Academic Writing

Melody by Ahdaf Soueif

1989

Name: Tala Hamarneh

ID: 1910250
Course: Writing 3
Instructor: Lama Nusair
Contents
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................................................... 2
INTRODUCTIONS ............................................................................................................................................ 2
METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................. 3
LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................................................................... 4
ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................................................................ 5
THE RESULTS .................................................................................................................................................. 8
THE CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................................... 8
REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................................10

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ABSTRACT
This paper takes a literary look at the pleasures of dividing cultures and the subject
of no longer belonging. It discusses the situation of expulsion and its results in the
identification of the lady protagonist in a story written with the aid of using Ahdaf KEYWORDS:
Soueif: - Melody- Although, the paper examines the illustration of the East lifestyle
East, West, Identification, Illustration
in the Western belief; the manner linguistic hegemony is devalued through using a
hybridized model of English; and the tool of the minor through the use of the
English tongue as a car for the message of diaspora Arab lady voices and situations.
This paper supposes that Soueif succeeds in portraying an authentic sight of the
impact of the West of expulsion on the intellect of her lady issues, spotlighting the
semi-autobiographical component that's used as a way to explicit a seeking for
identification. The creator additionally follows in writing lower back to the colonial
town in opposition to the hegemonic imperialist discourse. Moreover, the author is
going past postcolonial writing in her literary enterprise as enchantment with
growing techniques to the cutting-edge demanding situations of globalization.

INTRODUCTIONS
Melody is a short story written by Ahdaf Soueif, she is an Egyptian writer. She posted it in a set of
short stories under the title Sandpiper published in 1996. The tale displays a few autobiographical
factors of the writer’s lifestyles that are characterized through early publicity and upbringing in
each of the English cultures and also Egyptian cultures. The component seems to have been
assertive in her highbrow improvement and erudite writings. Moreover, the revel in of intersection
cultures additionally turns into a chief subject in her novel wherein she analyzes the impact of
expulsion on the lifestyles of middle and upper-elegance girls from distinct cultural knowledge.
As such, she plays the position of an intermediate between the East and the West specifically in
Europe, the USA, and the Middle East (Hafsi 2017).
Thus, predicted that one of all her maximum habitual issues is expulsion and its association with
the predicament of identification. Via her textures, the writer concerns with the hunt for
identification in a culture distinct world. Therefore, the unsightly revel in of now no longer
belonging and touching of a flop? Feeling like an exotic, and yearning for a go about again
domestic are examined from distinct stances.
This story offers a perception of the Arab and Western cultures. It conveys the views of Western
and Muslim? lasses as they complete every different and have interaction with the opposite
subculture. Issues that include intercultural meetings, intake, and negative modifications that are

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 Not unusual place studies amongst expatriates are highlighted. The texts reveal the women's
textures’ war through their isolation, passion, and loss in this soaking up tale. Specified research
of this quick tale and the woman topics in this series is a ways past the extent of a single paper.
Thus, the investigator had to be particular and, therefore, centered on tales whose foremost story
is greater immediately pivoted across the identification disaster of Western woman topics: The
story which addresses the strain that ends with defeat or fulfillment at an edition of the woman
man or woman in revamping her identification.
This paper, accordingly, pursuits at presenting a greater slight performance directed at underlining
the identification disaster of those frequently voiceless diaspora woman topics as portrayed
through Soueif in a quick tale: Melody. The tale is worried about the vicinity and removal, and
the hunt and indication of identification inside a culturally oppressive association. The diaspora
culture of Soueif’s novel and the fixation on the methods of creating and stating one's identification
is a forthcoming difficulty this is explored thru this narrative. Soueif’s innovative and essential
component of her novels is obvious; she makes use of her pen to talk up for diaspora woman's
efforts and issues in a postcolonial society; deconstructs colonial discourse and reconstructs
options for it, and offers a not unusual place floor wherein distinct cultures can meet.

METHODOLOGY
The stories that tell about the suffering of a particular community or group of people in which
clarification and explanation are somewhat difficult and require a lot of research and proof, and
sometimes surveys and questionnaires are required to prove the correctness of the information we
have and half of it in its required and correct form. The main problem that I faced while writing
this research paper was to prove the validity of some of the information that was mentioned about
Eastern women, especially Muslim women. The behavior of writing this story was somewhat
provocative, and foreign readers, when reading this story, will take an incorrect and integrated
view of Muslim women and Arab society in general. To solve all these circumstances, I had to
follow a certain methodology to prove the accuracy of some information and deny it. With the best
conclusions from the story, these questions had crossed my mind:

• Why is it always that Muslim women are oppressed and humiliated?

• Why does a Muslim woman do nothing but cooking and cleaning?
• Why is a Muslim woman uneducated?
• Why should a Muslim woman be held accountable for all the misfortunes of the house?

The writer soueif mentioned throughout the events of the story that the Muslim woman is
oppressed in her society and has no sovereignty and is not allowed to express her opinion and
cannot do anything of her desires as a human being and has many rights.

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Equally, she also clarified that the Muslim woman’s job is to arrange her home, cook, take care of
her children, beautify herself for her husband and that her clothes be tidy and smell fragrant, and
if something else happens, insults her and submits to him, and he abuses, denial, and insult, and
she cannot respond because she wants preserving her marriage and that she must do what her
husband wants without objecting.
If something is beneficial or harmful, it does not matter, but the important thing is that the husband
is completely satisfied with her and that he is comfortable in his home and does not cause him any
disturbance or disturb his comfort while he is in the house and that she is compliant with all his
orders no matter what. Moreover, if anything bad happens in the house or a calamity occurs, the
blame will be all on her, and she must bear the responsibility for all that and the extra burden.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Ahdaf Soueif goals are concerned with the lives of Egyptian women from all social strata from the
highest to the least, including Muslims and Christians of all religions, and to reveal the lives of
foreign expatriates of American, Canadian or Turkish nationalities...etc. And the main character
in the short story "Melody" was a Turkish Muslim woman. Engi, who was represented as a slave
by her husband, is called “Inge’s husband (her husband has not returned after that stage)” (Soueif,
1989). The characters grew up under the influence of all the pressures that surround them,
including cultural, political, etc.
In all of Sandpiper's touching stories that talk about women and the homeland, they also talk about
Soueif ability to give the reader a sense of place. It also highlights the challenges of marriage
between and across cultures. Engi, the "main character", is a European-Turkish woman who
marries a man from Egypt. The state and European (Western) thought are completely different
culturally and in many respects from Egyptian (Arab) thought. Engi considers herself a foreigner
to her life because she is accustomed to Western ideas. Therefore, if a woman does not get used to
the beliefs, customs, cultural traditions and language of the new home, her relationship with her
husband can be destroyed and they will end up in the end. (Sanjaqdar, 2017).
The story "Melody" also describes how they keep Muslim women anchoring their lives just to
please I married them in many ways this sentence is poorly structured, as Engy used to do,
including dancing, wearing the best clothes and makeup, preparing food every night and waiting
for her husband to come. (Souief, 1989 ) until her daughter Melody was looking at her and trying
to imitate her when she was playing with Wayne, as the mother was wearing clothes that seemed
strange to her daughter and a little funny, she holds a scarf and begins to dance for her husband.
The topic of education for her daughter Melody was also mentioned as she said,
“Now this is one thing I can do. I did not understand why was the child never sent to school? She
kept it all the time” (Souief, 1989) check your references Among some of the points that draw
attention to this Melody is the amount of attention and accuracy of Souief in describing the woman
the Canadian is blind to her status as being persecuted with her husband.

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 The whole story is surprised by Engi's bizarre way of life. "The way these Muslim women treat
their husbands just makes me sick," she said. "They actually want to be slaves." (Ibid.) The sad
story was talking about the death of the child Melody in the Western Complex. (Salem, 2010).

ANALYSIS
Soueif used the English language as a vital way of expression, regardless of whether she wanted
to convey an idea or a message, or whatever her goal was. It seems that her goal in using the
English language is to bring more Western readers into adding to the Arab readership. In this case,
it also work as a broker between the lifestyle in the Eastern and Western, to give a real picture of
understanding the reason that stand behind the portrayal of Arab women through the means of
discourse Western society as negative and tyrannical. And because the English language is the
common language of the world today and is spread over large areas, it has proven that this language
is not just a means of transportation; it could effects turn out to be a tool of resistance. Also,
English it was stigmatized due to the language of the hector with the useful resource of the usage
of many pundits, it used the equal time as a harpoon in competition against that very pressure.
When made by an author, English changes from the language of authority to a dynamic site of
opposition to the silencing monopoly over the cultural sermon. If altered to healthful the author’s
progressive needs, it pivots into a vehicle for the information of possible cultures and various
voices. Eventually, it will become a robust language for a counter-sermon, with the functionality
to disrupt the preference of metropolitan discourse performed in the famous form of the English
language. Soueif decentralizes the colonial municipality with the useful resource of the usage of
writing decrease lower to the realm in opposition to the imperialistic sermon and energy structures.
In doing so, she revamps originality that has been distorted in the Orientalist discourse about
Eastern women as subordinates. “Melody” is set about the oppression, Abuse women revel in
through patriarchy, the dual requirements machine, site of Muslim ladies in their traditional
societies. Soueif, makes use of flashbacks to allow the reader to narrate modern-day activities to
the beyond ones instead of generating the short story in an unbent order, it is ready in a Gulf Arab
nation and it's far narrated via a collaborating individual: A middle-magnificence Canadian spouse
and mom of a bit boy “Wayne”.
The narrator observes the story of the Turkish woman, Angie, who lost her infant daughter,
Melody, during the accident. It is worth citing that Soueif was putting wealth in a multicultural
situation for the characters who are the ones who come from certain countries so that we can notice
the different cultures, ideas, viewpoints, and how we communicate with each other. The narrator
is from Canada and the protagonist is Angie from Turkey. Lebanese, Egyptians, Filipinos, and
Germans also stay in the mixture. Thus, multiculturalism is a subject matter that shows the richness
of this compound (Hafsi 2017).
The beginning of the short story describes the air with the smell of jasmine in the compound, which
is related to the character of the child who died: -“Scent of jasmine fills the air”- (p. 3)

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Here in this quotation, it shows peace and remedy opposite to the tragic track of the tale. As
mentioned, the amazing jasmine perfume contains the memories of the innocent child Melody,
who passed away very early and was buried near the compound in where they lived. The short
story concludes with, more powerful air with the scent of jasmine as in the beginning of the story:
-“The air seemed fresher and the scent of jasmine was even stronger”- (p.19)
Here it shows that Melody’s heart and reminiscences are greater gifts in the hearts and senses of
the compound’s residents. It shows the disappointment of the narrator senses because, of the
climate and the not allowed for ladies to swimming in the pool:

-“We’re not allowed to use the pool; us women. I mean. It’s only for the kids - and the men of
course. They can use anything. And they do. Use anything I mean.”- (p. 3)

Here in this quotation, she asserts standards and rate method in the Arab society. He underlines
that men can do something opposite to ladies, who have regulations associated with their conduct
and behavior. The narrator is drawn to the story of the Turkish woman, Angie, who lives with her
husband and two kids, Melody and Murat. Angie was unable to adapt to the values and traditions
of the place where she lives with her family. Moreover, she does not model modest dress like the
abaya that every female in that society wears. She does not let her kids go to the regional school
and educates them on her own and pays more attention to her beauty and cooking to keep the
attention of her husband, who is elder than her and is wedded before. Soueif imagines that Angie
is in a paradoxical state because she refuses to appear as a stereotype and model of the humble
traditional Muslim lady, yet she serves the values of Muslim women in terms of subservience and
local character:
-“Quite a bit of eye makeup and her skirt was shorter than you normally see around here”-
(p. 4).
Western women are seen as enlightened, with power over their bodies and lives in general, as well
as the ability to make their own decisions. Soueif’s compares their situation to that of Angie and
the way she lives with her family, and that Angie treats her husband as her master and that she is
a slave to him:
-“The way these Muslim women treat their husbands just makes me ill. They want to be slaves”-
(p. 6)
In addition, Angie wants to have children, but her husband does not want to, forcing her to take
contraceptive pills. On the other hand, the Canadian woman desires more kids, and her husband
refuses to do so, and he performs an operation so that his wife does not become pregnant and to
make sure that she does not deceive him.

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All this superiority in racial and cultural criticism arises through the Indian narrator and Angie,
following their husbands, and abandoning their homelands
To catch up with their husbands to obtain better material income in a foreign country with Western
culture. Part of the story shows that some women from Muslim society keep their only pursuit of
pleasing their husbands. This exaggerated orientalist behavior reinforces the stereotypes of Arab
women as strange and seeking to serve males only. This quote was to show how Melody emulates
her mum when she was playing with Wayne:
-“one of Melody’s favorite games is to sit Wayne down…and start dancing for him…and Wayne
who normally can’t sit still for a minute sits transfixed”- (p.7)

The main event in the story is the horrific demise of the little girl Melody and her mother's
inability to believe it. But the strange thing is that the child’s father has filmed the entire incident
of her death and blames Angie for the death of her child, accusing her of being a not-good mother
and exposing her to emotional and verbal abuse
-“He was a bit weird but I never knew how weird until I heard all that stuff about the camera”-
(p. 10)
Despite this, she’s doesn’t allowed take his son Murat with her, He doesn't trust her because that.
Despite all this, Angie accepts abuse and always seeks to have children, and she resists his request
to silently take the contraceptive pill and not refuse. In addition, she believed in what the
clairvoyant had told her and all her actions were according to what she had heard from him
“Some fortune teller back home said that she would have three children and one would break her
heart.” (p.9).

At the end of the story, it becomes clear that Angie decides to stay in this society for her husband
to obtain a good job qualification at a time when all the neighbors thought that they would leave
because it was suitable for her and the family as well.
“But we don’t understand her. How can she ever cross that road without thinking of Melody?”
(p. 18),
Her husband was always selfish, which forced Angie to stay to maintain the family, and she was
an obedient wife in that, despite the death of her little girl always stuck in her mind despite being
oppressed in many aspects by her husband and her silent resistance to him. In this story, more
than one woman met, but from multiple nationalities and societies, but they were brought together
by similar circumstances. The space of this story is where mixed local and Western cultures
converge but collide ideologically.

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THE RESULTS

In 1989, after the publication of the story of the –Melody- for the goals of Soueif, there was great
persecution of a certain group of Muslim women and making them subject to many things that
they do not want, and even to this day, they are forced to marry while they are minors. But this
does not mean that all Muslim women are persecuted and do not exercise their rights. During the
same period, some Muslim women were educated and had a voice in society in all fields.
I searched a lot in various ways to be able to prove this by reading some books and articles to
prove that Muslim women were special at that time, and this is not new at all because there have
been successful women since time the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings are upon him.
The most famous Muslim women who had a global influence are known to this day, and the most
famous of them are Fatima Al-Fihri, Rabaa Al-Adawiya, Laila Bakhtiari, as well as Shirin Ebadi.
Muslim women are now educated and have professions they work in, and they have rights like
men, and there is no discrimination between them at all, and women are like men, there is no
increase or decrease at all she now holds important and diplomatic positions in all places.

THE CONCLUSION

The topic addressed in this research paper is the oppression of Muslim women in Islamic societies,
and it is one of the most common topics in the modern era. The issue of the persecution of Muslim
women receives most views from Arab and Western politicians and authors. Soueif focused on
the problems of women and how they are weak in front of the prevailing cultural customs and
norms of the society in which they live and believe that they are of lesser importance than men.
She also mentioned the behavior of treating Muslim women in a humiliating manner and making
fun of them because of their clothes. And that the Muslim community does not respect the rights
of women and does not make them exercise their rights such as education and work in several
aspects of life.
She also mentioned the phenomenon of forced marriage, which takes place without her knowledge
or her consent, and if she refuses, this may lead to her being killed by her father or brother, and
that they do not respect her decisions, although Islam urges consent to marriage by both parties
and the great argument of the parents that they want to secure their daughter’s married life
Delegating her to her husband and fearing that she will grow up and not marry and remain single.
The authors and critics have a great role in conveying an incorrect idea about Muslims, and this
helps Westerners to think that Muslims have racial discrimination between the sexes and that the

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woman listens to her husband to control her even when she wears her clothes and that they suffer
from mistreatment and persecution, and all this is in the name of religion and this thing is contrived
and not real.

Soueif's biggest goal through the story of Melody was to review and evaluate the cultural and
social methods and attitudes of the Muslim woman, wife, and mother in Western culture, their
standards in Eastern society, and their misunderstanding of the Islamic religion. On the other hand,
it tried with a strong force to convey the suffering of Muslim women due to their oppression and
powerlessness towards him. She wanted every woman to search for herself, to invest her thought
and energy, and be liberated. Through the writings of the goals of Soueif, a false image of the
West about the Arabs clarified that they are backward and violent, and they do so under the
framework of religion and commitment to it and that the Arab society is blackened by injustice,
exploitation, and oppression for women of all ages.

Through my reading and analysis of the short story Melody, there were many aspects that I
followed to be able to cover all of them in the story from several sides, the most prominent of
which was the Muslim woman in the Arab and Western world life. In general, the persecution of
Muslim women was the main aspect of the story, how they are treated badly and humiliatingly,
and how this affects them negatively. On the other hand, how can the blame be placed on the
woman if something bad happens in the house? Is this because she is the mother who pays attention
to the things that are done in the house, the owner of the house and responsible about everything,
even if it is outside her control? The most prominent aspect that was clarified by the story was that
the Muslim woman has no duties other than cleaning the house, taking care of the children, and
remaining beautiful and concerned with her matters to please her husband, even if it is at the
expense of herself and without her consent. In all cases, despite their badness, the Muslim woman
was submissive only in order not to demolish her home and to be satisfied with her alienation from
her homeland and living in a new culture and a new home, to improve her living situation and earn
her husband money and to be an obedient wife.

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REFERENCES

Ansari, Humayun. Muslims in Britain.UK: Minority Rights Group, (2002).

Hafsi, M. (2017). Displacement and Identity in Ahdaf Soueif’s Sandpiper and Melody.
Arab World English Journal for Translation & Literary Studies, 1(4)
Ghermaoui, N. (2014) Muslim Women Oppression through Ahdaf Soueif’s “Melody and ‘’1964’'
Güvercin, E. (2010). " Muslim Women in Europe: Oppressed by Religion or Politics&quot.
Patheos Press. [Online] p55.
Offenhauer, P. (2005) Women in Islamic Societies: A Selected Review of Social scientific
Literature. [Pdf] Washington: Library of Congress.
Soueif, Ahdaf. Sandpiper. Edinburgh: Bloomsbury Paperbacks, (1996).

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