Banipal uk magazine of modern arab literature book. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. A precocious, legally blind seventhgrader comes to understand his relationship. Mohja kahfs 2006 the girl in the tangerine scarf was celebrated in the new york times and on national public radio the novel introduced, they said, the voice of arab, muslim women to the american literary canon. A story of muslims in america the girl in the tangerine scarf, a new novel by mojha kahf is about a syrian girl transplanted to the american midwest in. The school building is old and rundown and hes never seen anything like it in tangerine. Even though my upbringing wasnt nearly as religiously observant as that of the protagonist, khadra, the ideas were wellworn for me. Most of the novel looks back to her childhood and early adulthood during the 1970s and 1980s. As he walks through the halls people slam into him. Womens issues in modern muslim thought quiz 2 study guide. Girl, a couple readers asked for mmws thoughts on the girl in the tangerine scarf. Start studying womens issues in modern muslim thought quiz 2 study guide.
A little girls face appeared, a girl with dark hair and a high forehead. Its about khadra shamy, the daughter of syrian immigrants to. Beautifully written and featuring an exuberant cast of characters, the girl in the tangerine scarf charts the spiritual and social landscape of muslims in middle america, from five daily prayers to the indy 500 car race. She successfully wrote about one of these women in her novel, the girl in the tangerine scarf. It is comingofage story, and details the experiences of twelveyearold paul fisher after his family moves to tangerine county, florida. The symbol of the veil in mohja kahfs the girl in the. She peeked out from between the swaying bed linens vined, striped, and. The novel centers on pauls relationship with his older brother, and explores themes of. Kahf borrowed details from her own life she moved from syria to the united states as a child but she insists that the book is not autobiograpical. What other forms of american religious pluralism are represented.
Umm zakiyyas if i should speak trilogy seems to be the antithesis of the girl in the tangerine scarf a bit weak from a literary aspect, but with an engaging plotline which also deals with being muslim in the west that doesnt end with her characters rejecting islam or its core aspects. Mohja kahf syrian immigrant khadra shamy is growing up in a devout, tightly knit muslim family in 1970s indiana, at the crossroads of bad polyester and islamic dress codes. Little mosque on the prairie life happens in mohja kahf s the girl in the tangerine scarf. Through the eyes of an earnest and strongwilled girl named khadra, kahf provides us with a kaleidoscopic view of growing up muslim and female in america. Self and identity in the girl in the tangerine scarf. It is because, there are too many people who can take a shower anytime they want, who have maids to oil, brush and style their hair. The use of girl in the title is strange since, as is made clear by the cover, she has a tangerine scarf as a woman, not as a girl. This years one book selection, the girl in the tangerine scarf, first came to iu east as one of the books that the library acquired as a result of. Along with her brother eyad and her africanamerican friends, hakim and hanifa, she bikes the indianapolis streets exploring the faultlines between muslim and american. A great novel about a muslim immigrant woman which does not end with the protagonist and a. Mohja kahf, the girl in the tangerine scarf generally speaking, americans cussed, smoke, and drank, and the shamys had it on good authority that a fair number of them used drugs.
She also chooses the scarf matching her grandmother s, which is of a bright, attention grabbing color, showing she is no longer ashamed to stand out and be identified as a muslim arabamerican. Americans dated and fornicated and committed adultery. The girl in the tangerine scarf is an amazingly balanced book, presenting a 3dimensional representation of growing up in islam in america. Syrian immigrant khadra shamy is growing up in a devout, tightly knit muslim family in 1970s indiana, at the crossroads of bad polyester and islamic dress codes. The girl in the tangerine scarf a novel 1st edition rent. I was surprised at how much i could identify with khadra and how much i could identify with those who angered and hurt her.
On his way in, he passes boys karatekicking each other. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Written by mohja kahf, the girl in the tangerine scarf tells the story of khadra shamy, a syrianamerican woman returning to her hometown of indianapolis for the first time in several years. Mohja kahfs the girl in the tangerine scarf 2006 narrates the experience of a syrianborn muslim woman, khadra, living in a tightknit muslim community in a small town in indiana. The issues of racial and religious bigotry as well as the kind of political relations between the middle east and america come out clearly in this work. Syrian immigrant khadra shamy is growing up in a d. This book follows the life of khadra shamy, whose parents and brother immigrated to the united states from syria when she was only a child.
The girl in the tangerine scarf is long and dense, but well worth the investment. Starting this, i thought, nice to see myself on the page, but this could get tedious after a while. This really makes me so much more respectful of uk law enforcement versus american law enforcement, who would not even raise a finger against the media here consider fox noise and the lack of any. The girl in the tangerine scarf tells the story of khadra shamys journey of self discovery. The girl in the tangerine scarf by mohja kahf caroll and graf publishers, 2006, 444 pp. Understanding the evolution of ethnic identity in america mohja kahfs girl in the tangerine scarf is a novel centered on the idea of identity and how ones identity changes and adapts. Read the girl in the tangerine scarf a novel by mojha kahf available from rakuten kobo. The girl of the tangerine scarf 901 words bartleby. She earned a phd in comparative literature from rutgers university and is the author of the poetry collections hagar poems 2016 and emails from scheherazad 2003 and the novel the girl in the tangerine scarf 2006. Mohja kahf, this fictional book tells the story of a young syrian woman growing up in a muslim family in indiana in the 1970s. Rent the girl in the tangerine scarf a novel 1st edition 9780786715190 and save up to 80% on textbook rentals and 90% on used textbooks. Homeland america, bismillah mohja kahfs the girl in the.
The process of faith development in mohja kahfs the girl. Having really enjoyed the book when i read it last summer, i was happy to oblige. The girl in the tangerine scarf quotes by mohja kahf. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Girl in the tangerine scarf follows khandra shamys, a syrian girl growing up in america. The girl in the tangerine scarf is a novel written by american author mohja kahf and published in 2006. In her own eyes, she has not yet reached selfrealization and does not see herself as a fullgrown woman. The evening will begin with a discussion of the book, the girl in the tangerine scarf by mohja kahf, led by barbara shoup of the indiana writers center. The novel is about a female bildungsroman, khadra shamy, who emigrated from syria to indianapolis in the 70s when she was still a child because of her fathers political orientations. He and his family are moving from houston to tangerine county, florida, and all he can think about is how his old house reminds him of an empty zombie tomb. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of tangerine by edward bloor.
The girl in the tangerine scarf by mojha kahf publicaffairs. Muslimerican literatures and cultures reading questions on mohja khafs the girl in the tangerine scarf part one 1. In putting on a tangerine scarf, she is embracing her new, improved, tolerant self. It is a riveting debut from an important new voice. Scarf is taught in university literature classes, though its veneer as a novel is thin. The girl in the tangerine scarf reading questions lucy.
The story is told by an omniscient narrator who uses flashbacks and flashfowards. Abstract mohja kahfs 2006 novel, the girl in the tangerine scarf, follows the protagonist, khadra, in her journey back home, to the state of indiana, where she grew up and where she ran away from, in search of herself, her identity, and a less dissonant existence first in her native syria, then. Her family moved to the united states in 1971, and kahf grew up in the midwest. In what ways does kahf use kadras assignment as a photographer for alternative americas to educate. The girl in the tangerine scarf mohja kahf, author. The girl in the tangerine scarf was published in 2006, and it tells the story of khadra shamy, a muslim syrian immigrant in the united states. Written by mohja kahf, the girl in the tangerine scarf tells the story of khadra shamy, a syrianamerican woman returning to her hometown of. Self and identity in the girl in the tangerine scarf femtales. Tangerine was written by edward bloor and published in 1997. The girl in the tangerine scarf august 22, 2006 edition.
Khadra sees herself as a girl for she has not yet completed her journey of selfdiscovery. The story chronicles syrian immigrant khadra shamy, a young woman growing up in a devout, tightly knit muslim family in 1970s indiana, at the crossroads of bad polyester and islamic dress codes. Syrian immigrant khadra shamy is growing up in a devout, tightly knit muslim family in. The girl in the tangerine scarf, a new novel by mohja kahf, is about a syrian girl transplanted to the american midwest in the 1970s. Poet and scholar mohja kahf was born in damascus, syria. The story chronicles syrian immigrant khadra shamy. The girl in the tangerine scarf by mohja kahf goodreads. Ive just finished reading mohja kahfs book the girl in the tangerine scarf. The story of khadra in the book the girl in the tangerine scarf exposes to us how it is like growing up in america as an islam.
The girl in the tangerine scarf layers multiple issues into one fulfilling, ultimately uplifting narrative. There are no spark notes on this book, it is too new was published in 2006, just 4 years ago and its also not as well known as other new classics. The book, a selection of the indiana humanities next in bookshelf, is about a girl growing up devoutly muslim in indiana during the 1970s. She is now accepting of all of the aspects of her hyphenated identity.
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