46 pages • 1 hour read
Dave EggersZeitoun
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2009A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Animals
Animals are symbolic of humility, innocence and service. When families flee the hurricane, hundreds of pets are left behind. Many people thought they’d be back, of course, but when they weren’t able to return, their pets died from neglect. Zeitoun notes that even the animals that were able to reach higher ground were overcome by the flood. Zeitoun makes it a point not only to find the abandoned dogs in his neighborhood, but to feed them and show them a measure of kindness. In this sense, animals are no different than humans. They need to be rescued and looked after as well, and yet little thought was given to them. Zeitoun even witnessed horrible abuses done to animals during the disaster, injustice he couldn’t comprehend
The Subversion of Gender Roles
The subversion of gender roles is most evident in Kathy’s case. Raised in a Christian household, Kathy decided as an adult to convert to Islam. Her demeanor is a far cry from stereotypical representations of Muslim women as docile and quiet. One example of this is when she curses at the group of teenagers who were harassing her and trying to rip off her hijab. Kathy is also the face of their company, dealing with all the administrative and logistical elements of the business. She plays an active role in getting Zeitoun released from prison, and even in procuring his wallet once he’s released. She also lets the media and other outlets know about the injustices being done to her husband and others.
Photos
Photos appear throughout the narrative, and Zeitoun himself is constantly referring to pictures of his childhood. Photos work as time capsules, in a sense. They’re a way to bear witness to the events that shaped the lives of Zeitoun and his family. Photos also ground the reader in reality, helping to place the nonfiction narrative into the very real eyewitness accounts of the photos, giving credence to the author’s narrative of the Zeitoun family and their ordeals.
Water
Water is a powerful symbol and a recurring motif in the narrative. Zeitoun has been around water his entire life, and water is what his father feared would destroy his family. From childhood, however, Zeitoun and his brothers loved being around water, like many of the children in Jableh. Indeed, Mohammed, one of Zeitoun’s older brothers, went on to become a champion ocean swimmer. Zeitoun also joined Ahmad, another brother, as a sailor, and traveled the world. It’s during a dream of the sea that Zeitoun realizes the city of New Orleans is being flooded. After all this time, he ends up back on the water, paddling through New Orleans in his canoe, helping others and feeling inspired. Water acts as a conduit in the narrative, it brings people, like Zeitoun, to their destinations. It is also a powerful and destructive element, leveling an entire city, and causing widespread panic and destruction.
Cages
Cages appear a number of times in the narrative, most notably when Zeitoun is arrested and imprisoned. Before his arrest, however, Zeitoun successfully rescues dogs in his Uptown neighborhood, releasing them from their cage, feeding them and caring for them. He also thinks back to the time when he and his brother Ahmad built cages for their pet birds in Jableh. When he’s imprisoned in an outdoor cage at Camp Greyhound, the resemblance to conditions in Guantanamo Bay is uncanny. Zeitoun feels that he’s being treated like a terrorist, a criminal. Indeed, a few of the soldiers accuse him of being a member of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Zeitoun’s imprisonment shows how the breakdown of justice cages the innocent and allows the guilty to go free. It shows how an individual can be stripped of his or her humanity in an instant, and without just cause.
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By Dave Eggers
