Kiffe Kiffe Demain Flashcards
What is the significance of first person in kiffe kiffe demain?
on peut s’identifier avec Doria- c’est ecrit comme un journal intime ce qui signifie, nous revevons un témoinage personnel des probl`emes des banlieue.
what is the significance in the change of the title?
au début le titre est kif kif demain qui a un sens péjorative mais quand la vie de voria change- le titre st kiffe kiffe demain avec un message plus optimiste. the language has also changed from arabic to french. could that signal her feeling more comfortable and more accepted.
what is the importance of familly in kiffe kiffe demain
in the book family is interpreted in 2 different ways. for example, in many ways the community is seen as a large family because everyone sticks together. especially the women like aunt zohra.
on the other hand we can also see the impact of a broken family on Doria as a result of her dad leaving them. Throughout the book she talks about him but we get the idea that she’s started to reconcile with him not being part of her life anymore.
various flashbacks- to her father- using distancing language such as le barbre
the importance of feminine solidarity
in kiffe kiffe demain women provide a network of support for another. Aunt zohra and Yasmine support another. Yasmine calls aunt zohra when yousef goes to prison.
doria relates to samra the girl who falls in love with a white man and runs away.
main aggressor seems to be men- either they leave “ un mode ou quoi” or they behave aggressively like in the situation of samra where she is locked up against her will by their familly.
we can also see aunt zohra and yasmine to be big role models of doria- “sans maman l’hotel de M.Schihont il va tout droit a la faillite” “Je trouve qu’elle devient plus courageuse”
The significance of nick name given by Doria
Often doria uses name calling to disrespect others. for example she refuses to call hamoudis girl by her name and pretends to forget what she’s called. she also uses it as a defense mechanism for example in the case of her father who she calls “le barbu” she uses it to distance herself from her true emotions and her deep down desire for him to come back.
she uses nicknames in a similar way towards nabil- a guy that she likes but is embarrased about it.
often a response to the marginalisation and racism she has experienced which affects her own views of her self worth- attempts to bring others down. “ le cyborg” the social worker who is helping improve their situation
doria’s main problems
intimacy- identity and trust
how has the abandonement of her dad affected her?
most of the book is spent by doria trying to fill the void left by her father leaving her. she sees hamoudi as a father figure, someone who watches out for her and supports her. this makes her confused about the feelings that start to grow about him making her feel jealous about his new girlfriend. due to this negative experience, Doria tends to withdraw her feelings and use humour to deflect and repel others so she doesn’t get hurt.
theme of adolescence
Doria’s behaves very immaturely- she calls other’s names gets jealous and shows her general frustration with the marginalisation she receives as an immigrant.
a huge part of the book is the subject of love, beginning with Hamoudi and Nabil.
Doria has a lot of pride which means she finds it difficult to accept help from others no matter how much she needs it. example the psychologist and social worker.
the language she uses heavily reflects her youth- a mixture of verlan and argot.
book itself is written like a diary entry.
obsession with looks, acne breast size etc and hollywood stars
the community
Doria observes from her neighbours who haven’t escaped the poverty that the only routes to success are crime and lottery tickets.
while you gave support there are also the more negative side of sterotypes of women and mysogyne. for example Samra and women are seen as inferior to men
une mode ou quoi
l’education
faiza guene paints a negative view of school in general. teachers are ignorant towards those who live in the suburbs. the teachers do not help Doria despite her problems with the language and even see it as disrespect. the principal is incompetent even described as hiding in his office.
la répresentation de la masculinité
c’est une mode ou quoi- the trend of husbands leaving their wives ( aunt zohra and Yasmine)
Hamoudi- is seen as a father figure to Doria
Nabil a nerd and who doesn’t fit the expectations gets laughed at by Doria for having these traits.
Samra’s situation at being a prisoner to her family again males
reflects Arabic culture- men are seen as superior to women.
what is the cultures definition of a man. at first Doria sees it as someone who protects her this changes when she’s treated well by Nabil and she begins to see that there are things more important.
implied there is frequent domestic violence
male authority figures are almost always shown in a bad light for e.g Yasmine’s boss and the 2 husbands
l’integration
the language that doria uses is a mixure of arabic and verlan. mix of cultures
the book title itself originally in arabic and then changed to french
cultural integration as well as social integraiton
Yasmine threw up the first time she saw France it could have been the shock of paris.
vivre heureux jusqu’a la fin de ses jours.
la culture populaire
doria is very interested in american pop culture often talking about hollywood stars and tv shows. she has a lot of jealousy towards those that hold the typical western beauty standard perhaps because she has the idea that if she looked like that people would respect her more and not leave her. she cuts off barbies boob and hair and describes Hamoudis girlfriends who is also blonde as a prostitute.
la pauvreté
doria finds being poor humiliating. she talks about buying clothes from the thrift shop only for someone in her class to recognise it was their clothes that she is wearing. part of the problem is the discrimination against yasmine for being illiterate. they social help from social workers and a psychiatrist which arguably is one of the only positive ways faiza shows the french general public. doria finds this very humiliating and complains about the process
