Response to Parallels and Paradoxes

Miss. Said,

Question 1: I am just curious about literary criticism. What sort of drew you to the field? Did you grow up reading a great deal of literature and just developed a critical mind toward the authors? Or did you need to study, in depth in a formal education, literature and its elements to be able to have  basis for your work as a critic?

Question 2: Might you know why your late husband and Mr. Barenboim decided to utilize an orchestra as a way to bring together the youth of the Israeli/Palestinian divide?




Response to readings:

The article written by Noura Dabdoub had some great points in it, as she discuses the idea of a homeland! This piece seems to be unbiased, and sort of lays out a narrative of what has happened in modern history since the founding of the state of Israel. It was good to see the quote from the Israeli constitution. I have never actually read that document, so it was thought provoking to read that small excerpt from it. From that small paragraph, I can see Israeli patriotism taking form. I guess I compare it to our own constitution, in the the USA, our constitution is the backbone of our patriotism!

You really gave us a good mix of history in that article. I think it would be difficult to put a lot of history in a paper like this with limited space.

Parallels and Paradoxes:

This article raises a few questions. I thought that the way it was written was very positive and upbeat about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. I could not help wondering why the writer steered clear of talking about what the issues, between the two sides, really were.

I feel like as he wrote this, Mr. Guzelimian maybe overemphasized the friendship between Mr. Said and Mr. Barenboim. I realize that they were probably good friends, its just maybe the author could have said: these gentlemen and their friendship is a model which all Palestinians and Israelis should/could follow.

I certainly agree that we need to encourage friendship between the two sides. I feel like that would be a great way to step towards peace.  My issue with this article is, maybe let us not overlook the bleak nature of the conflict right now! Maybe people like Mr. Guzelimian can and should remain positive, but also criticize the situation now.

I certainly do not think Mr. Guzelimian overlooked the conflict in Israel and the West Bank, I think he probably wanted to emphasize the friendship between Mr. Said and Mr. Barenboim. That is probably fair, the article is about their accomplishments and not about the strife!!!