In this chapter, several themes are developed and explored, some of which are prevalent in the previous chapters, some of which aren’t. They are listed below.
Revenge:
· “But with this revolver… I can do wonderful things.” (p.213) The ‘wonderful things’ that Said refers to here are, of course, his gaining revenge by hurting and/or killing those who have hurt him such as Rauf Ilwan, Nabawiyya and Ilish Sidra.
Love:
· “… she’ll only find that a locked heart becomes increasingly difficult to unlock…” (p.215) As mentioned before, Said closes his heart so that no one can hurt him the way Nabawiyya did since she was the last person he opened his heart to.
· “I had no time for love then.” (p.216) The irony of this theme is that when Said didn’t have time for love, his wife loved him, but when he finally had the time for love, his wife no longer loved him.
· “When you went to jail, no one grieved as much as I did.” (p.216) Nur expresses her love for Said, something which makes her bend backwards for and break the rules to help Said and to ensure his comfort, safety and security.
Secrecy:
· “Nothing, whatever, in fact.” (p.214) Said tries to hide the fact that the car Nur helped him steal was used for the murder of ‘Ilish’. By keeping it a secret from Nur, Said ensures that she doesn’t remove him from her home because of the crime he committed despite all the love she has for him.
· “‘But you haven’t done anything really serious, have you?’ … He dismissed the question by shrugging nonchalantly.” (p.216) Again, by engaging in secrecy, Said tries to put up a façade of a man changed by prison so that, again, Nur won’t remove him from her home despite all the love she has for him.
January 30, 2009 at 10:41 am
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March 3, 2009 at 2:11 pm
“with [his] revolver… [he] can do wonderful things [such as awakening] those who are asleep” (p213) also suggests the theme of power. Although this quote can also suggest the theme of revenge, the way Said thinks, almost hopeful and determined shows how the gun can suggest the theme of power or empowerment.
Hate is also a theme that plays subtly in this chapter, it is projected through the concept of “woman”. Said’s hate for woman due to bad experiences shows the theme of hate, a contrast to the love that Nur provides for him in this chapter. “she means pain and fury and wasted bullets! what she wants to hear is a humiating confession” (p215). Hate is also shown through Said’s lack of trust for anyone anymore “I have no people” (p215).
Hate can also be shown even more subtly through Nur as she yells “The bitch!”, “A man like you deserves to be waited for, even if he’s been sent for life!”, this shows how hate can spring out of love, the source being Nabawiyya (the same source of hate that has embodied Said).
“How sly she is! But a man like me doesn’t like to be pitied” (p216) also show his resistance or ill emotion towards women, even Nur, who seems to symbolize compassion and love and safety in the novel.