Lessons from historical fictions
The lessons that we derive from historical fiction vary, depending on what the author writes about the context that they set in the story. There are different aspects of stories that can be learnt from historical fiction about the Middle East. One, a person can learn about the historical events that took place in the Middle East. Authors will always write about significant events that took place in the past in history and those that greatly impacted on the lives of the people at that time. For instance, a historical fiction can talk about people revolting against the administration at the time on a particular day, but suppose that the next day a man dies out of illness the incidence may not be remembered. In Ulfat’s Bittersweet, she talks about a girl who grows up in the 1920s and develops national and female consciousness. She is suppressed to an extent that she ends up hanging herself in response to the situations she constantly found herself in. At the time, the Arab society in which the author grew up did not recognize women to be equals to men and so they were suppressed constantly. In fact, when the author got married, she declined to take the spouse’s name and preferred to be called Mrs. Ulibi. Hamza Bogary also talks about the Arabian culture with regards to the women, education and religion. By reading these two novels, one gets to know more about the Arabian culture during those times that the books were written.
Another lesson from the novels is the nature of those real places that the authors set their stories. The fictional stories take place in the past but in real places where the stories have been set. Both novels have been set in the past in the Middle East countries and they talk more about the nature of these places in the process of narration. Bogary gives his narrations about Mecca and speaks of his observations before the advent of oil. This allows the reader to be informed about what motivated the transformation and how it occurred during then. Ulfat on the other hand narrates how the women had to put up with oppression through her own life experience. Sabriya throws a party when his father dies and the story takes place during the French revolt in the 1920s. It was a painful moment buts she chose to celebrate for having to abandon her dreams to fulfill her parents’ wishes.
One can also learn about the cultural artefacts at the time. Cultural artefacts include objects, music or artistic references, hairstyle or clothing. In the celebrations that eventually led to the death of the character Sabriya, the author talks about them celebrating with flutes and lute players. There is also the mention of Seklava and other sweetmeats. A celebration is a big event, and so when the author mentions such stuff, they can be seen as treasures in the Middle East during that time or even in the present.
The kind of language that was used in the Middle East can also be learnt from these stories. In the past, people spoke differently and the authors were also exposed to different backgrounds as they were growing up. The difference in linguistic exposure will reveal the difference in accents, vocabulary and slang that was in the Middle East. As the reader, I can only understand the story because they are being told in a language that I can relate with. At the end of the story, I can get the message because I am familiar with the language. It is simple and told in modern language.
Disadvantages of learning history from fictional novels
Historical fiction encourages for a search for value in the past events. This is because for one to decide to tell a story, they do not just choose random events to talk about. They are very selective and they always start with the end in mind. The story will have a coherent plot with some resolution in the end. As the reader, one does not just read for the sake of enjoying the story but rather for the sake of getting the importance of the story. In reading the story the reader should be able to notice the patterns and the order, establish the causes and consequences for the agents and their motivations for various actions that they take. The problem is that this search for meaning or value in the story may not have shape or coherence. The author may have just drawn different collections of stories and themes, then patched them up to make a coherent flow of events. That is, the author may have just imposed order on people, places and things that existed in the past. In other instances, the readers may see different patterns or meanings in the stories.
Another drawback lies in the fact that fictional history focuses more on the characters and how they make the reader react to different situations and circumstances. Historical fiction derives its emphasis on the individual characters instead of focusing on entities such as the society or governments or the economy. It makes the reader to see historical events in terms of the individuals at the time and ignore the broader social contexts. For instance, take civil rights movement activists such as Martin Luther King Junior. The speeches that he gave changed the minds of the Americans significantly, but the reader instead of looking at these speeches in terms of the collective efforts to bring about the changes in laws and the institutional orders. The individualistic approach of the historical fiction serve to cement instead of countering this tendency. For instance, in the case of Sabriya, the author has drawn a lot of attention on the character to an extent that when she dies, there is too much emotions in the reader. The reader may forget to focus on the broader picture of the character’s death, the oppression that the women at that time had to deal with.
Also, with fiction stories, it is more about the artistic nature of the storyline instead of focusing on the facts at hand. It creates a situation whereby readers end up enjoying the story because of the artistic works at the expense of understanding the real facts or motivation for writing the storyline. Another disadvantage is the fact that fiction histories are not detailed enough for one to be able to make some deductions from them. Historical fiction in most of the cases focus on how they make people feel instead of getting to discuss how people are supposed to view the historical actions. Details such as the sequence of events, for instance the years of occurrences, are not given much coverage in fiction novels. The emphasis is on what happened and where, instead of the lessons that a person can derive from these historical experiences. As such, these books are not informative and so not very educative.
Modernization
Historical fiction in this case refers to the ability to discern timeless symbolic images behind the historical realities. It is not a case of repackaging the past then framing it to fit the present circumstances. Hamza’s story takes the reader into the first half of the twentieth century with his narrations in a graphic and fascinating way life at that time but still the reader can relate with the lessons in very many different ways. In light of this, symbols and metaphors can be of great significance in the present situation but with passage of time their relevance is bound to diminish. The continuous occurrence of events such as the impact of the succeeding waves of modernization define the meaning that will be attached to the historical lessons that the author intends to pass across.
Gender
Gender is an important aspect of every community. In these two novels, the impression in both cases is that women were primarily meant to serve their men all the time. Sabriya was found dead after she killed herself because of the fear that she had that she would have to live with after celebrating her father’s death. In her society, she could not talk about her role because women were meant so serve their men. They bowed to commands even if it was against their wishes. That is why she got married to fulfill her parents’ wish.
Education
Education was also part of the historical development although in most of the past events, there was not much of a distinction of with regards to education. Maybe because the education system had not evolved much. In both of these novels, the authors do not specify the levels of education. Instead, the focus is on the consequences of education, such as the professionalism experience of the characters at the time of the narration.
Political Issues
All historical novels normally focus on the political issues at the time of narration as they set the stage for issues that the author would like to discuss. Hamza discusses the social issues in the first half of the twentieth century and in this narration, Muhaisin has to deal with the political consequences of events at that time in history.
Works Cited
Sabriya: Damascus Bittersweet by Ulfat Idilbi (Interlink 2003)
The Sheltered Quarter: A Tale of a Boyhood in Mecca by Hamza Bogary (Austin: University Press of Texas, 1991)
