its value in Jesus. The question, “why don’t you believe in Jesus?” faces him at school, in the playground, at parties and even in meeting with either friends or strangers (Evans, 122). Despite being born and raised as a Jew, Sonny Evans is unable to avoid the Jesus question throughout his lifetime. At Grammar school, Sony Evans is confronted by the Jesus question through being required to participate in the normal prayer and hymn sessions of the school assembly where Jesus is the main theme, despite being taught not to believe in Jesus by his parents.

The same proceeds for the Easter and the Christmas holidays, which often made him left out when the Christians were celebrating the holidays. It is only in the end, when Sony Evans finds it prudent to stop fighting the idea of Jesus and Christianity, since it would not just go away by declaring, “It was just that I didnt know about them and would have to learn” (Evans, 135). The same confusion is experienced by the narrator in the work “Zaabalawi” by Mahfouz, Naguib, who has set on a journey to search for the elusive Zaabalawi, who is a “true saint of God” who removes worries and troubles (Mahfouz, 111).

Despite the fact that the father of the character had a previous encounter with the saint, he did not care to teach his son on the value of being connected to him. In this respect, the narrator was taught by the society to live a separate life from others, only to realize that such people really mattered to him. The father of the narrator enlisted the help of Zaabalawi in order to escape living and dying miserably. However, he did not teach the narrator to connect with Zaabalawi, leaving the narrator full of confusion regarding who exactly Zaabalawi was, and where he could be found.

Thus, the narrator is left searching for the saint in vain when the need arises, despite the fact that he had encountered him once, but was too drunk to notice (Mahfouz, 118). In conclusion therefore, the society both in the story “Jesus Loves Me” and “Zaabalawi” has taught the characters to live as separate beings that are not connected fully with the rest, only for them to realize later that they actually needed to be interconnected. In the end, the characters have come to realize that they are part of a people, a history and most importantly, a part of each other.

However, they have learnt it the hard way, since the society did not bring them up interconnected with the people. Works Cited Evans, Eli N. “Jesus Loves Me.” The Provencials: A Personal History of Jews in the South. Chapel Hill: U of NC P, 2005. 115 – 35. Print. Mahfouz, Naguib. “Zaabalawi.” Literature: The Human Experience. 9th ed. Ed. Richard Abcarian and Marvin Klotz. Boston: Bedford, 2006. 111 – 19. Print