Cross-Cultural Themes in Kuwaiti Literature: A Detailed Analysis

This essay provides a thematic analysis of two literary pieces: Saud Alsanousi's 'The Bamboo Stalk' and Bothayna al-Essa's 'An Unexpected Encounter in Uppsala.' 'The Bamboo Stalk' explores themes of belonging and cross-cultural identity, portraying the narrator's search for his origins and homeland. The novel delves into the complexities of cultural activities and political scenes in Kuwait and the Philippines. In contrast, 'An Unexpected Encounter in Uppsala' examines themes of conflict and desire, highlighting the narrator's experience as an outsider in Sweden and his ambitions, while also revealing a sense of contempt for his own culture. Both narratives depict the crisis in cultural and religious identities, emphasizing boundaries and cross-cultural experiences within the Kuwaiti social context. Desklib offers this essay as part of its collection of solved assignments for students.

Running head: AN ANALYSIS OF THEMES
AN ANALYSIS OF THEMES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1AN ANALYSIS OF THEMES
Saud Alsanousi is an eminent journalist and novelist who had been famous in the Kuwait
regions. The Bamboo Stalk, one of the creations of the eminent authors that has helped him to
win the accolades all over the world. Bothayna al-Essa is another famous author of Kuwait who
have been famous for his compositions in the field of literature. The following essay deals with
the thematic analysis of the two literary pieces composed by Saud Alsanousi and Bothayna al-
Essa respectively.
The Bamboo Stalk is one of the famous novels of Saud Alsanousi that deals with the
cultural activities that are evident in the social and the political scenes of the concern ed
countries of Kuwait and Philippines (Alsanousi, 2015). The major themes that have been
developed in the fiction narrative are those that pertain to belonging and the cross-cultural
identity of the person. This is clearly expressed when the narrator in The Bamboo Stalk wishes
to be like a bamboo stalk and opines that “It does not take the stalk long to grow new roots. They
grow again in a new land without a past…without a memory” (Alsanousi, 2015). The other
theme that is discussed within the fiction narrative is the theme of homelessness among the
characters who have been discussed within the story. The story majorly revolves round the self-
realization of the author on the matters that pertain to the origins of the author. The story line of
the novel attempts to trace the roots of the narrator. The narrator of the story is found to be in
search of the actual homeland and religion that he belongs to all throughout the story and in that
attempt the readers are intimated with the characteristics of the various members of the family of
the author.
An Unexpected Encounter in Uppsala is an excerpt from the famous novel of Bothayna
al-Essa named A Soundless Encounter (Al-Essa, Ismail & Alrefai, 2013). This excerpt generally
deals with the major themes of conflicts and the desires of the narrator regarding the matters that

2AN ANALYSIS OF THEMES
pertain to the status that he has been given of an outsider in the country of Sweden. The author in
this case lays more stress on the ambitions that are harbored by the narrator. The author attempts
an analysis of the situations that have led to the conditions that the narrator has been going
through. The eminent author tends to depict the themes of homelessness and the origins of the
narrator and the contempt that has been present within the minds of the guide who helps the
narrator in Sweden. The guide depicts the absence of the motherland through the expressions
when he argues “I would be able to tell Kuwaiti and Swedish rain apart even if blindfolded” (Al-
Essa, Ismail & Alrefai, 2013). The narrator in An Unexpected Encounter in Uppsala unlike the
narrator of The Bamboo Stalk, is observed to be very disrespectful about his own cultures and
origins. The narrator in this case is observed to be holding on to his ambitions while the narrator
of the former novel is observed to have been making attempts to find out the matters that pertain
to his origins and his roots. The stories depict the themes of crisis in the cultural and the religious
identities of the narrators and protagonists of the novels in discussion, The Bamboo Stalk and
An Unexpected Encounter in Uppsala.
This, from the above discussion it might be concluded that the themes of boundaries and
cross-cultural identities have been depicted very clearly in the given literary pieces. The given
literary pieces truly reflect the cultural and social background that is maintained within Kuwait
as well as deals with the cross-cultural identities that need to be maintained by the nationals of
the country.

3AN ANALYSIS OF THEMES
References
Al-Essa, B., Ismail, I. & Alrefai, T. (2013). Fiction from Kuwait (Banipal Magazine of Modern
Arab Literature). Banipal Publishing.
Alsanousi, S. (2015). The Bamboo Stalk. Bloomsbury Publishing.