Quotes+&+Passages+-+My+Son+the+Fanatic

//Writing Assignment:// //Copy two quotes or passages from the text that you believe are important in the story. Write them in quotation marks ("...") and include the page number on which the passage is found. For each quote or passage, write a text which puts the passage in context (Who said it? To whom? When? Why?) and explains why you chose it (What is its significance? What does it tell us about the story/the character/the conflict, etc.?).//


 * Quotes and Passages – My Son the Fanatic**

//“Parvez knew he was getting drunk, but he couldn’t stop himself. Ali had a horrible look, full of disgust and censure. It was as if he hated his father.”//

To understand the quote, first I will explain Parvez's situation. Parvez worked hard for his son, Ali, to finance his English lifestyle and good education. But Ali threw all of his things out of his room (for example his computer, discs and fashionable clothes) and converted to Islam. In the restaurant, Parvez wanted to understand Ali's life change, but a conflict began when Parvez ordered a drink. Parvez couldn’t stand the fact that his son had rejected him, and that’s why he couldn’t stop drinking. Ali´s face, full of hate and disrespect, showed Parvez that he had lost his son. He felt like everything he had done for his son was for nothing. This quote is the turning point in the story. Ali had changed into a fanatic Muslim, and his belief now dominated all aspects of his life; he didn´t accept his father’s lifestyle. Parvez felt lost and drowned his desperation in alcohol.

//“Parvez kicked him over. Then he dragged the boy up by the front of his shirt and hit him. The boy fell back. Parvez hit him again. The boy’s face was bloody. Parvez was panting; he knew the boy was unreachable, but he struck him none the less. The boy neither covered himself nor retaliated: there was no fear in his eyes. He only said, through his split lips. ”//

After the taxi scene, where Ali insulted Bettina and it became clear that their differences were irreconcilable, Parvez got drunk and hit Ali, who says: “So, who is the fanatic now?” Parvez couldn’t hold back his temper. He couldn’t bear that his son is shutting him out of his life; he couldn’t reach him because he is a fanatic. But I don’t think Parvez is a fanatic: He wants to understand Ali, can change his own opinion and acts out of desperation. But I also understand Ali, who has grown up in a culture that doesn’t accept him and who has now found a faith and a culture that he can identify with; for me it's understandable that he turns into a fanatic. I hope Ali will accept his father’s lifestyle one day. And that the relationship between them will change again in a positive way. (Linda)