Resistance for home development
Society understands home and dwelling differently: it is only possible to create domesticity in the home. According to Massey (11), the home offers the value of security, stability, and freedom. This feeling is created in different ways, and for Hooks, it arose from black resistance to white supremacy (385). Hooks believes that white resistance resulted in changing gender roles in families (385). Resistance to oppression and slavery was successfully exploited by black women who articulated a new understanding of home. Freedom and the struggle for it became the red thread that could lead a person to form a home-and. According to Hooks, black women made this their primary focus (384). This paper aims to explore Bilal’s opposition to slavery, establish the role of faith in resistance, and identify why resistance succeeds.
Bilal’s resistance against slavery
Creating a home and making it safe is possible if the individual himself is accessible and understands his boundaries. It would seem that resistance and struggle cannot go alongside the home, but Hooks assures us that this is the best way (383). One can trace the importance of resistance in achieving a sense of home through the example of Bilal in the novel Jamal Ayman. Bilal’s fate is quite tragic because he endures the enslavement and murder of his mother. Bilal’s confrontation begins with an understanding of human relationships that are dominated by brutality. Jamal tells the story that Bilal managed to keep within himself the desire to be free, as his mother had taught him. He sincerely believed that fighting would achieve freedom and equality. His character epitomized struggle (Jamal), so no amount of violence deprived him of the qualities of a good man. He believed in his way as the only right way, and this helped him to triumph and create a home, a refuge in which he was free.
Faith is the hardest way
Bilal’s story is not the only example of people fighting to create a home. Kunta Kinte sought to maintain his commitment to his roots; he wanted to be free (Courlander 294). His struggle was volatile, with no clear goal or direction. Unlike Bilal, Kinte conducted many experiments instead of concrete attempts at change. He was thrown into a new environment, but instead of believing in his strength and freedom, he chose to adapt to enslavement. Although Courlander (294) believes that Kinte has enough courage to resist white supremacy, he lacks evident faith. Bilal is persistent and presents his notions of morality with dignity, but Kinte builds self-illusions that he cannot realize. Understanding resistance in this way, it can be argued that KintĂ© has not achieved home creation because he lacks faith in his resistance and freedom.
Torment will not stop the right
Resistance is hard path and requires some strength and ability on the part of the individual. Inner strength must dominate so that there are conditions for using physical strength to resist. For Bilal, such a test was the torture of the stone on his chest (Jamal). It cost him great willpower and psychological stability to resist and maintain his belief in the equality of men. His mental freedom dominated in contrast to Sisyphus, who did not seek to break out of the vicious circle by continuing to roll the stone to the top of the mountain (Lane). Sisyphus built illusions of his freedom; he had no faith in his way because it was not a struggle like Bilal’s or Kinte’s. Sisyphus believed that the imaginary sense of freedom created by his ability to roll a stone up a mountain defined him as a free man. In reality, he had no faith in his struggle because he did not have strong convictions and attitudes like Bilal. It cannot be argued that he did not try, but a path without faith will not result in his anguish and resistance.
Resistance needs faith
From the example of Sisyphus, we can see that resistance as a process is essential if it is grounded in faith or strong convictions. The struggle is a work on oneself, among other things, to overcome the lack of a sense of home (Hooks 384). Young (134) believes social prejudice stops progress considerably, and only a strong will can help a person overcome this feeling. Young believes that the example of Sisyphus does not represent an excellent job of creating a home and security: he is not looking for a way to that sense of home. Unlike Bilal, Sisyphus is weak because he cannot suppress external and internal pressures, only maintaining illusions and convincing himself that he is on the right track.
Summary
Resistance as a social process can change a reality where not everyone is free. Bilal’s example shows how it is possible to resist slavery and defend one’s will and beliefs: he does so through inner strength and a sincere belief in his rightness and the equality of people. Kinte could not achieve his freedom because his path was too long, and his beliefs never grew into faith. Sisyphus did not try well because his will was not as strong, and instead of freedom, he chose the illusion of victory. If one wants to overcome unrighteousness, one must understand whether he or she can do so in the only way and by faith in his or her life. Overcoming social constructs and transforming society would create a sense of a secure and free home.
Works Cited
Courlander, Harold. “Kunta Kinte’s Struggle to Be African.” Phylon (1960-), vol. 47, no. 4, 1986, p. 294.
Hooks, Bell. “Homeplace (a Site of Resistance).” Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics., Routledge, 1990, pp. 382-390.
Jamal, Ayman. “Bilal: A New Breed of Hero.” Archive, 2015, Web.
Lane, Bob. “The Absurd Hero.” Swartmore.edu, 1996, Web.
Massey, Doreen. “A Place Called Home?” New Formations, no. 17, 1992, pp. 2–25.
Young, Iris Marion. “House and Home: Feminist Variations on a Theme.” Intersecting Voices: Dilemmas of Gender, Political Philosophy, and Policy, Princeton UP, 1997, pp. 134-185. Web.