This text talks about how people in Europe, especially in the 1800s, thought about and talked about the East, or the “Orient.” It uses the example of a famous writer, Flaubert, who met an Egyptian woman named Kuchuk Hanem. Flaubert was rich, male, and from Europe, and because of that, he had power over her. He told everyone what she was like and described her as a “typical Oriental” woman, even though she never got to speak for herself or share her own feelings or story. This took away her autonomy and her rights and made the story feel more male oriented towards the ideas.

The text says that this wasn’t just something Flaubert did by chance; it shows a bigger pattern of how people from the West thought they were better than people from the East. It also explains that Orientalism isn’t just made up stories, it’s a way of thinking that became really important and lasted a long time, especially in schools and government. Even though it’s based on false ideas, it’s been taught for so long that it’s had a big impact on how people in the West see the East.

My initial interpretation of orientalism came from a different class I had which looked at it in a more modern way of making items look ornament and not wanting their looks to be messed up by those who touch them, when reading this i thought of a different story fun house and how it was about a asian girl if i am not mistaken going through life and questioning her identity and feel like she couldn’t talk to anyone in her family about it as her mom was gone and it was just her dad who wanted them to live up to certain ideals and standards. 

One question I guess i have for the text is how does orientalism carry on thorough todays society and do we see it in any media for girls since western culture is what is dominant in media today was well as in the text.