The Power of Identity - Research Paper Example

Power Of Identity Introduction Egypt is a widely famous country because of its tourist attractions sites like the pyramidsand many other beauties. However, behind the facade of beauty and historical monuments lie a sector that has not been formalized by the government. This is the garbage collection department. Apart from the inefficient electricity and bad traffic, the government has not been able to align the garbage collectors who are called Zabaleen or Zabal in Egypt. Although the garbage collection department has not been formalized by the government, it is very efficiently managed by the garbage collectors and in these case garbage collectors in Cairo the capital city of Egypt. The Zabaleen are not paid or paid whenever the house owner feel like but somehow it is the only department that has no failures like the rest of the services in Cairo. This is because the Zabaleen perform their duties without fail and at before dawn making the service invisible but very efficient and almost free of charge. Peter Hessler wrote an article titled tales of the trash: a neighborhoodgarbage man explains modern Egypt. It was written as aletter fromCairo on the 13th of October 2014 issue. This paper will discuss six themes observed in the tales of the trash: a neighborhoodgarbage man explains modern Egypt. In addition, the paper will connect the identified themes to the lives of the people in the article. The six themes identifiedare religion, culture, inequality, self-determination, power and ego. Brief summary of tales of the trash: a neighborhoodgarbage man explains modern Egypt This lettertalks about a man named Sayyid Ahmed who is a Zabaleen or garbage collector. He is illiterate and his only job is collecting garbage. He works for efficiently even without pay and thus provide a remarkably efficient recycling service in Cairo. He find many things in his work as a garbage collector and instead of finding out what they are on his own he enlists the help of the people with whom he collects their garbage. He does this because he is illiterate just like many people in Cairo. Furthermore, he has friends in high places who grant him favors when he runs into trouble. He is well mannered and whenever he is aguest somewhere he carries away his empties which are always beer bottles since he knows he will collect them the following day anyway. Thus he is a very curious man who yearns from people who are literate and learned like ambassadors. Themes Religion Religion can be defined as the structured assembly of beliefs that are used as guidance in the lives of human beings(Kunin& Miles-Watson, 2006). Religion is one of the pillars of many people lives in the society. Many people live their lives following the doctrines of their stipulated religions. Somepeople identify with certain religions from their outward appearances while some are more reserved. Some religions are strict and cult like while some are simple and straight forward. However, everybody has the right to attend whichever religion they dim fit for themselves and their lives. It is among the fundamental rights of any human being to possess the right to be involved in any religion, thus freedom of religion. Some religion seem to make life difficult and somewhat boring in that they preach against some form of dressing codes, some types of food, drinks or some fun stuff like alcohol and cigarettes. Some are even thorough and have laws that look at the way in which its followers can plan their families or even the use of modern medicine or even visiting hospitals. Each religion has its own symbols, histories, rules, and sacred days and sacred means of living pertaining to however they worship or look up to as their leader. Each religion has a unique name for its God and the commandments issued by their God. Furthermore, each religion has their own narratives on how creation was done, how human beings came to be and how the universe operates. For example,Hindus believe that there is karma and reincarnation(Berkey, 2002). Yet other religion like Christianity do not believe in such things and believes that for any sin committed if one repents he is forgiven and people do not come back after they are dead. In fact they are not born again into this world but into Gods beautiful word called paradise hence do not believe in reincarnation. The theme of religion is witnessed in the garbage collector called Sayyid. Peter the writer of the letter is the one that brings up the topic of religion as pertains to Sayyid. This means that although peter is not a Muslim thus does not believe in the Islam religion, he knows some of their operative laws. He says that although Sayyid is a Muslim just like nearly the whole of Egypt, whenever he visits him he asks for beer. Thus suggests that Muslims are prohibited from consuming beer and all alcoholic drinks in general. This prohibition from consuming alcoholic drinks is kind of stifling people since even though Sayyid takes beer he is not a bad person. In fact he still does his work better than other people. In this manner it is observed that peter and other non-Muslims have freer lifestyles due to their religion. This set of rules is not good and Sayyid knows that is why although he is Muslim he consumes beer. If Sayyid does consume beer in private than other Muslims must be doing it too but pretend in public and in their mosques. This brings another angle to religion which is hypocrisy. Religion is tough and people cannot always follow the rules but pretend to follow the rules just like Sayyid. On the other hand it is evidenced from the letter that peter might not be a religious man since even his profession says so. Peter himself states in the letter that he’s expertise ranges from foreign things to sex productsto alcohol(Wiley, 2011). There is no religion on earth that would allow such manner of profession to be identified with it. Culture Culture is a people way of living and varies with every community(Throsby, 2003). Different cultures have different ways of doing certain things in the society. Infact each society has things they support or do not support. Some cultures insist on a particular dressing mode, particular food cooking styles or just the general way of life. However, most cultures have been influenced by western cultures till their original cultures have been eroded by this assimilation. The Islamic culture does not support education as much as othercultures do. In fact, Islam culture is cultish in a way because it is strictly followed and its people are devout followers thus many do not attend school. The Islam culture does not support nor encourage education especially for female gender as they see it as a way in which will make women start competing with men. The dysfunctional system of the Egyptian government is partly caused by lack of education by people as portrayed in the letter. In the letter by peter, peter states that Sayyid was illiterate just like more than a quarter of adults Egyptians(Wiley, 2011). This culture is reducing young people with good brains like Sayyid into doing small time jobs like garbage collection because Sayyid seems like a brainy person and his only problem is lack of education. Inequality Inequality is the difference in position or status in the society(Nganga, 2011). There are many different types of inequality which are social inequality, economic inequality and mathematical inequalities. Social inequality is where socially one individual is superior to the other for example it is a common notion that men have higher social standings than women thus there is social inequality between men and women. Economic inequality is the difference in wealth and riches between people in the society, which is the difference between the poor and the rich in the society. Inequality has brought about a huge gap between different classes in the society in that each class does not want to mix with the other class. The class with this kind of opinions is the rich and wealthy in the society. The rich peoplealways look down upon the poor in the society and treat them with disdain and disrespect. They always feel the poor do not deserve the best things in life and should always remain poor. The rich also feel that poor people are a burden to the society and this is evidenced by the low standards of services and infrastructure that poor people receive even from the country’s government. It has been observed in any country that infrastructure that are meant for the rich or are in the rich people proximity are always functioning, are the best and the rich alwaysreceive fast and quality treatment to their distress calls. For example in an instance that there is a fire break out in a low class residence the fire fighters always arrive after the fire has destroyed almost everything. In some instances they find the fire has been put out by the ordinary people. This is not the case when the same incidence happens at a high class residence as the firefighters are very prompt in answering the distress calls. Thus inequality breeds contempt and bitterness amongst the different social and economic classes. Social inequality is witnessed when for example a woman and a man are vying for a political seat in a workplace or political seats. The man is mostly given dominance over the woman simply for being a man and people vote with this in mind and they always vote men in the seats. Inequality is observed in the landlady who gives out her house to peter. The landlady tells peter to throw his deposit his garbage through the fire escape at any time. Furthermore, she tells peter to use any type of disposal bag he likes and that there is not pick up of garbage schedule. In addition, peter was told by the landlady to give peter any money he deemed proper for his services in fact he could opt not topay the Zabaleenanything if itpleased him(Wiley, 2011). The way the landlady gives peter instructions on how he should treat the Zabaleen is an obvious way of saying peter is a high class individual while Sayyid the is a low class individual whose payment lies with the boss’ mood and generosity of heart. It does not matter how good the Zabaleen will perform his duty his pay is nothing or upon the boss’ generosity to him out of pity or whatever peoples him to pay the Zabaleen. On the other hand, peter, since he is high class than the Zabaleen, gets to do as he pleases with garbage. He uses disposal bags that he chooses like bags, boxes or simply just throws away loose garbage on the floor outside only to find it has been cleaned up by the Zabaleen without a fee. In addition inequality is witnessed by the fact that there is a door specifically made for the Zabaleen alone. This is because it is like he should never use the door that the high class people are using or that the Zabaleen should not meet or disturb the high class people when he comes to collect garbage. This is social and economic inequality that Sayyid experiences. Inequality is observed in the way Sayyid finds re sale values in things that other people, the rich, call garbage. An example is the drugs from china; sex pills form Egypt and pornographic books. Self determination Self-determination is the ability to push oneself without need of supervision from another person to reach set heights and goals in life(Deci& Ryan, 2002). A self-determined individual is an individual who is at a low position in the society but strives on his own standards and will to reach higher either in education or in financial freedom.Self-determination is a psychological state of mind that one sets for themselves without force or coaxing from outsiders that is no external influence is needed to push one into self-determination(Ghanea-Hercock, Xanthaki&Thornberry, 2005). It is an innate psychological phenomenon that drives an individual to achieve his life’s desires or ambitions. A self-determined man can be said to be ambitious in that his inner desires propel him to heights unimaginable. A self-determined individual is not lazy but rather hard working because they are usually in a low position in life or in an uncomfortable place which they desire to come out of and this sense alone cannot allow them to be free or lazy. For example a man who is from a poor background and probably has no father who takes care of his daily and basic needs can decide to be self-determined. Maybe he has a mother and many siblings who all live in the same pathetic situation with lack of all basic needs like food, clothes, shelter and education. In an instance where a Good Samaritan decides to provide this man with his basic needs and even gives him an education his poor background and his family back home that are all looking at him will drive him to become self-determined. He will work extremely hard in school to attain the best grades and possibly obtain a scholarship because one can never fully rely on an individual who is generous and good hearted. Thus getting a scholarship will ease the burden on the philanthropist’s shoulders. Moreover, getting a scholarship will man going to the best schools on the said scholarship and a guarantee of good certificates on completion of the course. This will mean a good job which will be used to help the poverty stricken family back home. Such an individual cannot sit around and wait for supervision to do his orher homework or any job that will assure him of his future he automatically becomes self-determined. In tales of the trash: a neighborhood garbage man explains modern Egypt, self-determination is observed in the garbage collector called Sayyid Ahmed. Even though he is not on any government contract or formal job he strives to make something out of his life by becoming an efficient garbage collector in Cairo. His job does not pay nor does he have any formal education buthe strives to run one of the most efficient municipal recycling networks in the world. He is self-determined because he does his work effectively and efficiently without nay supervisionfrom his boss since as stated from the letter, we see Peter Hessler saying that he has been receiving an invisible service for three months because Sayyid does his work before dawn. The fact that Sayyid does his work before dawn means that he wakes up very early in his own accord to collect as many garbage as he can to ensure the recycling firm is functional. The second thing that shows that peter if self-determined is that he does his work without having to see his master around. In fact he does not even ask for pay since he knows it is not a government job but his privately owned job. Finally, Sayyid is self-determined in that he is not learned and does not know the value of many of the things he thinks are valuable. He therefore strives to know the value, authenticity or meaning of the things he collects from his work that he does not dispose of to the recycling firm. Sayyid has learnt the power of identity in that he has learnt his weaknesses and shortcomings. He then uses the things he has or can achieve to aid him in reaching where he wants because Sayyid seems to be on the know-how of so many things that illiterate people like him do not know. For example he reads bank documents of the dead ambassador and knows the exact amount of money he has in his account. Power Power is the ability of an individual to control people and influence things in the society(Greene, 2000). People have a greed for power and can do anything for power. Many countries are unstable because everybody wants power yet they need the power for selfish reasons other than aiding the country and boosting its economy. They need the power to enrich themselves and their families for all eternity(Farrell, 1996). In tales of the trash, Cairo is a big city with approximately seventeen million people. Yet in three years there have been three constitutions, three presidents, four prime ministers and over seven hundred Member of Parliament(Wiley, 2011). With all these changes Cairo is still a dysfunctional city with bad traffic, excessive blackouts, cancelled trains and lack of bottled water since a company cannot be re-opened fast enough after a disaster. It is an obvious expectation that with the rotation of power in different hands at least the city can have better facilities and infrastructure but that is not the case in Egypt. Peter states that Egypt does not function well. Even making a critical decision of formalizing a vital department of garbage collection to aid in cleanliness of the city is lacking. Ego Ego is what gives each person their personalities(Ausubel, 1996). For example people with big egos tend to be proud individuals while people with small egos tend to be introverts. Thus ego determines aperson’s personality and their way of life. People with big egos sometimes make mistakes because their egos cannot allow them to humble themselves low enough to ask for assistance while people with small egos can sometimes prevail since they are not proud enough to refuse defeat or lack of knowledge. Though some introverts fails for the same reason that is they lack the ability or confidence to ask for assistance as they always feel small. In the letter it is clear that Sayyid does not have egos problems of being proud. He is illiterate like most people in Cairo but he is humble enough not to use or throw away ‘garbage’ that he thinks might be of value to him or for the recycle firm. Therefore, he asks for help from people who are literate and knows how to read. In fact peter states that Sayyid had informally recruited people who helped whim with his illiteracy problems like the proprietor of H freedom, a small corner kiosk or the man who sells government subsidized bread. Conversely, peter does not have a big ego either since he takes his time to read and explain to Sayyid the writings on medicine bottles. Sayyid stops frequently with questions and he patiently answers them. He even invites him to his house at night and offers him beer unlike what other rich people would do to poor people. Conclusion The letter by peter Hessler tales of the trash: a neighborhood garbage man explains modern Egypt is indeed self-explanatory of how Egypt runs. The six themes identified are prevalent in the letter. These themes include the theme of religion, culture, inequality, self-determination, power and ego. References Ausubel, D. P. (1996).Ego development and psychopathology. New Brunswick, N.J: Transaction Books. Berkey, J. P. (2002). The formation of Islam religion and society in the Near East, 600-1800. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2002).Handbook of self-determination research. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press. Farrell, W. (1996).The myth of male power: Why men are the disposable sex. New York: Berkley. Ghanea-Hercock, N., Xanthaki, A., & Thornberry, P. (2005).Minorities, peoples, and self- determination: Essays in honour of Patrick Thornberry. Leiden: MartinusNijhoff Publishers. Greene, R. (2000). The 48 laws of power. London: Profile Books. Kunin, S. D., & Miles-Watson, J. (2006).Theories of religion: A reader. New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press. Nganga, T. W. K. (2011). Institutions and gender inequality: A case study of the Constituency Development Fund in Kenya. Addis Adaba: Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA. Throsby, D. (2003). Economics and culture. Cambridge (UK: Cambridge University Press. Wiley, J. (2011).The Power of Identity: The Information Age. Print. Read More