Does My Head Look Big In This?

Food as a symbol has multiple interpretations, both within the novel and for us as readers, depending on the context. Islamic faith recognizes halal food (which is permissible), and haram food (forbidden for Muslims, like pork meat). In this sense, for several characters in the novel (including the protagonist, Amal), food is another representation of their religious observance. Uncle Joe and Aunt Mandy, who do not follow the strict rules of Islam, criticize Amal’s family by commenting, “in Ramadan, we’re ‘mad’ to fast. When it’s prayer time, they ask us why we bother. When we buy halal food, we’re ‘too extreme’” (71). In this instance, food becomes a symbol of division, because non-Muslims and nonobservant Muslims fail to grasp the significance the choice of food has for believers.

During the fasting month of Ramadan, abstaining from food symbolizes purification. In a similar sense (although nonreligious), abstaining from food represents both hope and punishment for Amal’s friend Simone (hope that by losing weight she will become “acceptable,” and punishment because she is under pressure from her mother and society). For the reader, in this context, food symbolizes oppression by the damaging standards in popular culture regarding a woman’s attractiveness.

With older women like Mrs. Vaselli and Leila’s mother, Gulchin, food symbolizes life. It becomes a ritual to feed everybody; through food, they express the wish for vitality, both for themselves and for those whom they serve. Amal’s mother always prepares a lot of food when her younger brother visits, as a sign of affection. Additionally, the choice of food in the novel represents a desire for simplicity and straightforwardness: When Amal’s parents celebrate their anniversary, her father books a fancy restaurant, yet they decide on the spot to go for a simple kebab instead. 

The motif of choice is central to this novel, which opens with Amal debating whether to start wearing a hijab full time. This choice will inform the whole book, and will lead Amal down a path of self-understanding and maturity. By choosing to wear a veil, Amal also chooses to present herself clearly to the community as an observing Muslim, opening herself up to ridicule, prejudice, and expressions of hatred as well as support. Her friends Simone and Eileen choose to support her in her decision, and their choice cements their status as outsiders in the posh school they attend. However, Adam’s choice to learn to understand Amal’s decision does not come easy, because he does not grasp the significance of religious faith in Amal’s life. (If he understood this, he would not have made the choice to make a romantic advance, because he would have known that, according to her religion, Amal cannot form romantic engagements before marriage.)

Mrs. Vaselli’s choice to renounce her son costs her many years of happiness and enjoyment with her family. In contrast, her choice to reconnect with her son at the end of the novel, although a hard decision to make, brings her joy. Similarly, Gulchin’s choice to observe old-fashioned Turkish traditions and customs almost costs her relationship with Leila, because Leila chooses to follow her own heart and live her life according to her ambitions. By the end of the novel, Gulchin too, chooses to accept that times have changed and that she has to sacrifice some of her beliefs to keep her child happy and a part of her life.

The author places the motif of choice in the center of her work because she wants to show that we always have choices, and that although some of them are hard to make, they are crucial to our development as human beings. The choices her characters make propel the action of the novel and create the multistory arc. 

The motif of diversity is significant in this novel because of its setting. Australia is a country of immigrants, and as such, it is important that many diverse ethnicities, religions, and cultures make themselves heard and become part of the Australian cultural landscape. The author, Randa Abdel-Fattah, is of Egyptian and Palestinian origin, and she has placed diversity at the core of her novel to allow different voices to express themselves and to illustrate the way diversity-rich communities can function.

The protagonist, Amal, comes from a Palestinian family, her friend Leila is Turkish, and Yasmeen’s parents are British and Pakistani. Of her school friends, Josh is Jewish, Eileen is Japanese, Adam and Simone are of Anglo-Saxon descent, and her next-door neighbor, Mrs. Vaselli, is Greek and an Orthodox Christian. By creating characters of such diverse backgrounds, the author emphasizes the richness of Australian culture, and she shows us through Amal’s experiences that the interconnectedness between all of these cultures and religions is what makes Australia great. Through exposing the dark side of prejudice and casual racism, the author also indicates that there has to be a balance in representation and a respect for minorities. Appreciation of diversity thus becomes an important motif and one of the key messages of the novel.