Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Zaabalawi #8

What is "that illness for which no one possesses a remedy"? (804)
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5 comments:

  1. dtwelve89November 18, 2009 at 6:33 PM

    The illness for which no one possesses a remedy may perhaps be fate. The narrator has said before that he had lately been sick very often. His fate may be that he will soon die, but he tries in every way to stay alive. He may have succeeded in avoiding death for the time being, but it is only a matter of time until he reaches his fate.

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  2. UnknownNovember 20, 2009 at 12:02 AM

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  3. kalNovember 20, 2009 at 12:10 AM

    Well, it is not clearly mentioned what the illness for which no one possesses a remedy is, but, I have to say that I don’t agree with dtwelve89 on it being fate. From my understanding, it is a sickness for which there was no cure like HIV/AIDS or certain kind of cancer.
    This sickness was not mentioned simply because it had no relevance to the story. All we had to know was that the writer went to many places looking for cures and couldn’t find anything. We can understand that it is a sickness from every one he talks to because they all say, “May God help you; may God come to your aid; may God restore your health.”

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  4. Qi LiNovember 20, 2009 at 2:22 AM

    Like the meaning of Zaabalawi. I think the illness in the story is not only means a disease. I think it has a deeper meaning. Like Zaabalawi, its meaning is pure. It is the reason why they looking for Zaabalawi.

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  5. chaperonesNovember 20, 2009 at 1:38 PM

    I agree with kal, the illness that no one possesses a remedy may be incurable disease such as HIV/AIDS or cancer. My understanding of the story is that the narrator was diagnosed with incurable disease. After realizing his situation he started looking for Zaabalawi, believing he may hold the cure for his illness. When people lose hope in their life’s they start to look for something that can give them hope and reason to live for. That is what the narrator is doing in the story. Looking for Zaabalawi which I think is nothing but inner peace and acceptance of the outcome the disease (death).

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