Born in Chicago in 1978 to an Egyptian-Greek mother and a Palestinian father, Randa Jarrar grew up in different countries including Kuwait, Egypt, and back to America in New York. Her book A Map of Home is about a rebellious girl, Nidali, who is the daughter of a Palestinian father and a mother who has Egyptian and Greek ancestry. Born in the America, Nidali narrates about her upbringing in Kuwait, the teenage years she spends in Egypt after her family freed Kuwait in order to escape the war following the Iraqi invasion in 1990, as well as her family’s relocation to Texas. The coincidences between Jarrar’s life and the character of Nidali in the novel are so conspicuous that it is obvious Jarrar is narrating about her real life social and cultural experiences.
The narrator uses a mix of humor and keen revelation of an unconventional middle-class family, an aspect that makes the story more interesting as the narrator remains optimistic despite the hardships that she encounters. These hardships range from the humiliation that she faces while passing through the checkpoints when she visits the home of her father in the West Bank region to the fights that she has with her father who believes that she should become a renowned professor and shun boys. The end of her childhood in Kuwait is acrimonious and riveting as the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait comes at a time that Nidali is celebrating her thirteenth birthday, and creates more anxiety when she runs away from home. Ultimately, the narrator does not follow the traditional narrative technique that follows a specific path but narrates her story in bits and pieces and without time specifications.
Much of the narrative focuses on the relationship between Nidali and her father as well as the love-hate relationship between her parents. Her father shows typical manly character of a patriarchal society. He dominates the life of his wife and the children. For instance, he has already mapped out her future and believes that she will receive her bachelors’ education, masters, and a doctorate, which will help her become a prominent writer. However, even though Nidali obeys her father, she also learns to challenge his authority gradually by performing better in school while also pursuing her wishes. His dominance is also apparent given that Baba frequently beats his wife and children, revealing his strict disciplinarian attitude that originates from his Kuwaiti culture where beatings within the family are perfectly normal. This aspect is evidenced by the fact that Nidali considers his father’s beatings as a normal thing. Baba is caring in the sense that he is concerned about the future of his children and is determined to steer them to success in his own way. He believes that Nidali can only achieve success if she follows what he wants.
The change of countries from Nidali’s birth place in Kuwait to her upbringing in Egypt and finally to the United States is an important indication of the changing realities with regard to the dreams of each character in the novel. Nidali dreams of individuality and being able to make her own decisions without the influence of her father, but her dream never comes true because her father remains the dominant figure in her life. Accordingly, Fairuza’s constant fights with her husband are based on her longing for her freedom in different spheres, especially being able to express herself through the piano. There are also changes in the dreams of Nidali’s father who is determined to instill the patriarchal cultural aspect in his family, but his dream seems to be far from becoming a reality given that his wife and daughter are constantly challenging his masculine authority. The shifting dreams also reflect the concept of homelessness as the cause of continuous discomfort and instability (Öztarhan 62). This aspect is evidenced by the fact that Baba’s dream of returning to Kuwait where he considers his home is destroyed when he is told that he cannot go back Kuwait because he was born in Palestine.
In conclusion, the novel provides strong themes regarding the gender roles in a patriarchal society, the conflict in the Middle East, and the predicament of immigrants. In particular, the novel is spot on in its reflection of the plight of women while focusing on the character of Nidali within a masculine social structure. Ultimately, the novel provides an interesting read that maintains the enthusiasm of the reader regarding whether the female characters will be able to overcome male domination and begin to exercise freewill. The fact that the character of Nadali is a reflection of Jarrar’s real life shows that the latter is a person who has supported feminism from a tender age.
Work Cited
Jarrar, Randa. A Map of Home: A Novel. New York: Penguin Books, 2009.
Öztarhan, Esra. “Home In Contemporary Arab American Literature: Randa Jarar’s A Map Of
Home”. Pamukkale University Journal of Social Sciences Institute 20, 2015.
