An Instance of Perspective in Home Fire

 After annotating this first section of Home Fire, one sticky note that I put a star on was on page 22. On this page, Eamonn tells Isma, "it must be difficult to be Muslim in the world these days" to which Isma responds "I'd find it more difficult to not be Muslim" (Shamsie 22).

I went back to this starred sticky note expecting to see a well-thought out, in-depth analysis of the interaction, but instead all I had written was "Perspective-- powerful!"

I do not think my sticky note was necessarily incorrect, but I think there is a lot more to delve into there than what I originally said. I think the biggest question to ask here is "What do Eamonn and Isma mean when they state their respective claims?" and thinking about it can go many ways for me. 

Eamonn seems to focus through a larger lens, and consider how society views Muslims. Even without pulling from real life examples, the instances of Islamophobia that Isma experiences are boundless. I think when Eamonn makes this comment, he is looking from the outside perspective, and fails to consider how exactly being Muslim makes Isma feel and what it means to her. Looking at Isma's comment, the main way that I interpreted what she was saying was that being Muslim is the only way of life she has ever known. It seems that she is rooted in her Muslim faith, and that it gives her a sense of peace and hope in much of her life. For her, life would be difficult without this faith that tethers her. In this I think that overall, neither of them are wrong, they are just coming from different places and different experiences. What interpretation do you guys have?

Comments

  1. HeatherLSeptember 22, 2022 at 11:54 AM

    Hey Cassi! First of all, kudos to you for being one of the first people to make a post about Home Fire. I was also struck by the passage you found, because it seems to concisely encompass the misunderstanging that is keeping Isma and Eamonn apart. Eamonn seems unable to see the beauty, clarity, and identity that Islam brings to Isma, but it is unclear to me whether or not Isma can see Eamonn's point of view. Maybe she'll begin to understand him later in the book.

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  2. Griffin JonesSeptember 22, 2022 at 2:19 PM

    Hi Cassi, I totally agree that this important. It really jumped out to me when I was reading through the other day. I find it to be so interesting the conflict in Isma's life around her religion. She is not trusted in Britain, interrogated at the border, her mentor and tutor tells her not to wear her hijab for fear that it will isolate her, and yet she finds so much meaning and purpose in Islam that she remains faithful. I am not a religious person, so this dedication to one's faith and the felling of purpose that it provides feels somewhat foreign, but I am interested to keep learning about it through the different perspectives in our book.

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    1. CassiSeptember 25, 2022 at 1:26 PM

      I totally agree Griffin! I am also not religious so it is cool to see the role that faith in this sense can play in someone's life. I think Eamonn's section with Aneesa definitely also added to this complexity, in seeing how Aneesa and Isma value their religious practices differently, while still having the same core beliefs.

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  3. Jalen PaigeSeptember 22, 2022 at 2:50 PM

    Hi Cassi! I noticed this passage, too! I agree with you that there is a conflict of ideals between Eamonn and Isma. Eamonn's zoomed-out perspective leads him away from his roots, where Isma can't even imagine what life beyond Islam would look like. I think it's particularly interesting because Isma herself is really selective about when she wants be totally faithful and when she wants to assimilate to western society. Her character is being pulled between two ideals. The first, you mentioned, is Eamonn's perspective. He finds being Muslim to be a nuisance. The other is Aneeka's. She does not want to conform in the slightest if it means compromising her faith. I think this is the central conflict and part of the theme of the story so far.

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    1. CassiSeptember 25, 2022 at 1:26 PM

      I was thinking the same thing Jalen, I didn't consider her hypocrisy as much, but when we talked about it it our class discussion, I realized how central of a theme this "selective assimilation" may become!

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    2. Critical Thinkers and WritersSeptember 27, 2022 at 8:53 AM

      Great discussion! I hope we are able to come back to these issues and textual moments in class.

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  4. Monique Cov.September 22, 2022 at 4:15 PM

    I was wondering that same question of what each of them meant in this exchange. I would completely agree with you on Eamonn's and Isma's viewpoints. Eamonn is taking and asking this question with a more worldly viewpoint but to Isma it is a much more personal matter that she might have taken just a little bit too personally. Plus Isma has the advantage of already knowing about Eamonn's father and the rumors that are spread around him, so she takes what he said another way in which it might not have been meant, not knowing that Isma knows who he is and who his father is.

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  5. Gema Sanchez GamezSeptember 25, 2022 at 4:19 PM

    It’s so interesting how you pointed out the differences between their perspectives! Since Eamon has always lived between two cultures and two religions, he has never suffered in the way Isma has. They both have experienced stereotyping because of their family’s history and culture, but Eamon can have detachment from it because of his position of privilege. However, Isma has grown into an extremely intelligent and insightful person that has reframed her setbacks as setups for success and fulfillment.

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