Haydar- Strengths and Weaknesses

Haydar Strengths and Weaknesses 

Haydar was very successful in making a strong connection with her audience. She used personal anecdotes and did a very good job at identifying with the readers emotions, also known as pathos. For example she starts off her piece with two quotes from the Quran that give insight as to how her religion operates. She then proceeds into her first paragraph by saying "I have a confession to make". It is then explained how Haydar did not choose to become veiled in order to honor tradition. She choose to be veiled so she could receive a board game called Girl Talk. Later in her piece she compares muslim women to the typical New York city American. She gives an anecdote about how she is sitting on a bus when she hears a woman make a remark about the way she is dressed. Haydar explains how this girls idea of freedom consists of "beauty products, plastic surgery, and self-help guides". Her perception of freedom consisting of loads of make up, complicated hairstyles and tight jeans is in fact way more oppressive and painful than the veil Haydar wears. Through veiling muslim women in fact experience more freedom and respect. Haydar writes about the misconception of freedom and beauty through comparative situations. I thought Haydar's piece was very strong overall however it could be argued that she used generalizations about Americans and even about Muslim women. Not all Americans are obsessed with physical appearance and outer beauty. Aside from her generalizations I thought she did a really good job overall and succeeded in connecting with her audience.