Summary – Habibi Essay, Research Paper

SUMMARY: At first Liyana walks into her home and spots a woman sitting in her living room. Nobody knows who she is so when Poppa gets home, they talk. He finds out that she is a cousin of a cousin of a cousin. As tradition Poppa had to buy her fabric in order to make a dress. This was a symbol of success from their trip to Jerusalem from America. In retrospect, Liyana thinks about her life in America and the memories she had. She sees herself as a blur in Jerusalem. Nobody knows her like people do in America. But this all changes when Liyana finally decides to sleep over at Sitti s house for a weekend. Sitti and her do a number of activities. One of these activities that stand out is when they went to get water from a spring. They hiked down to a spring, and Sitti showed her the freshness of the water and how to balance it on her head. This was a crucial bonding time for Liyana and Sitti because they communicated so much without even speaking the same language. When they arrive home they prepare a meal for the family and talk more. After a day passes, Liyana and Rafik go outside and play with the hens. One of the hens flies away and a kid named Khaled captures it. This character, along with his sister Nadine, is the Abboud s new friend.

RESPONSE: Liyana and Rafik seem to feel more at home now that they are settled in their new house and have met friends. Rafik has completely adapted to Jerusalem while Liyana is just beginning to. They are both scared of the Israeli tanks and other forces that crowd around her neighborhood because she did not have this experience in America. The overall mood of this section was quite happy which added to the story by adding emotion to the parts where different events occur.