Brief biography of mohsin hamid was born in Pakistan, but he spent much of his
Download 0.56 Mb. View original pdf
|
| Related Characters Saeed, Nadia Related Themes: Page Number 3 Explanation and Analysis This passage appears at the beginning of Exit West and functions to not only establish Saeed and Nadia’s physical appearances, but also to suggest something about their personalities and the ways in which they comport themselves. This is especially notable in Nadia’s case, for the choices she makes regarding her everyday wardrobe ultimately send a certain message to onlookers—namely, that she is quite religious and extremely devout. Indeed, her decision to wear a flowing black robe is particularly meaningful because her and Saeed’s city has not yet been taken over by radical militants who eventually enforce certain dress codes. As such, the way Nadia presents herself is essentially an enactment of her personal agency and her power to dress however she chooses. Of course, what’s interesting about her decision to wear such conservative clothing is that she actually uses her robes to misrepresent SYMBOLS SYMBOLS QUO QUOTES TES Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com ©2018 LitCharts LLC v.006 www.LitCharts.com Page 10 her personality, since she isn’t religious. Dressing this way, then, gives her the opportunity to manipulate society’s perception of who she is and what she believes. This misdirection ultimately enables her to hide her atheism, thereby enjoying a private and thrilling sense of freedom that comes along with having full control over other people’s expectations and assumptions. It was the sort of view that might command a slight premium during gentler, more prosperous times, but would be most undesirable in times of conflict, when it would be squarely in the path of heavy machine-gun and rocket fire as fighters advanced into this part of town a view like staring down the barrel of a rifle. Location, location, location, the realtors say. Geography is destiny, respond the historians. Download 0.56 Mb. Share with your friends:
|