The Portrayal of Palestinian Women in ABULHAWA’s Mornings in Jenin

Abstract

Palestinian women in exile are a marginalized, oppressed category who got so little attention compared to the weight of their case. Their depiction is seldom accurate unless the writer perceived the real life of Palestinians from the inside; hence, this piece of research is an intent to put emphasis on this case and to promote works of this type. Thus, the actual image of this particular underclass would be more obvious and hopefully a change would be marked. Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa is a novel that illustrates the real Palestinian experience of life in exile. The novel follows the story of a Palestinian family who had been forced out of their homeland; and embraces the tragedies of Palestinians since the Second World War. The largest part of the story takes place at the Jenin refugee camp revealing the pitiable facts about the daily regime of Palestinian refugees; and provides some perfectly truthful description of the Israelis’ brutality and their attacks and massacres of civilians. The novel made fine material for the theme of this extended essay; and suited the demands for the comparative analytical approach followed. The New Historicist theory was applied first to help acquire background awareness of the theme, and then a small review of the novel and a biography of the novelist was a silky transition to involve the reader in the core of the work. The study then reveals facts about real life Palestinian female refugees followed by the comparison of Dalia to her real life likes, and sums up with a critical analysis of the serial traumas Dalia experienced due to which she eventually lost her wits