Allegory-By showing the mistreatment of the prisoners Egger's acts as an allegory and slows down the speed of the story to describe how the victims treatment should change.
"'If you touch the fence I'll fuck you up!'"(220)..."Chain-link fences, topped by razor wire, had been erected into a long, sixteen-foot-high cage extending about a hundred yards into the lot. Above the cage was a roof, a freestanding shelter like those at gas stations. The barbed wire extended to meet it."(218)..."A few feet a way, they dropped him on the pavement, and with the help of two more guards, they tied his hands and feet with plastic hand-cuffs. He did not resist."(233)
Dramatic Irony- Zeitoun did not know that the levee's would break. The reader did making the scene fairly predictable yet scary. "He sat up up and looked down through the window that faced the backyard. He saw the water, a wide sea of it. It was coming from the north. It flowed into the yard, under the house, rising quickly.
Ethos-The ethos (projected character) of Zeitoun shows how his own personal morals are outweighing the dangers that he is facing. Though there is no one quote to pin this to Zeitoun the fact that he satays to feed dogs and save people show the ethos that he poseeses. (Noun: The characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as seen in its beliefs and aspirations)
Motif- The idea of discrimination(mainly Muslim) is a motif throughout the creative novel. "Zeitoun had long feared this day would come. Each of the few times he had been pulled over for a traffic violation, he knew the possibility he had been pulled over for a traffic violation , he knew the possibility existed that he would be harassesd, misunderstood, suspected of shadowy dealings that might bloom in the imagination of any given police officer. After 9/11 he and Kathy knew that many imaginations had rum amok."(212)
Climax- The Climax of Zeitoun is when the police officers enter the house and arrest Zeitoun.
“‘I live here,’ Todd said. ‘I have proof. It’s inside the house.’ ‘Get in the boat,’ the officer said” (207). This quote shows the scene where the officers cam in and arrested the men, despite the fact that these men are doing nothing wrong, they are in their own homes.
Simile- A simile used by Dave Eggers is, “Ahmed and Abdulahman built more homes for them,until they had assembled complex that looked not unlike the stone and adobe structures in their neighborhood, homes stacked upon each other, rising up from the ocean, interlocking like a crude Mosaic” (161).
Metaphor- A metaphor in the novel is “They Repeated Mayor Nagin’s assertion that the city had devolved into an ‘animalistic state’” (183). This is a metaphor because they compare a city to a animal.
Tone- The tone of this novel is very sad. Kathy is a good example of the tone because she is sad for a good portion of the story because she is afraid that she has lost her husband. A quote to show this is “twenty-five thousand body bags have been brought into the area, they noted” (183).
Imagery:
“the water, now green-grey and streaked everywhere with oil. It smelled dirtier every day, a wretched mélange of fish and mud and chemicals.”
“The sky was muddy, the wind cool.”
Symbolism:
“There were three horses, chewing happily. They were free, with no riders or saddles.”
The horses are symbolic of the normality of life that exists in some places despite wide-spread destruction and confusion.
Alliteration: “happy to help”
“blue blouse”
“to talk to Todd”
Circumlocution: Wednesday September 7th - Saturday September 17th could have been cut down to one chapter of Kathy worrying.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Links to related sites and interview with Zeitoun
1) The Guardian's article on Zeitoun's story here
A tour and interview with Abdulrahman Zeitoun
2) The Zeitoun Foundation
Profits from book sales go to rebuilding New Orleans
3) The short story of another New Orleans hero
Rescued many in a borrowed boat and helped on other fronts as well.
A tour and interview with Abdulrahman Zeitoun
2) The Zeitoun Foundation
Profits from book sales go to rebuilding New Orleans
3) The short story of another New Orleans hero
Rescued many in a borrowed boat and helped on other fronts as well.
Images
Zeitoun witnesses looting and Kathy stresses that the looting and chaos could be dangerous for Zeitoun.
The Quran is the religious book used in the Muslim faith. The Zeitoun's follow this book even though Kathy was raised Christian.
Kathy and the children go to seek refuge at her friends house in Arizona.(Arizona flag)
Zeitoun and his family were born and raised in Syria.
Zeitoun tours the underwater city saving people and animals on his aluminum canoe.
Zeitoun made a point to feed the dogs he saw and heard in the city around him. Above the police are helping the dogs.
Zeitoun and Kathy run a contracting and painting business in NOLA, they were believed to be a gay company because of the rainbow.
Zeitoun grills himself chicken and other meats on the roof using a small grill. He is fortunate to have good food.
The only way to get around the city was by boat, Zeitoun did the same. These men are pitching in to help children get to safety.
People waded out into the city with all the food water and possessions they could get and tried to swim to safety and dry land. They often abandon all the things they had.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Discussion Question
After Zeitoun comments that he notices the flood waters draining he seems relieved, did you think that Zeitoun was going to leave when he had the chance? Why do you think he stays after everything he sees?
-Lexi
-Lexi
Monday, May 2, 2011
Links to various Hurricane Sites.
1.) Hurricane Katrina-The Numbers and Stats
Seeing the statistics of the deadly storm that Zeitoun fortunately survived.
2.) Pictures of the aftermath.
A view of what New Orleans looked like after the hurricane and what Zeitoun survived through.
3.) What happened to Zeitoun?
The article on the arrest of the main character of the book
4.) All the news on Katrina.
A website dedicated to what went on in NOLA.
5.) Did Global Warming cause this?
New insight on to how the hurricane was impacted by global warming and how global warming could have been the reason Zeitoun had so many things to overcome.
6.) Pictures and descriptions
What New Orleans looked like through the eyes of Zeitoun and the others who stayed.
7.) Timeline
The calender of events and the timeline of things Zeitoun experienced while stranded on his rooftop.
8.) FEMA
A look at FEMA's funded rescue efforts in New Orleans. FEMA helped Zeitoun by giving him food and water.
9.) Pet Rescue Efforts-Lost and Found
Zeitoun gave some dogs food and water but not all pets were fed and taken care of.
10.) Abandon in the sunken city
Some pets were lost around the city of New Orleans, though Zeitoun and the others were trying to save these animals, people couldn't always get to them.
Seeing the statistics of the deadly storm that Zeitoun fortunately survived.
2.) Pictures of the aftermath.
A view of what New Orleans looked like after the hurricane and what Zeitoun survived through.
3.) What happened to Zeitoun?
The article on the arrest of the main character of the book
4.) All the news on Katrina.
A website dedicated to what went on in NOLA.
5.) Did Global Warming cause this?
New insight on to how the hurricane was impacted by global warming and how global warming could have been the reason Zeitoun had so many things to overcome.
6.) Pictures and descriptions
What New Orleans looked like through the eyes of Zeitoun and the others who stayed.
7.) Timeline
The calender of events and the timeline of things Zeitoun experienced while stranded on his rooftop.
8.) FEMA
A look at FEMA's funded rescue efforts in New Orleans. FEMA helped Zeitoun by giving him food and water.
9.) Pet Rescue Efforts-Lost and Found
Zeitoun gave some dogs food and water but not all pets were fed and taken care of.
10.) Abandon in the sunken city
Some pets were lost around the city of New Orleans, though Zeitoun and the others were trying to save these animals, people couldn't always get to them.
Plot Based Discussion: Zeitoun
Zeitoun is a biography written by Dave Eggers and it follows the life of a Islamic man who stayed behind in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit land. The beginning of this novel leads up to the hurricane and Zeitoun's life, family history, and other personal information is released. The novel follows the life of Zeitoun, introducing him as a Islamic painter who lives in New Orleans. Zeitoun is married to a southern white woman (Kathy Zeitoun) whom converted her religion to Islamic, and is devoted despite the disapproval of her family. Zeitoun is very devoted to his work as a painter/contractor, and has a very good reputation among the locals because of his hard work. When news of the hurricane's severity arrived, Kathy urged Zeitoun to leave with her and their kids, but Zeitoun's stubbornness forced him to stay. He told his wife that there would be far less damage to their home if he stayed, opposed to the damage that would occur if he left with them. Zeitoun took time to secure the houses of his clients, and to secure his own house, then he hunkered down and prepared himself for the hurricane.
While Hurricane Katrina was hitting the mainland Zeitoun did some minor renovations to his home, and put down some trash cans to catch water, but he did not believe that the hurricane caused too much damage. The day after the hurricane finished Zeitoun reported that there was some minor flooding, over 18 inches of rain, and some wind damage, but overall damage was not too bad. Later that day he called Kathy and told her to come home because he believed that all the trouble was over because the flood waters receded, but Kathy was tired and decided to spend one more night away and was going to drive home in the morning.
When Zeitoun wakes up the next day(Tuesday, August 30) he looks out his window and realized the true severity of the situation, the levees had broken. He quickly calls Kathy and tells her to stay with her family up north because the flooding is worse and flood waters are rushing into there home. Zeitoun now knows that their home and property will be destroyed, and they will loose almost everything they have. Zeitoun attempts to save things by bringing them up onto the second floor, but he quickly realized that there is only so much that one man can do. He sets up a tent on his roof, and when looking out he notices his old canoe. Zeitoun then gets into the Canoe and canoes around the neighborhood hoping to help people.
While searching for people to help Zeitoun comes across an obese elderly lady who is holding onto a bookshelf to avoid drowning. He and a few other guys devise a plan to use a ladder to get her onto the canoe because there was no way that she could swim. This event shows Zeitoun's true character, and that he wants to help people and save lives.
While Hurricane Katrina was hitting the mainland Zeitoun did some minor renovations to his home, and put down some trash cans to catch water, but he did not believe that the hurricane caused too much damage. The day after the hurricane finished Zeitoun reported that there was some minor flooding, over 18 inches of rain, and some wind damage, but overall damage was not too bad. Later that day he called Kathy and told her to come home because he believed that all the trouble was over because the flood waters receded, but Kathy was tired and decided to spend one more night away and was going to drive home in the morning.
When Zeitoun wakes up the next day(Tuesday, August 30) he looks out his window and realized the true severity of the situation, the levees had broken. He quickly calls Kathy and tells her to stay with her family up north because the flooding is worse and flood waters are rushing into there home. Zeitoun now knows that their home and property will be destroyed, and they will loose almost everything they have. Zeitoun attempts to save things by bringing them up onto the second floor, but he quickly realized that there is only so much that one man can do. He sets up a tent on his roof, and when looking out he notices his old canoe. Zeitoun then gets into the Canoe and canoes around the neighborhood hoping to help people.
While searching for people to help Zeitoun comes across an obese elderly lady who is holding onto a bookshelf to avoid drowning. He and a few other guys devise a plan to use a ladder to get her onto the canoe because there was no way that she could swim. This event shows Zeitoun's true character, and that he wants to help people and save lives.
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