The interesting sentence from Chapter 5:
"Whenever we talk about Aisha I feel two things: I'm proud, like I get to rest for a minute in the glow of being her baby sister, but then I get mad ans wish there were some way I could make them notice me too." Nadira from 'Ask Me No Questions' on page 38, about Aisha and her parents talking about Aisha's achievements.
This chapter explained yet another dynamic of Nadira's family. Nadira's mother trusts her to watch out for her sister and cousin, yet Ma doesn't tell Nadira to 'do well in school' or 'keep doing your best' or any of the things that a mother might usually say in a telephone conversation! Ma probably would have said those things to Aisha, but not to Nadira, apparently.
I also came up with more thoughts about Aisha and Nadira. Mostly, it was just that she copies everyone around her to find some way of being 'herself' and has to practice it out and lay everything out and set it up perfectly before she's happy. Nadira still maintains a sense of self, and doesn't feel the need to conform to the mainstream American norm. I think that Nadira is even braver than Aisha because she stays true to herself without letting anyone sway her true ideas. Aisha (and Taslima as well) has been sucked into the 'high school' look part of clothes and society. Taslima is going out (presumably) with a white guy, who seems nice enough, and Aisha has a Britney Spears poster on her wall and begged her mom to take her shopping for 'American clothes'.
Another thing that is different between Nadira and Aisha is that grow-ups tell Nadira things that I'm positive they wouldn't tell Aisha. None of them would tell Aisha the things that make Nadira feel weighed down as if she is becoming stone.
I think that Nadira is a very special girl, her inner butterfly just needs the right chance to come out of her coccoon and fly.
DiaBlog#13
15 years ago
Yeah I know what you're saying. Nadira seems to just act like herself and not take notice of what everyone around her thinks. How ever, Aish just seems to be mimicking everyone around her so that she can feel like she fits in. She really seems to care about what people think and I think that she lets it get to her to much sometimes. I agree with you that Nadira is braver then Aisha because she is stepping out on thin ice by not being what everyone expects her to be, whether she wants to or not.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you agree.
ReplyDeleteI think that Nadira is a much better person than Aisha because she's not afraid to stay true to herself and wait for someone to expect something of the real 'her' instead of practicing and laying things out for herself.