Constructions of Masculinity in the Middle East and North Africa by Mohja Kahf;Nadine Sinno;
Author:Mohja Kahf;Nadine Sinno;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lightning Source Inc. (Tier 3)
Published: 2021-11-15T00:00:00+00:00
Virtuous Virility: seu Nacib as the âCivilized Manâ in Bahia
Unlike his peddling counterpart who is forced to settle down as a store owner in the U.S., seu Nacib makes his appearance in Jorge Amadoâs novel as the already established proprietor of a small bar named Vesúvio in the Bahian town of Ilhéus. His father, Aziz Saad, had been a peddler, and made the necessary bribes to a local official to naturalize his son when he arrived as a toddler from Ottoman-governed Syria. In the many years that have since passed, Nacib recalls not even distant memories of his Syrian home-land. Acquaintances and best friends nonetheless call him turco (Turk), but more as an âexpression of caring, of intimacy,â Amado qualifies (Amado, Gabriela, 61). Indeed, Amado notes in a later novel that the unflattering label of âTurkâ is used âwithout the intention to offendâ because it is âpart of the squabble, of the bargaining, of the pleasure of buying and sellingâ (Amado, Tocaia Grande, 39â40). Nonetheless, Nacib takes offense at the label and retorts, âBrasileiroâ (Brazilian) . . . âfilho de sÃrios, graças a Deusâ (son of Syrians, thank God). To a degree of contrast with Ali Hakimâs foreign status, seu Nacibâs naturalization and national self-declaration introduces Middle Eastern difference within the Brazilian nationalist narrative.
In his younger days, Nacib worked alongside his father and uncle in what presumably was the family-owned textile shop, âmeasuring clothâ (Amado, Gabriela, 73). After the death of his father, Nacib grew impatient with his lazy uncle and sold his own share of the business. Using the profits to buy and sell cacao with volatile price fluctuations, Nacib equally tired of the wheeling and dealing. He eventually acquires the Vesúvio bar, some blocks away from the townâs main commercial thoroughfare. Nacib attracts an increasing number of patrons with his easygoing demeanor and intriguing stories from âSyria, the land of my father.â What also helps business, Amado notes, is watering down drinks and slightly inflating the monthly bar tabs of certain customers (Amado, Gabriela, 163). Though portrayed as an honest bar owner, seu Nacib exercises the shrewd bargaining sense imputed to so-called turcos as well.
Unlike Ali Hakim, who caters to female clients in the U.S., seu Nacib serves men who are thirsty for shots of cachaça (sugarcane rum), hungry for salgadinhos (finger foods) made by the cook Filomena, and who gamble at poker and darts. In this hypermasculine space, gossip about marital infidelity and sexual acts proves even more satisfying and entertaining than bar drinks and foods. Attracting much interest are stories of coronéis (political bosses) who massacre adulterous wives along with their lovers and, as a rule, are absolved by local officials. Upon hearing a very brutal tale, Nacib voices his own shock as orientalist hyperbole: âna SÃria, terra de meus pais, era ainda mais terrÃvelâ (in Syria, land of my parents, it was even more terrible). If found to be unfaithful in Syria, Nacib explained, the wife was cut into little pieces and her lover, castrated. Brazilian men who condone local misogyny are horrified by such âstrange customs.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Kathy Andrews Collection by Kathy Andrews(10459)
The remains of the day by Kazuo Ishiguro(7519)
Spare by Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex(4177)
Paper Towns by Green John(4152)
The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson(3762)
Be in a Treehouse by Pete Nelson(3196)
Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire by J.K. Rowling(2984)
Goodbye Paradise(2935)
Never by Ken Follett(2841)
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer(2675)
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro(2599)
The Genius of Japanese Carpentry by Azby Brown(2590)
The Cellar by Natasha Preston(2576)
Drawing Shortcuts: Developing Quick Drawing Skills Using Today's Technology by Leggitt Jim(2516)
120 Days of Sodom by Marquis de Sade(2411)
Architecture 101 by Nicole Bridge(2335)
The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman(2273)
Machine Learning at Scale with H2O by Gregory Keys | David Whiting(2185)
Fairy Tale by Stephen King(2035)