Who has the first existence in Palestine , the Palestinians or the Israelis ? Over ages, it is well known that "Canaan", who is one of the Palestinian ancestors, has lived in Palestine, for long time before the Jewish invasion. He was the first farmer and the constructor of that land. That human gave Palestine a special position among all countries existed in that era. He built several Palestinian cities; "Jericho", "Nablus", "Shakim", "Jerusalem"…etc. The history of the Canaan tribes immigration to Palestine goes back even before 3500 B.C according to the Palestinian historical studies. After these groups have resided in Palestine and laid down the root of their culture, society and work, and the companions of the Prophet Moses (also known as Bani Israel) attacked them in order to respond the call of God, for he ordered them to go to Palestine as their holy state. However, there is a vast difference between the people of Israel "Bani Israel", and the Israeli people who live in Palestine now. The first Jews are followers of the right Jewish religion, and they have been led by Moses. The second group the Israeli people who colonized Palestine in 1948,and killed Palestinians by military forces in which to attempts to distort and destroy the heritage of the Palestinians. The narrator of "The land of Sad Oranges" says : "you and I and other of our age were too young to understand what the story meant from the beginning to the end"(75). Both the little boy and his friend, who listen to the story, do not know why the Zionist troops have attacked Palestine in 1948. They are unsophisticated, and they do not have historical knowledge, so they asked themselves some question. Who are they ? why they do they invade us as if Palestine is their mother country? These question and other have flashed in the child's mind and face, but has not find answers to them. He can not find a satisfying solution for these existential question. As a result, he only imitates what others do, so we see him following his father aimlessly in the course of the story.

By the time, the catastrophe happened, and Israel declared is independence in May 1948, a civil war was raging in Palestine. Palestinians and Arabs had rejected a United Nations plan to partition the country between Jews and Palestinians. Arabs from Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Iraq joined Palestinians to battle against Jews, who by then had sustained a huge influx of Jewish immigration for more than 30 years--long enough to establish a de-facto state. Israel's Declaration of Independence was the culmination of what, in retrospect, looked inevitable--the establishment of an independent Jewish state, made up of the Jewish Diaspora, and the triggering of a new, Palestinian Diaspora. (Benny,2008). According to Jameel Al-Hosseini the spokesman of the Arab Higher Committee (AHC) in 1948, the British and the Jewish policy is built on the replacement of the Israeli people by the Palestinians. In which they have distorted the Palestinian Heritage and slaughtered the Historical equality of the human being. They distorted the History and killing the people in brutality way as ,in Sabra and Shatela, Haifa, and Jaffa. He tries to show that the real goal which lies behind the Israeli policy of killing and threatening the Palestinians in order to force them to leave their lands. In "The Land Of Sad Oranges", Ghasan Kanafani tries to connect the solution of the Palestinian case to the real events which happened in 1948, so he uses a number of symbols to confirm that Palestine can not be liberated, only by force. If we look at the chronological organization of the action, we will find that every symbol in the short story is well connected to something really happens. Kanafani attempts to show the readers of his short story the hard, strong, catastrophic results of the Palestinian Nakba on the Refugees in 1948. He summarizes his short story by mentioning three meaningful symbols that reflect a real image of the Palestinians how they become outcast and the refugees' life. The narrator says "when my glance fell on your father's face …I saw at the same moment the black revolver..and beside it an orange" (80). The Little child sees his father' face, the black revolver, and the shriveled orange at the same time. Kanafani wants to highlight the relation between the daily political life in Palestine and the practical techniques to resolve the problem of the Israeli occupation since 1948.

The Palestinian leadership did its best in 1948 to liberate the occupied land, but it could not; because the Arab countries did not support it. In his short story, Kanafani employs a number of symbols in order to show us the tragic position of the Palestinian leadership in 1948. He tries to attract the leaders in his short story by using these simple signs. In addition, he wants to draw the real image of the Palestinians' life at that time. The little child says, "It was rather cloudy, and a chilly feeling invaded my body" (75). These bad feelings invade the body of the narrator. Kanafani makes this analogy with this personification in order to tell us how Israel and its allies attacked Palestine in 1948. He asserts that the land of oranges itself suffers from the bad, ugly, and disastrous effects of the Israeli occupation until now." The actions of the short story embody deeply what the land means in the Palestinians' life," said Mohammad Khaleel. Kanafani shares the same ideas with khaleel who believes that the land is the most important that we have, and they assure that we must defend and protect it. Khaleel confirms the value of the land and emphasizes the meaning of being homeless. Kanafani mentions another image in which he gives to his audience a foreshadowing to the dark future which will face the Palestinians later on. He draws an effective comparison between the clouds and the black road which the narrator sees in Ras Naqura and the catastrophic events that will challenges the refugees in the exile. Kanafani employs these symbols to highlight the bad, strong, and distractive problems of our relative who live in the refugees' camps, and to declare that they have the right to return and live in peace. Finally, Kanafani notes the Palestinian family which is completely cooperative and well connected, for it represent every Palestinian. "You and I p(75) the narrator says. The little boy dose not say he stand alone. He hints that everyone watches the actions with him from the beginning till the end, so they become outcasts and refugees together. "Our family problems had began" p(78). Both the previous quotations describe how the Palestinians support their leaderships, and how they share it the same problems. The Israeli occupation wants to divide this family in order to control it easily, but it refuses even to talk about one of its members far from the others. In the course of the short story, the Palestinian family rejects the Israeli oppression and refuses the life under the restrictions of the occupation.

When the Israeli military groups invaded Palestine in 1948, the Arab leadership could not do any thing to resolve the Palestinians' problems even when they became outcasts. Kanafani argues the deeds that the Arab regimes, in general, to solve the Palestinians case. He describes the Arab armies in an ironic way. The narrator says, "The friendly soldiers were looking at us from under their helmets silent and motionless" p (78). The Arab soldiers are silent, and they can not do any thing to liberate Palestine. They are running after their leadership which orders them to stand far from the Palestinians' problems. Even in 1948, when the Israeli army started the independence war against them, they spent their time, in vain, on making the useless conferences and agreement which ended with the independence of the Israel state. Netanel Lorch assures that the Arab armies in 1948, had stronger weapons and equipments than Israel, but they fail and lost the war which finished with Israeli control over every region in Palestine p(1). Netanel mentions the most important point which controls the conflict between the Arab armies and the Israeli military groups. In 1948, the Arab force was stronger and more effective than the Israeli one, but the Arab countries could not do any thing . If they have had that great strength, why did not they liberate our occupied lands? Can we find one answer to this important question? Of course, we can find even a person who can talk honestly about that Nakba and about the results of that disastrous war. Mitchell Bard confirms that the west helps Israel p(8). Kanafani hints to that point in his short story when he describes the soldier who is stationed to Ras Naqura in order to collect the guns from the Palestinians p(76).Here, we find that Brad agrees what Kanafani says. Brad highlights an effective, important, and strong elements in 1948 war. The west supports Israel and stands by it every war. In the course of the story, Kanafani argues the reasons which lie behind the Arab regimes silence and motionless. The Arab leaders are too afraid from the punishments which the west makes against the country that will affect the Israel right of having safe existence in Palestine. Brad agrees what Kanafani says, and both of them answer the previous question that Netanel argues. Netanel' s question aims to remark the reason and the result of the catastrophic war in 1948. In fact, the Palestinians specially, and the Arab people in general do not know why they run their after leadership, so they can not make any serious, real, and great attempt to find a satisfied resolution for the case of Palestine. In addition, they must read the history again and over again in order to know the truth which lies behind the collaborated regimes from 1948 till now.

In 1948, the Israeli army occupied Palestine by using the military force, so occupied lands can not be regained only through of the military choice, Kanafani end his short story with three strong, meaningful, catchy symbols which work as salary to his fiction. He sums up his short story with mentioning the part of the Palestinians - Israeli conflict which consists of the leadership, the resolution, and the occupied regions. He aims to give his audiences a foreshadowing to the future of the Palestinian case. The little child says, " I slipped into the room like a pariah. When my glance fell on your father's face, which was twitching with impotent fury, I saw at the same moment the black revolver lying on the low table, and beside it an orange. The orange was dried up and shriveled "p(80). Kanafani shows the headline which every must Palestinians must follow in order to achieve the general goals that every one of us runs after the father is in bed, ill, the revolvers till lies on the table, and an orange sits alongside, "dried-up and shriveled". Leaving off with an ending such as this demonstrates Kanafani's purpose in this work to illustrate the frailty of the human's nature and also to depict the pain of loss. Even material possessions, which can so easily come and go, have a way of embedding themselves in us, emotionally as well as behaviorally. He draws the image of the Palestinians decision makers who could not make any thing to get the Israeli occupation out from Palestine in 1948. Then, Kanafani goes on to reassure the solution tool by which can liberate our land and become free. He illustrates the slogan that says " Whatever is taking by force can not be regained, only by force ". He invites the Palestinians individuals everywhere to revolt against the Israeli occupation. He does not believe that Palestine can be free by negotiations or an other diplomatic method. He challenges that the Palestinians case would not be resolved neither by using peaceful resistance, nor will it be solved by following the negotiations with Israel, but it must be solved by the usage of the military force. The third final symbol that kanafani asserts is the orange which embodies the occupied areas of Palestine that suffer the oppression of the Israeli occupiers. Nabeel Aodeh says, "There are two attractive elements in this short story; the first thing is the well written literary image, and the second is the signs which are too simple to be understood "P(1).

In accordance to the text of the fiction, we will find the simplicity of Kanafani' s symbols, in order to show the readers of his prose the obvious part of our case without spending their time on thinking about what every symbol of them means in the real life of the Palestinians. The little child has a small brain which can imagine only the simple signs and the pictures of our happens in 1948. The narrator sees these small images at the same time which reflect the position of Palestine after Nakba in 1948, and the boy hints to their meaning in the course of the story.

Resources

Top Categories

Product

Company