The issue of complexities of human beings is very apparent in “Inem” and “The Hajji”. These two beautifully written short stories expose the readers to the intricacies of life faced by human beings and thus bringing the issue of complexities of human beings to the reader’s attention. In detail, the complexities of human beings can be analysed through the decisions made that change one’s life, the ambivalent feelings, their personalities and the society’s expectations of them as well as one’s misconception on society’s expectations of them.
One of the complexities of human beings can be seen through the decisions made that adversely change one’s life. In Inem, for example, the readers might realize that Inem’s mother still wants to marry off Inem to Markaban although she has been told about the risks of getting married at an early age by Inem’s employer as in “not only will they be stunted, but their health will be affected too”. At the end of the story, it is proven that Inem has terribly suffered from her marriage and become a nine-year-old divorcee. Instead of feeling sympathetic towards Inem’s circumstances, she is seen as “a burden to her family-could be beaten by anyone who wanted to: her mother, her brothers, her uncles, her neighbours, her aunts”. In this case, Inem is actually a victim of situation and depressingly, she has no one to turn for emotional and physical support. Meanwhile, “The Hajji” reveals that the main character of the story, Hassan, adamantly refuses to forgive his brother’s sin even if being advised by the priest, Mr. Mia that “Karim is still a Muslim” as “he has never rejected the religion and espoused Christianity”. Hassan eventually changes his mind to forgive and forget all his brother’s sins. Unfortunately, his last desire to forgive and “to embrace his brother in a final act of love” is unfulfilled and he, as a result, is left with a sense of guilt. With reference to these two scenarios, it signifies that human beings are truly complex in which the decision made might result in something that they do not expect or the other way around. It is also important to note that the state of the decision problem changes over time, either autonomously (because of the system), or as a consequence of decision makers’ actions.
The ambivalent feelings do greatly contribute to the complexities of human beings. It is clearly manifested in these two short stories in which the main character of The Hajji, Hassen and the supporting character of Inem, Inem’s employer feel some ambivalence towards the other people around them. In The Hajji, for instance, although Hassen seems to loathe his very own brother, Karim still has a special place in Hassen’s heart. This is very evident as “a fervent longing to embrace his brother comes over him, to touch dear form before the soil claims him” despite at the beginning of the story, he, keeps declining Hassan’s wife’s last wish to pay Karim a final visit. In addition to that, Inem’s employer also displays these ambivalent feelings in which she, in the middle of the story, expresses her sympathy towards Inem and promises that she would of course take Inem back if she does not have a husband. Paradoxically, at the end of the story, she breaks her promise and she seems indifferent to Inem. This can be seen when she continues “to uphold the respectability of her home” even though “Inem’s screams of pain are often heard”. Based on these two circumstances, the readers might have come to a conclusion that the emotions of human beings are changeable instead of remaining unchangeable at all times. These changeable emotions of human beings, as far as these two short stories are concerned, might be due to Hassan’s massive ego that accounts for his unwillingness to forgive his brother’s sin in the first place and the society’s perception that causes Inem’s employer to completely ignore the unbearable sufferings faced by Inem.
Apart from that, the personalities of the characters in these two short stories are pretty different and thus making human beings by nature even more complex. The short story of The Hajji highlights different personalities possessed by Hassan and Inem’s employer. Insofar the story of The Hajji is concerned, Hassan has an inflexible attitude towards his brother or the white people but ironically, his inflexibility at times can be compromised. His inflexible attitude is apparent when he continues rejecting and refusing Mr. Mia’s wish to visit his brother who is on the verge of the death. This constant rejection can be seen when Mr. Mia’s first attempt and second attempt to persuade Hassan are proven to be fruitless and frustrating endeavours. Nonetheless, his inflexibility is shaken when he lastly succumbs to Catherine’s request to see his brother. This can be seen when “ Hassen softened. He is overcome by the argument that she has been responsible for taking Karim away. He could hardly look on her responsibility as being in any way culpable”. As for the story of Inem, Inem’s employer is said to have dual personalities at different times. At first, she is seen as someone who cares and expresses her concern about Inem’s marriage with Markaban. However, this caring disposition turns into indifferent disposition when she knows that Inem has been divorced by her seventeen-year-old husband. By referring to these two different personalities of Hassen and Inem’s employer, it clearly signifies to the readers that personalities of human beings are complicated and incomprehensible. According to the research on the consistency of various personality traits, it signals that what people do, think, and feel may depend very much on the specific conditions in which their behaviour occurs. In other words, people may be honest in one situation and dishonest in another or they may be passive in some situations but aggressive in other situations or with different people. This really explains why there is a change in Hassen and Inem’s employer personalities.
The final factor that justifies the complexity of human beings is the society‘s expectations and one’s misconception about society’s expectations of them. As far as the story of Inem is concerned, the expectations of the society make Gus Muk feel that this world is really meant for adults only. It can be seen when Gus Muk’s mother scolds him for going to Inem’s house. The reason why Inem’s employer gets angry with her son is due to the fact that it is considered inappropriate and indecent to mingle with someone’s wife in the eyes of the society at that time. That is the reason why she is “almost certain to repeat the sentences that she utters so often: What’s the point to your playing with her? Aren’t there lots of other children you can ask to play with you? What’s more, she’s a woman who’s going to be married soon’’. However, the complexity of society or adult’s expectations of children adversely affects the freedom of children and indirectly robs the happiness of children’s lives as evidenced by “the prohibitions and restrictions that are heaped on their heads”. On the other hand, the story of The Hajji underlines how one’s misconception on society’s expectations attributes to the complexity of human beings. For instance, Hassen thinks too much of how society will see or perceive him if he pays his brother a visit. In his opinion, his friends and relatives are going to accuse him of “his softness, weakness” considering the fact that the blacks should not give in to the whites’ wishes or demands. Nevertheless, his notion of society’s expectations proves to be wrong when Mr. Mia willingly helps Catherine persuade Hassen to go and visit his dying brother. His misconception on society’s expectations continues as he is unsure of how to “face the congregation, the people in the streets, his neighbours” and he thinks that “everyone would soon know of Karim and smile at him half sadly, half ironically for having placed himself in such a ridiculous position”. Ironically, his unrealistic expectation again proves to be wrong when several people led by Mr. Mia still continue trying their best to ask him to come and see his brother for the last time, but to no avail. With close reference to the situations above, it has proven that misconception on society’s expectations somehow complicates Hassen’s life since his expectations are not in line with what society expects from him. To conclude, it is undeniable to note that society’s expectations plays a significant role in creating the complexities of lives as some people find it difficult to fulfil the society’s expectations of them.
On the whole, the fact that human beings are by nature complex is unarguable and unquestionable. The complexities of human beings as portrayed by the characters in these two short stories can be seen in terms of the decision made that change one’s life, their changeable emotions, their different personalities and the society’s expectations of them as well as one’s misconception about society’s expectations of them. These complexities in turn make human beings interestingly unique on their own ways and the subject on this matter can be viewed as an indispensable tool for broadening our minds and deepening our horizons about the world, generally, or the human beings, specifically that revolves around us.
No comments:
Post a Comment