LA anglais

My written task is about the play East is East, written in 1996 by Ayub Khan Din who is an English and Pakistani author.

The play is about an English and Pakistani family living in Manchester during the 1970’s. George, the father, a Pakistani man who dominates the family by imposing islam and organizing forced marriages. This results with him loosing control and beating up his wife.

I chose to write Meenah’s diary, the sole, oppressed daughter and sister who does not play an active role during the play. My objective is to explore intergenerational conflict between the children and their father through her observing eyes. I will look at how she feels about the patriarchy and her father dominating the family which is part of the Pakistani culture and imposing strict muslim religion which leads to disintegration of this bicultural family. My aim is to allow her to express her feelings and show her fear of being forced to marry a Pakistani man like Tariq, Abdul and Nazir and not being able to achieve her dreams of finishing school and being a free woman. The diary will be written just before the family gets to know the Shah’s family, at the very beginning of the scene 5 act 2.

I think the diary is an appropriate text type as she can not express her feelings to anyone by fear of her father, in a diary she can write her deepest thoughts, feelings and fears without being judged. That's it He is a monster who does not even try to talk with us, I guess my anger comes from my fear of ending up married to an unknown man that I will never love . I can not stand the fact of acting like a traditional or stereotypical muslim wife. Not being able to study and work, because this is the way that my dad thinks my future should look like. Maybe that can work for some women and I truly respect that but not me, I am also english, stubborn and independent. I feel like he is still living 50 years ago but culture and traditions change. Maybe if we lived in Pakistan this would not have happened because we would get used to it since this would appeared usual, but no mum is english and so is the neighborhood, we live in Manchester our environment is different from muslim and Pakistani traditions.

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