الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Arab Americans have faced a dilemma in the period following the 9/11 attacks. They have been occasionally suspected; they have often visited and interrogated by the American government agents without any real evidence that shows they are spies or terrorists. This is revealed through the number of bias-motivated hate crimes reported by the National Uniform Crime Reporting Program which collects official data of the crimes against Arab Americans especially Muslims in post 9/11 America. For instance, this program reported 7,462 hate crimes in 2002 in the United States. This thesis discusses the dilemma faced by Arab Americans through its three different chapters. In addition, it highlights the identity crisis that most Arab Americans suffer from, as they often do not know to which country they belong. This thesis is divided into an introduction, three chapters and a conclusion. The introduction briefly offers a background of Arab Americans, including the different reasons which led them to travel to the United States. It also focuses on the post-colonial theory which serves as a theoretical framework of the thesis. The introduction handles the theory highlighting the two terms coined by Homi Bhabha ”mimicry” and ”ambivalence”. It also refers to the contribution of Frantz Fanon, Edward Said and Gayatri Spivak to the theory. 2 Chapter one, entitled ”Back of the Throat: The Dilemma of the Oppressed”, has explored the play and analyzed the harsh treatment Khaled, the protagonist of the play, receives just because he is an Arab and Muslim. Back of the Throat poses serious questions through humour. Moreover, the element of suspicion overwhelms the whole play. The two government agents suspect that Khaled has a relation with terrorists and behave accordingly. This results in a great deal of irony and dark comedy. Chapter two, ”Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat: Enemies are Nearby”, has handled a significant theme which is that close friends can be the worst enemies. This is evident in the play as Gamal opposes Noor, Mohsen and Sheikh Alfani and behaves as an enemy to them. The play, thus, focuses on the violent encounters among Arab Americans. Chapter three, ”Language Rooms: Patriotism or Espionage”, has revisited the theme which El Guindi has started in Back of the Throat. Language Rooms clarifies that Khaled has been isolated in a Guantanamo-like area and he is interrogated by Ahmed who happens to be a translator within such area. The play, thus, discusses the father-son relationship and how it gets affected by conflict. It subtly shows that the United States adopts a policy which makes close family members interrogate each other. 3 The Conclusion sums up the findings of the thesis and offers a comparison of the three plays Back of the Throat, Our Enemies and Language Rooms. It shows the similarities between the three plays and how they are thematically interlinked. It offers an answer to the research questions posed in the introduction |