Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories

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While Kanafani’s stay in Kuwait can be seen as his formative years, his period in Lebanon (1960–72) was productive in terms of literary as well as journalistic writings. The dissolution of the union between Egypt and Syria disheartened Kanafani, along with other pan-Arabists. One more thing: there are no antisemitic slurs in any of Kanafani's stories of this collection of stories. Certainly there are universal human traits that we all share, and it was in Mariam’s recognition of the dead Arab child tossed onto the truck “like a piece of wood” that most powerfully articulated this idea.

Fortunately, his work is not that of a political propagandist; it shows the suffering of the people of Palestine, and asks for empathy from its readers, not for agreement with a political program. The population of Jordan skyrocketed as some 900,000 Palestinians joined the 400,000 Jordanians already there. The Land of Sand Oranges" is about reliving the Nakbah and its immediate aftermath while 'If You Were a Horse' and "A Hand in the Grave" talk about myths, superstitions, and self-made conceptions and the way we interact with them and sometimes let them destroy our lives. Kanafani's work centers individual human suffering to reveal the collective trauma of Palestinians following the loss of their lands and lives to Israel.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). His decision to tell Palestinian stories in this way doesn’t of course diminish the work of other authors who chose to highlight both the stories and the roles of the Israel forces; this style is just another valid form of amplifying Palestinian stories.

One is obsessed by the notion that Khaizuran has a woman in Basra and wants confirmation of his erotic fantasy. But most importantly, he published a book (1905, Le Reveil de la nation arabe —The Dream of the Arab Nation) that advocates the existence of one Arab nation that resides in Asia and includes both Muslims and Christians. You cannot be sure how to feel about this man, whether to blame him or not, as he seems genuinely saddened, but at the same time, his only concern is money and does not shy away from stealing their possessions after their deaths. And those who flee by boat via the Mediterranean to Europe, or to Australia via the Indian Ocean: they all could be saved, but better let them drown so that less of "them" cause "us" any trouble.

This poetry, in general, tended to highlight the suffering of the uprooted Palestinians caused by the other, whether that other was a Zionist or a European power. Though a translated work, Kanafani’s profound, symbolic prose and creative use of literary devices made each story a captivating read. While still in Syria, Kanafani began reading, most probably in Arabic translation, Western literature, including works by Charles Dickens, Honore de Balzac, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The 1976 municipal elections in the West Bank, sponsored by the Israelis, proved beyond a doubt that the inhabitants there saw the PLO, not Jordan, as the object of their loyalty.