RESPECT

While reading Aunt Safiyya and the Monastery, you begin to realize that the customs of the Middle East are greatly valued and respected by the villagers. Everyone has a purpose in the village and everyone works together to achieve harmony. Their religion and their beliefs are their motivators. Everything they do is done with respect for their fellow neighbors and relatives. They treat each other like they would treat a close family member. It seems as if everyone is born into a class, however since everyone is related in some form or another, there seems to be no vendettas or aggression amongst the classes. That is until the murder of the Bey. Yet even then Harbi is still loved and respected by most. It’s evident that pride is what holds together the village. This is how the structure is maintained. Harbi’s and the Bey’s actions took a toll of every member of the village. Fear for what would happen to the unity of the village grew apparent. Protection never seemed like an issue in the village until Faris entered the village with his men. Harbi would not enter his own town without the assistance of Faris and the guard, although he was one of the most respected men of the village. Harbi changed after his time in prison. He was not the same man that he had been when the Bey was alive. A piece of Harbi left the earth when the Bey did. But none the less, Harbi still respected his village.

Sara made a good point in class: This setting is stereotypical. Everything that has happened thus far has been expected and is what the reader is use to experience when learning about the Middle East. The women do the house work, a girl getting a full education is frowned upon, and villages are very close, and so on. Although these stereotypes aren’t negative, I haven’t really learned anything new about the Middle Eastern culture while reading this.