Who am I?
Since 1948, Palestine and Israelis have had a never-ending conflict. One of these major conflicts originated in the British mandate which occurred when they took over Palestine. The tension increased between Israelis and Palestinians after the independence of Israel. In the novella Dawn, the author describes an eighteen-year-old boy name Elisha. Elisha survived the Holocaust and later joins the terrorist group “The Movement” to get rid of the English. In the novella Men in The Sun, talks about three Palestinian refugees traveling from refugee camps in Jordan to Kuwait in search of work. Both characters Elisha and Marwan have experienced the loss of identity in which leads to the loss of morality.
In Dawn by identity is one of the main themes. Elisha has yet to come to reality of who he truly is and what his purpose in life is. Due to having lived through the Holocaust everything around him seems like a lie. Elisha’s internal conflict show readers how easily his state of mind is swayed by what others tell him. Elisha is very gullible. In Elisha’s view “so many questions obsessed me. Where is God to be found? In suffering or in rebellion? When is a man most truly a man? Where does suffering lead him? To purification or to bestiality? (Wiesel 17)”. In other words, Elisha asserts that he is unsure of his identity as a Holocaust survivor, and what he believes. Elisha is very confused about where God is and why he cannot figure out his own identity. Elisha’s state of mind is unclear. Religion and family are factors that help Elisha create his identity. For Elisha to overcome his loss of identity he joins the movement to find his purpose in life. The movement caused Elisha to become very violent, thus causing him to lose his morality.
Throughout the novel Men in the Sun by Ghassan Kanafani the search for identity is continuous. Marwan’s identity shifts after his brother Zakaria stops sending them money. Marwan is very responsible. Marwan’s identity shifts from a normal kid going to school to making a living for his entire family. He cannot live life like a normal kid. In Marwan’s perspective “He used to tell his mother that Zakaria would never understand what it meant for someone to get an education, because he had left school when he left Palestine, and since then he had plunged into the frying pan, as he liked to say (Kanafani 43)”. In other words, Marwan’s morality strengthens throughout the novella because in the beginning all he cared about was going to school, now after Zakaria stops sending them money, he sees that it’s his job to make a living for his family. Home and family are the reasons why Marwan must change his identity. The major shift resulted in him having a stronger morality.
Both characters Elisha and Marwan have gone through the phrase of trying to find their own identity, however both characters interpret identity different. Elisha’s view: “I didn’t want to relive my childhood, to see our houses in foreign hands… (Wiesel 11)”. In Marwan’s view “Your house? It is not your house. A generous man said to you: Live here! (Kanafani 26). Both these quotes show how the two characters have lost their homes and is in unfamiliar land where identity teds to the loss of morality. Although both characters have experienced the loss of identity each character has their own method of trying to figure out which path is right for them. Marwan is a kid who wants to get smuggled into Kuwait in search for a job to support his family, whereas Elisha wants to figure out his purpose in life.
In conclusion Elisha and Marwan are two teenage boys that have experienced the loss of identity in which they also lose their hope in morality, Don’t take things for granted because even if you hate your family you still need them to help you shape your identity, and thus have a hold of morality.
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