Mahmoud Darwish and Ghassan Kanafani - Book Report/Review Example

Darwish and Kanafani Introduction Mahmoud Darwish was a poet with Palestinian decent who was also a remarkable author who died in 2008 at the age of sixty-seven. His remarkable writing ability made him win numerous awards for his contribution in being the nationally acknowledged poet. He was also a devoted member of the Israeli Communist Party before embarking on the support of Palestinian Liberation Organization based in Beirut. Ideally, Mahmoud perceived that his poetry would change the view of Palestine by the Arabs through provocative writing. On the other hand, Ghassan Kanafani was a popular leader of the Front for Palestine Liberation Movement who died after an alleged assassination in 1972. At the time of his demise, he was thirty-two where he died alongside his niece in a car bomb explosion. In essence, the two leaders had much in common, as they both sought to liberate themselves from Arab prejudice and degradation through the use of poetry and literature. Therefore, this essay will delve on the roles of the two literature gurus through the analysis of their written works of literature. Further, it will highlight the ways in which the writers managed to arouse their reader’s dissatisfaction on the state of affairs in Palestine. Outline Contrary to common belief, literature may also serve as a channel of addressing societal ills facing a society as significantly shown by Mahmoud Darwish and Ghassan Kanafani. Ideally, the two have numerous similarities in their works of literature despite one concentrating on poetry while the other focused on novels. Remarkably, the two writers lived in exile away from Palestine because of their involvement in pinpointing the ills subjected by the Israelis. Their quest was on ensuring that the rights of the average Palestinian had meaning to Israel and the world at large. Further, the two focused on making Palestine a free state rather than falling under the authority of Israel. Their works focused on freedom to which they needed to achieve to the latter at no matter cost. They were not afraid to express themselves and opinions of others despite the threats involved. The rest of this essay will zone in on their literal works and their contribution to the liberation process of Palestine. Mahmoud Darwish poetry Darwish suffered intensely during his literature carrier, as he could not re-enter Israel after he had gone to study in the Soviet Union in the republic of Russia. This happened in 1973, but he later came back to Israel in 1995 to attend a close friend’s burial. He had many restrictions put against him because of the significant influence he had on the Palestine population to fight for their place in society. The poet published at least thirty volumes of poetic articles and another eight novels. In addition, his poetic works spread all over the Arabic speaking region because of the message embedded in the poems that elicited various reactions. However, his work also managed to draw admirers from the Arab world to which he received a state resembled funeral in Ramallah (Mansson 23). In essence, he struggled to embrace the constitution and also expressed the national desires and feelings of the nation. To many, his literature was the voice of the Palestinians and portrayed the Palestinian vision of being free from Arab oppression. In addition, his work, while he was a live was a sense of possible salvation from the long suffering experienced by many Palestinians in the West Bank. Sequentially, Darwish was a unifying factor because he expressed the hope of a better tomorrow for the Palestine community. On the contrary, the poet’s grave faced Jerusalem to which he had for a long time hoped that it would be the nation’s capital, a dream that he did not live long enough to see it mature. This dream was present in many of his poems as he yearned for the day that the state would be free to govern itself (Mansson 24). Overly, his intense critic of the Israeli government earned him numerous detentions in the sixty’s that led him into self-imposed exile in the year 1970. In his honor, one of his poems acquired an English translation to the title memory for Forgetfulness in 1995. This poem highlighted the invasion of Lebanon in 1982 by the Israelis and his life in Beirut. His poems were rich in minority liberation messages that castigated the realities of the ill facing the Palestine society at the time. Sequentially, his poems became part of the learning curricular in Palestine where the legacy of the poet trickled down to the young generation through learning. Ideally, the poet always had the right words to depict the quest for Palestine into being a state by its own hence making him acquire a place in the hearts of the Palestinians. Additionally, he was a political poet whose ambitions did not die after his actual death. His life characterized the actual lives of the Palestinians to whom they were either in exile or had experienced alienation because of their decent. Further, he had undoubted skills to which he managed to intermarry hope and despair that only an experienced poet could strike the balance. Essentially, he openly criticized the Israeli oppression in his public readings while also attempting to fit in the Jewish normalcy. According to his poem Write down: I am an Arab, Darwish portrayed how the Palestinians had grown tired of having to beg at the doorsteps of the Israelis (Petreet 73). This insinuated that they wanted to make their own decisions rather than forever falling under the control of their masters. Further, his poetry also focused on the theme of his homeland because of the way that he had lived in exile for along time. He lived in exile in Cairo, Paris, Moscow, and some other Arab cities in a period of twenty five years. Ironically, his beliefs led to him quitting his job as an editor at the PLO journal because of the Oslo agreement (Finkelstein 172). In essence, the agreement saw the break of enmity between Yitzhak Rabin and the then head of Palestine Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat. Bill Clinton witnessed the signing of the agreement that sealing was through a momentous handshake. In effect, the accord saw the redrawing of the geographical and political map of the Middle East. In essence, Darwish opposed this accord because of the fact that it still allowed Israel to have control over the West Bank and the Gaza strip to which he wanted liberalization. This was the main reason why he quit the organization because it did not stand for the ideals that he had in mind. However, the accord served as a seize fire between the Palestinians and Israelis. Ghassan Kanafani’s Men in the Sun On the other hand, Ghassan also led a politically controversial life mainly because he started political rebellion while back in college. The writer lacked proper identification papers that led to him going under on several occasions. He devoted his time and political knowledge to Palestinian movements that he merged with his incredible writing skills. He believed that the only way within which the achievement of a solution to the constant Palestine problem was a social revolt. Ideally, his most acclaimed publication was the novel Men in the Sun, which was his first publication. The story line was that of three Palestinian refugees travelling from refugee camps in Lebanon to Kuwait (Massad 333). The three are not able to attain equity employment in Lebanon to sustain hence travel to Kuwait in search of better pastures in the oil-producing republic. Their ride in to this nation is not a smooth one as they plan to gain entry through smuggling themselves in to the country through the help of a clerk and a driver. The driver ferries them across numerous check points to which the three hide in an empty water tank carried at the back of the truck. However, the trouble that the driver undergoes turns to be unrewarding as he realizes that the three refugees died because of the poor surviving conditions at the back of the track. In essence, this novel describes the kind of life Palestinians experience that leads them into engaging in risky endeavors to break free of suffering. It also highlights the state of insecurity that exists in Palestine that has led to the establishment of various refugee camps. Further, the novel shows the corruption that exists in order for one to survive in this Arab led state and the rotten political fiber that exists between the Palestinians and the Arabs. Essentially, his agitation of the true state of political affairs within Palestine could have been the reason behind his assassination as he tried to bring this fact to the world’s attention. The writer suggests that a progressive future not only lies in the Palestinians being escapists, but also lies in them staying behind to rebuild their home. Further, how the three men die at the end shows that the Palestinians could not freely move to other nations without the subjection to possible resistance. For instance, the three opt to travel in the water tank rather than a bus because they lacked finances do so and also lacked proper documentation that could allow them to access other nations without becoming possible terrorism suspects. Sequentially, Kanafani’s intentions were that the world would stop being content with the rising cases of refugee existence in Palestine and stop viewing it as normal. Additionally, Men in the Sun also showed the poverty levels of Palestinians in that they were not comfortable with their financial state hence making them want out. In summary, Ghassan was a political activist to which he represented the plight of the peasants who had no voice to air their grievances. He chose to use literature as an avenue to highlight the plight of the suffering Palestinians rather than stay back and watch as his people suffered without him doing nothing (Massad 75). In this regard, the Israeli Mossad militia claimed involvement in his assassination, which was an avenue of permanently silencing Ghassan. Ideally, the deaths of the two leaders did not serve as the end to public outcry by the Palestinians to liberate themselves, but the two leaders played significant roles in ensuring that their voices got the attention of those intended. The two are heroes because they were selfless because they participated in making Palestine their desired home through the use of literature as a provocative tool. Works Cited Finkelstein, Norman G. Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict. London: Verso, 2003. Print. Mansson, Anette. Passage to a new wor(l)d: exile and restoration in Mahmoud Darwish’s writings 1960-1995. Indiana Uppsala Universitet press 2003. Print. Massad, Joseph A. Desiring Arabs. Chicago: University of Chicago press, 2007. Print. Peteet, Julie. Landscape of Hope and Despair: Palestinian Refugee Camps. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006. Print. Read More