I. IntroductionIntroduction sentence:
The excerpts from the two memoirs describe the moment of transition for the two authors. Summary – Topic (3 or 4 sentences) Sandeep Jauhar in his ‘Road trip’ describes the events of one night when he was practicing as an intern. He describes having been left alone and having to make decisions which eventually makes him confident as well as mature. In ‘Memoirs of a Woman Doctor’ Nawaal El Saadawi describes the day when she starts menstruating and the day her doorman tries to touch her and how this starts the road to womanhood from a girl.Preview of the body:
Both the authors talk about one event that made them realize that the world they had known earlier no longer existed.Your thesis:
Over the course of a few minutes and hours they are aware of the fact that they have transitioned from a carefree world into a more mature world filled with responsibilities and changes. II. Body - GenreThe genre is: MemoirSupport: 1) Jauhar details the experiences of a night interning at the hospital 2) Saadawi details the experiences of the groping she enduredIII. Body - Purpose & ExigenceThe type of purpose is: to recollect the moment they changedThe exigence is: Support: 1) Panicking over the dying patient 2) Being made aware of her sex.IV. Body - AudienceThe intended audience is: Support: 1) Anyone going through a life change 2) Men and women who need to understand the struggle of a Muslim woman and a doctorV. Body - Visual DesignVisual design elements: The surroundings be it the hospital or the home is clear. The reader can easily imagine the situation.VI. Body - ConstraintsThe constraints were: Support: 1) The readers might not understand certain scientific terms. 2) Not everyone, especially men can understand the author’s problems.VII. ConclusionReview of the body:
Incidents in the life of the authors serve as the turning point where they realize they have changed physically and mentally and can no longer go back to their previous existence.
The excerpts from the two memoirs describe the moment of transition for the two authors. Sandeep Jauhar in his ‘Road trip’ describes the events of one night when he was practicing as an intern. He describes having been left alone and having to make decisions which eventually makes him confident as well as mature. In ‘Memoirs of a Woman Doctor’ Nawaal El Saadawi describes the day when she starts menstruating and the day her doorman tries to touch her and how this starts the road to womanhood from a girl. Both the authors talk about one event that made them realize that the world they had known earlier no longer existed. Over the course of a few minutes they are aware of the fact that they have transitioned from a carefree world into a more mature world filled with responsibilities and changes.
Jauhar describes how being in charge of a sick woman one night changed him from a person who thinks into a person of action. He understands that life and being a doctor is not just knowing what's in the books but about putting them into action when needed. Jauhar describes a night in the hospital when he is put in charge of an older woman complaining of chest pains. After the nurse explains to him the situation, describes the patient's condition and tells him what to do in case of an emergency, he is left to his own devices. Jauhar’s problem starts when he has to take his patient to get a CAT scan. On the way some of the tubes connected to the patient comes up and makes him nervous. When he finally gets to the scan, he has to take out an important drip so she could be accommodated in the scan machine. The patient starts complaining of chest pains. He somehow manages to complete the scan amid her complaints. As he wheels her back to the bed and leaves her with other nurses, he does everything to keep her alive. Finally everything is connected and she is stable. The whole incident reminds Jauhar that so far he only had been reading about what he needs to do as a doctor. He has never been put to test. That night was important in his life as he was forced to act. He was forced to think on his feet and bring back everything he had learnt so he could make sense of the situation as well as save the patient’s life. Later as he sits back and thinks over the incident he says, “I was thinker, not a doer. This was too much doing for me. I was beginning to appreciate what it was going to take to make into a doctor -into a man (Jauhar 50) .” The experience with his patient where for the first time he is in charge of her life or death not only panics him but also gives him courage. It sets him thinking and he realizes that there has been a transition in him. He no longer is the person who reads and memorizes what needs to be done but a man who needs to take charge of the situation and save lives. It is this experience that serves as a turning point in his life. He realizes that he is no longer just a student of medicine but a doctor and a man who is responsible for his decisions as well as the lives of his patients.
Saadawi describes the day of her first period and also the day her doorman tries to touch her, and how this day marked for her, the end of her childhood and beginning of womanhood. Before talking about the day in question, Saadawi talks about the fact that she is reminded of her sex early on. She notices how she is being treated differently from her brother and how her mother constantly reminds her that she is a girl. The day of her first period she realizes that she is no longer a child but growing into a woman. Although she hates it, she accepts it. But it is the incident with the doorman that drives home the point. The doorman brushes against her and feels her up. The feeling of his coarse hands up her thighs is shocking and she realizes that he too is aware of her womanhood. Saadawi till then is a kid who wants to play and go out like her brother. Even after her period she goes out even if it is to watch the others play. But after the incident with the doorman, she is acutely made aware of her burgeoning womanhood. Even as she fights it, she is forced into the world. Saadawi recounts how she stopped going out after that incident and how the shame prevented her from speaking about it to her mother. Even though she still is a little girl, circumstances force her to grow up too quick and transition into womanhood much too sooner. She says, “I no longer went out in the street, and I didn’t sit on the wooden bench any more (Saadawi, 2013).” The incident marks the end of her childhood. She goes into the kitchen instead of the playground and helps her mother. The Kitchen is not just a place to cook but is the space reserved for a woman.
Both the authors’ talk about how an incident in their lives changed them and made them aware of who they are. With just one incident they are forced to grow up and tackle the grown up world. Jauhar and Saadawi go through the transition not out of their own accord but are forced into it by other people. Jauhar and Saadawi are made to realize that they can no longer be what they were but have changed into someone else. Their transition into an adult world happens too soon.
Works Cited
Jauhar, Sandeep. “Road Trip”. In Intern: A Doctor’s Initiation. 2008.
Saadawi,El Nawaal. “Women Writers: Excerpt from “Memoirs of a Woman Doctor” by Nawal El Saadawi.” Blogcitylights. 5 Mar, 2013. Web. 18Mar, 2016.
