Nye's Wish

     Lately I learned tons of information about Islamic culture. I totally didn't have interest in it but the more I know about it, it gets more interesting. 

     19 Varieties of Gazelle, was written by Naomi Shihab Nye, is a poetry book that shows the live of people in the Middle East, in the light of the September 11 attack and it has many different poems about her family story. 
September 11 attack is terrible tragedy that was committed by Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda. They destroyed 
landmark towers in United States such as the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. It had killed almost 3000 people and caused astronomical number loss in property and infrastructure. I don't know much about the history in America, but I think because of the incident on 9.11, people in America started to recognize Arabians as a terrorists. Those stereotypes and prejudices lead Arabians to serious situation. Americans killed innocent people, treated Arabian inhumanely. Discrimination to people who are from middle east left scar on their heart and their community. In that inappropriate situation, Nye ,who is Arab-American poet lived in Arabic culture and raised by Palestinian father and American mother, wanted to show Americans that actual Arabians mind, culture, atmosphere in order to change Americans biased thought. 
     
     Firstly, if we take a look at the one of her poems that is called "My Father and the Fig Tree", it is about her father who loves a fig which symbolizes her father's longing about his home in Palestine even though he was in America for more than 20 years. He always think about a fig even when he tells a folktale to his daughter, he just sticks in that word to the story. I think this poem shows Arabians humanity. Americans regard Arabians as bad people and terrorists but they are same human as Americans. They have their family, hometown, and they feel nostalgia. Nye wanted to convey this message to Americans. In addition, another poem that is called "The Words under the Words" is talking about her grandmother who has warm heart, peaceful mind, religion, and loneliness like everybody. She love s granddaughter, tells a story, be next to granddaughter when she is sick like every other ordinary grandmother. After she died, Nye believes she would be in the stars according the poem "My Grandmother in the Stars", she keeps memories with her grandmother and misses her. All the poems have something in common. They show Arabians are the same people as everybody. 

     By writing this poems and citing this characters, Nye wanted to fix the misunderstanding about Arabians of not only Americans' but also people all over the world outside of middle east. Arabians are the people who are peaceful, kind, warm-hearted rather than scary and potential terrorist. Furthermore, she wanted Americans to stop treating Arabians unfairly and abandon the thought that Arabians are dangerous and bad. I think in order to convey that messages, it was effective way to write this poems so that she could convince people with quietly but strongly because sometimes the pen is stronger than the sword.