Abby Husfeldt: Summarizer 12/3/10

          At the beginning of this section starts with story or perspective of Leila.  The chapter, The Smell of Dust, deals all with Leila’s jobs around the house.  The chapter goes on to tell how Leila is treated by her other family members, especially her nephews (who are only a few years younger than she is).  She is not treated with respect at all from any of the males in the family.  However, Leila is seen as a good woman around the house.  She is very good at the chores around the house, which included cooking.  The next chapter also follows Leila story when she wants to become a teacher so she attempts to take an English class.  It turns out that the class had boys attending and she would have to reveal her face, which she did not want to do and her family disagreed with.  She ultimately ended up not attending class anymore.  To follow with more stories involving school, the next chapter follows Fazil.  Fazil has a hard time remembering his Islam history in school.  He does try really hard and knows the information, but when he is picked on, he gets so nervous he forgets the information.

            The author, Asne Seierstad, did a great job while describing Leila’s situation including her specific chores, teaching pursuits, and the cleaning scene.  The imagery and dialogue that the author uses is so vivid that you are able to connect with the character and became the most memorable parts of this section.  The part where the author explains that Leila is the first to wake up to complete her chores in the morning for the rest of the family and the last to go to bed, and still does not deserve any respect from the males in the family.  It is hard to read that and not feel bad for Leila and all of her hard work that she does for everyone else.  Then, when she wants to go to school, she is dedicated enough to say that she would have to wake up even earlier to get her chores done and go to school but then in the end she is unable to pursue her dreams is very sad.  The author did a phenomenal job at connecting the audience with the characters and their stories.