According to the reply complete the essay.
Woman at Point Zero PASSAGE
My father, a poor peasant farmer, who could neither read nor write, knew very few things in life. How to grow crops, how to sell a buffalo poisoned by his enemy before it died, how to exchange his Virgin daughter for a dowry when there was still time, how to be quicker than his neighbor in stealing from the fields once the crop was ripe. How to bend over the headman’s hand to pretend to kiss it, how to beat his wife and make her bite the dust each night.
Every Friday morning he would put a clean galabeya and head for the mosque to attend the weekly prayer. The prayer over, I would see him walking with other men like himself as they commented on the Friday sermon, on how convincing and eloquent the Imam had been to a degree that he had surpassed the unsurpassable.
For was it not verily true that stealing was a sin, and killing was a sin, and defaming the honor of a woman was a sin…? Moreover, who could deny that to be obedient was a duty, and to love one’s country too. That love of the ruler for many long years and he remain a source of inspiration and strength to our country, the Arab Nation and all Mankind.
I could see them walking through the narrow winding lanes, nodding their heads in admiration, and in approval of everything his holiness the imam had said. I would watch them as they continued to nod their heads, rub their hands one against the other, wipe their brows while all the time invoking Allah’s name, calling upon his blessings, repeating His holy words in a guttural, subdued tone, muttering and whispering without a moment’s respite.
THESIS
The passage basically speaks about poverty and religion. The author explains his father’s poverty and how he used to go about with his religion.
BODY PARAGRAPH 1 Poverty, the author tries to explain how poor his father was. She comes up with a descriptive approach, bringing out a clear picture of his father’s poverty. Nawal couples poverty with illiteracy.
She says, “My father, a poor peasant farmer, who could neither read nor write, knew very few things in life. Then, she goes ahead to state the few things that his father knew, which seem irrelevant. She says that he only knew how to, grow crops, how to be quicker in stealing than his neighbors among other gullible things.
BODY PARAGRAPH 2
Religion reigns supreme in the passage as well. Nawal gives a narration of how the father would wake up every morning and leave for the Mosque. She explains how the father would go on with the weekly prayers, walking with fellow men, commenting on the day’s sermon. They knew the rules in the Quran and that they were bound to follow them. She states that she would see them through the widow, nodding in admiration and agreement of what the holy Imam had taught them.
From the passage, it is evident that the father was a staunch Muslim, who took his religion seriously. He together with his fellow men, would take time to invoke Allah’s name, call upon his blessings, and repeat His holy names in a subdued tone. This clearly brings to picture the theme of religion in this book.