Monday, October 5, 2009
Said's States
The article "States", by Edward Said, really drew many different emotions from me. I was sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians and guilty that the U.S. is so biased on the side of the Israelis due to political ties. The way he portrays the Palestinians as outcasts who have no identity and live in bad conditions was quite moving. The method in which he showed certain pictures to evoke emotions worked brilliantly for his argument. I believe pathos was the strongest element within his piece. In the picture of the wedding, it is obvious that western values and beliefs have infiltrated the minds of many in the Middle East, while the one person in the background is wearing a traditional headpiece to show how the two cultures are co-existing. This picture is a good example of the political ties that the western world has with the Middle East and how we are influencing their culture. The western world (mostly the U.S.) has such a strong influence that I believe we can decide who may win this conflict by throwing our support behind one faction or the other. I believe we already may have and Said would agree that we strongly support Israelis and condemn Palestinians to their fates. He wants us to see the other side we don’t support and are forced to live a life of homelessness and turmoil. This is portrayed perfectly in the picture of the sad Palestinian boy wearing the dirty western T-shirt. He seems to be homeless, scared and unsure of where to go. I could never imagine being forced out of where I call home and having to live in refugee conditions. This article really made me count my blessings and sympathize with the Palestinian side of the Middle East conflict that I've never really been exposed to. His use of images instead of words made his piece very strong and effective at keeping my attention. It felt like I was watching a Red Cross advertisement for impoverished people. Although in this case, these people are starving for a homeland and an identity that they are willing to sacrifice their lives for.
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I agree that the pictures and other information increased his pathos. He used pictures that are directly related to what he was talking about. It helped me to understand what he was trying to explain. I thought it was a great article that changed my perspective of Palestinians.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the fact we are so privileged to have a place we can call home. I can not imagine being forced to leave where I came from. Said does a really good job of evoking pathos on the reader as you stated. Interesting blog to read!
ReplyDeleteHome is such an important environment for everyone. I can't even imagine how it would feel to be a Palestinian having to go through that.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the pictures and information portrayed from the pictures increased his pathos. He being involved in the relocating of a society also gave insight to how the Palestinian's felt. Home is also very important to everyone. Living without a place to call home would be devastating.
ReplyDeleteWithout a place to call home I would not be where I am today. Therefore, I can only imagine the hardships that the Palestinian's felt. I also agree with the fact that the photos used throughout his writing increased his credibility and pathos. It also allowed for a more interesting read because the pictures were almost examples reinforcing what he had to say in the text.
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