Hi everyone. Let's keep this simple here in the beginning. For this post I would like you to write about whatever intrigues you about this book. I could write about any number of things here -- I find a lot of it very intriguing -- but I'll start by talking about the overlaps with The Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby. As we discussed in class today, Karim has a Holden-like moral code that keeps him "safe." His reasons for not sleeping with an out-of-town woman in Doha sound very much like Holden's reasons for not sleeping with Sunny the Prostitute. Like Holden, Karim prefers to talk. I thought what Tony A. pointed out was interesting: both Holden and Karim have their own languages, and in some ways these language separate them from others. With respect to Gatsby, I like how Karim and Nick Carraway are both perched between worlds, one foot in and one foot back ("it don't pay to live like that" -- The Avett Brothers), simultaneously "enchanted and repelled" (I'm quoting Fitzgerald). Perhaps they are perched between different worlds, but one still gets the feeling that they are being pulled in different directions. I thought it was suspiciously interesting that Karim was given the "green light" to go ahead with his project. Hmmm. English Teacher Symbolism?
Remember the rules: 1. Write freely but don't swear; 2. Answer the question; 3. Refer to at least one other person's post.
