Kanafani, Ghassan. Men in the Sun.
Kanafani, Ghassan. Men in the Sun. Lynne Rienner Publishers; Boulder, CO, 1999.Ghassan Kanafani's 1962 work Men in the Sun features three Palestinian refugees of different generations en route to what they believe will amount to relative freedom and prosperity in Kuwait. Many Palestinians have sought lives beyond the refugee camps, some attaining prominence as advocates in Europe and the Americas, but Kanafani's protagonists lack such lofty ambitions. The aging Abu Qais, frustrated Assad and young Marwan are Everyman characters, seeking only jobs, food and perhaps better lives for their children. A deeply textured, moving literary work emerges as the men smuggle themselves across borders towards a common fate. Though Kanafani's story is one of political disenfranchisement and suffering imposed by political powers, he avoids alienating readers through ideological rhetoric. The context to Men in the Sun is a widely understood (or at least fairly easily referenced) one, and educated readers would likely find any gratuitous background information contained in the story to be redundant. As the issues surrounding the conflict remain contentious and often divisive, the assumption of a didactic tone would turn off readers not
The message is not an implicit exoneration of Israel, of course, but it dismantles the starkly bipolar structure in which the conflict is often presented. Through this personal, rather than political, approach, any reader hurt by betrayal, falsehood, loneliness or despair will find themselves identifying with a story created by and about Palestinians. Smuggler Abul Khaizuran's account of a traumatic wartime injury that rendered him infertile recalls the rampant rape of women during wartime, perhaps most notably and systematically in Bosnia. The ongoing political and military crises (and increasing American involvement) make this book relevant not only for students of Middle Eastern studies, but for all politically conscientious people who seek a plurality of views with regard to conflict in the Middle East. It also, in a sense, echoes the situation of European Jews during the Holocaust, when restricted entrance to unoccupied European states (and the United States) propelled mass immigration to Palestine even among non-Zionists. already sympathetic to Kanafani's outspoken pan-Arabism and socialist viewpoint. or was his voice lost in his throat" (Kanafani, 53). Men in the Sun presents the various factors within the Arab world that enable Palestinian marginalization. He provides a window into the internal conflict of Palestinian refugees after the Israeli victory - to remain and struggle for political emancipation, or to seek material security elsewhere for the sake of one's family. Kanafani, who wrote the story while underground in Lebanon, does not comment on the strategic motivations for this, but explicitly demonstrates the consequences of this policy. Kanafani also presents the harsh reality of Palestinian exploitation by other Palestinians. Kanafani primarily intends to bring Palestinian suffering to the forefront of the Arab-Israeli debate - to put names and histories to faceless refugees and to put their suffering in the context of Arab political and social divisions. This dilemma is approached through the experiences of three generations and reflected upon by Abu Qais, who recalls Ustaz Selim, a friend who valiantly defended his school and died a martyr.
Common topics in this essay:
Abul Khaizuran's,
Marwan Everyman,
Palestinians Sun,
European United,
Palestinians Traditionally,
Assad Marwan's,
Ghassan Kanafani's,
Ustaz Selim,
Middle Eastern,
Kuwait Palestinians,
abu qais,
palestinian refugees,
refugee camps,
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Acceptance Essays
