“There was no physical violence in Nadia’s home, and much giving to charity, but when after finishing university Nadia announced, to her family’s utter horror, and to her own surprise for she had not planned to say it, that she was moving out on her own, an unmarried woman, the break involved hard words on all sides, from her father, from her mother, even more so from her sister, and perhaps most of all from Nadia herself, such that Nadia and her family, something all of them, all four, for the rest of their lives, regretted, but which none of them would ever act to repair, partly out of stubbornness, partly out of bafflement at how to go about doing so, and partly because the impending descent of they city into the abyss would come before they realized that they had lost the chance.”
This quote was particularly interesting to me, seeing how I have a similar writing style. It was almost as easy to me to read this quote as it would be to read a plethora of simple sentences. Hamid’s use of one extremely long sentence creates the illusion of the argument in the family, the quick and heated feeling of the conversation, the brevity of the time it took for Nadia to make the decision, and the contrasting personality of Nadia in comparison to the rest of the family. Hamid purposefully uses commas instead of periods to really showcase the intensity of this household conversation. Imagine trying to rely all of this information in one breathe and how intense of a feeling that would be for your lungs and your body as a whole. This feeling is probably how Nadia felt growing up. She was almost an outcast in her family because of her different beliefs and her natural feelings of going against the grain.
This long sentence showcases not only the intensity of the family conversation, but also the time it took for Nadia to make this decision. Hasid says in the book, “and to her own surprise for she had not planned to say it”, but also showcases the quickness of this decision through the long sentence and the placement of the commas. Each of the coupling of words between the commas is very short and quick to read. EX: “an unmarried woman”, “partly out of stubbornness”, “all four”, etc. Also, if going back to the point of saying this all in one breath, this would all have to come out rather quickly to ensure that it is all said, further emphasizing the short thought put into the decision. Imagine the high that comes from pushing all of this out in one breathe, the heat, and the intensive feeling, this is all showcased as well in this paragraph.
Finally, this paragraph also showcases the contrast between Nadia and her family. When Hasid talked about the family as a whole, he used regular sentences, in contrast to this very long one sentence paragraph. In this instance, when Nadia does something against the norm of the family, it gets this long sentence with breaks only from the commas- something that is not all that used in literature.
Hi Kennedy, I really like your observation on the long sentences in the book and how they contribute to the pace and emotions in the novel. The comparison between short phrases and broken family norms is a great analysis. I’m wondering if the author’s writing intends to reveal how gender functions in a Pakistanian family, considering how her family disowns a disobedient daughter so easily.
I really like your analysis because it takes into consideration what something would sound like and the meaning behind the way someone writes. Like language is meant to not only be read, but heard as well and I think often we forget that.