Essay Questions

How are self-hood, self-consciousness, and individuality brought out in Randa Abdel-Fattah’s Does My Head Look Big in This?

The title that the writer selects for this work is an allusion to the very theme of self-consciousness in the novel and in particular refers to Amal’s hijab, where she asks, Does My Head Look Big in This? In this way, she is depicted as self-conscious. Amal has to get accustomed to her identity as a child and when she enrolls in a Catholic school and becomes the only Muslim there, the fact that she stands out becomes quite problematic for her. As she begins adopting a new style and moving away from her parents’ way of life, they bemoan unaware of the difficulty that she goes through as a result of her identity as a Muslim.

Explore the character of Amal as brought out in Randa Abdel-Fattah’s Does My Head Look Big in This?

Amal is self-conscious. Self-consciousness is the very core of Amal and her existence as a Muslim teenager and a migrant from Palestine. When Amal asks whether her head looks big in the hijab that she is wearing, her self-conscious trait is brought forth. Additionally, when she enrolls in a Christian school in Australia, she becomes the only Muslim there and begins suffering an identity clash—a self-conflict between her culture and the need to fit in. Amal can also be argued as friendly as she enjoys being friends with Leila, the only other girl who is Muslim like her.

Conflict is explicitly tackled in Randa Abdel-Fattah’s Does My Head Look Big in This? Show how this is brought out in the novel.

Amal as a person is portrayed as an acutely religious person. Even though Amal is a believer in the ways that her religion prescribes for her, she also wants to fit in with her peers in school. The fact that Amal is the only Muslim student at the Catholic school does not help the situation in any way. In fact, it makes Amal even more conscious of her identity. Amal is apparently torn between respecting her religion as well as fitting in with her peers. In this way, Abdel-Fattah explores the clash between one's culture as well as religion and the need to fit in which makes one of the major conflicts in literary work.