Perspectives

Historical perspectives

There are several ways to put “The Rain Missed My Face and Fell Straight to My Shoes” into perspective. One is to look at the historical perspectives. 

The short story refers to the Iraq War (2003-2011) in which Iraq was invaded by a Western coalition led by the US. Britain joined the coalition in 2002, at the decision of Prime Minister Tony Blair. (Something which Aqil criticizes in the short story). 

The aim of the war was to find weapons of mass destruction and remove Saddam Hussein from power as he was suspected of having ties to al-Qaeda. None of this turned out to be true but Hussein was removed …

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Works with the same themes

The short story “Aline’s Journey” (2003) by Edwidge Danticat tells the story of Aline and her family who try to enter the US illegally from Haiti. Unlike Samir in “The Rain Missed My Face and Fell Straight to My Shoes”, they are captured by police and told that they will be deported. Thus, their dreams of a better life are crushed, while Samir might still have some hope left

In the short story “The Third and Final Continent” (1999) by Jhumpa Lahiri, the narrator tells the story of how he left India and settled in the US. Now, 30 years later, he has managed to build a good life for himself and his family. Unlike Samir in “The Rain Missed My Face and Fell Straight to My Shoes”, the narrato…