Author: Marezgirgis

Representing “the Orient”

Throughout the Movie Aladdin, there are countless misrepresentations of the Middle East. From the main characters Aladdin and Jasmine being whitewashed as they speak with an American accent to Jafar, the villain, being portrayed as having a darker, bigger nose, thick and dark hair and beard, and speaks with an Arabic accent. “While most of […]

Formal essay 1: First draft

Western society has continued to fail at comprehending cultures throughout the world, especially in the Middle East. When it comes to “The Orient,” Americans tend to lack the pure understanding and representations of various, divergent parts of the East. However, Western societies delight in the enjoyment of falsely writing and claiming other cultures. It has […]

Reading with the Grain

Overreach argument: Western society has continued to fail at comprehending cultures throughout the world, especially in the Middle East. Claims: “I came to realize that despite their many virtues, Americans are not very good at understanding other cultures” (page 2). “International financial networks, multi-national corporations, media conglomerates, and the Internet have now created a world […]

Summarizing: Irwin,” The Dark Side of ‘The Arabian Nights'”

“The Dark Side of ‘The Arabian Nights’” by Robert Irwin explains the concealed truth behind the stories of The Thousand and One Nights. Robert emphasizes the significance of racism and how it plays such a big role in these stories. Racism is traced all the way back to racial theorists such as Gobineau, Ernest Renan, […]

Paraphrasing

Passage 1: “That manila envelope my mother gave me was a careful curation of what counts as my education records.” Audrey Waters, “Introduction: The Manila Envelope” Paraphrase 1: “My education records are cautiously organized in the manila envelope my mother handed to me” Paraphrase 2: “My mother gave me my education records which were deliberately […]

Observe & Describe: The Great Allentown Fair

The great Allentown fair. A place in which diversity turns into uniformity. Growing up in Lehigh county, I knew that finding parking would be an inconvenience in Allentown, per usual. The traffic, knowing we were already late, was another disadvantage. As my friends and I circled seventeenth street quite a few times, we gave up […]