Week 9

Elif Shakfat's The Bastard of Istanbul tells the story of a young girl trying to find her identity in a family who's  two cultural back rounds struggle to co exist .  Shakfat's novel proclaims a powerful message, that a person can be proud of his or her culture, but must also realizes that everyone is related somehow if traced far back enough through time.  

Her novel's intent is to convey the idea that it is wrong for any culture to be at war with one another.  She argues that disputes from the past are carried through generations to the point where there is a cultural grudge that no longer has any reason to exist.  She expresses an inevitable truth that humans swiftly and strongly come together whenever they share a common enemy.  I really question my heritage and wish to trace my ancestry back to its origins.  I think if any individual does not feel complete in some sort of way and is searching for some sort of meaning in their lives, retracing ones own ancestry could really enrich ones life.