Passage+List


 * Passage List **

**“But if they could find their way to the dogs with guns and bullets, wouldn’t it be just as easy to feed them?” (Eggers 168).** This quote was chosen because it underlines many of the issues of the novel and of the Hurricane Katrina recovery. Zeitoun ponders this question after he finds many dead dogs on a rescue overpass that had been shot each in the face. He does not understand the brutality in the act of killing the dogs. The dogs represent everything wrong that happened after Katrina. Many of the rescue plans failed due to the chaos and corruption of everyone in New Orleans. This quote also foreshadows Zeitoun’s own fate. He does not directly see the corruption or evil his wife warns him about until his arrest. These dogs’ death builds up the tension to his fate.

**“[Zeitoun] was disappointed in himself. Part of him had given up, and the part that still believed stood apart from the broken half of his soul, incredulous” (Eggers 275). ** This quote is the climax of the novel. The strong protagonist from the beginning has finally broken down. After all he goes through, Zeitoun only admits that half of his soul is broken and that the other half lacks. He is truly an amazing hero in this novel. With everything that he goes through, it is amazing to think that is takes him this long to lose only some hope. Also, this quote is classic of the writing style right through the novel. Muslims believe that every person has a soul and this reference to Zeitoun’s soul goes along with the religious theme in Eggers’s writing that is present in other parts of the novel.

**“[Zeitoun] knew the dogs were dead before he saw them. […] The dogs were just under the windowsill, a tangle of limbs, heads to the heavens, as if they had been waiting, for weeks, for him” (Eggers 308). ** This quote is important because it brings back to symbolism of the dogs again. These dogs are different from the ones Zeitoun sees on the overpass. Zeitoun builds a relationship with these dogs by religiously feeding them daily. They rely on him for their survival and when he is arrested and nobody feeds them, they die. Zeitoun’s unnecessary arrest had caused the death of four innocent dogs. Another reason this quote was chosen was because it represents Eggers’s style of writing. Throughout the novel, Eggers mentions religion numerous times. Sometimes Eggers brings religion up to talk about Zeitoun’s Muslim beliefs but there are instances like this one where he mentions it in a more subtle way. He says the dogs’ heads are facing the heavens instead of simply saying that their heads are facing up or toward the ceiling. Eggers chose to word it this way because religion plays a huge role in this novel.

**“But did [the missionary] risk so much? Not really. Usually you needn’t risk so much to right a wrong. It’s not so complicated. It’s the opposite of complicated. To dial a number given to you by a man in a cage, to tell the voice on the other end, ‘I saw him.’ Is that complicated? Is that an act of great heroism in the United States of America? It should not be so” (Eggers 329). ** Kathy considers these questions at the end of the novel while she thinks through her husband’s arrest and incarceration. They are relevant because the curriculum this year in class was based a lot on the American Dream. Questions about what makes someone an “American hero” or “courageous” came up in class discussions. This passage addresses all those major questions in relation to this novel. The missionary is the person who saves Zeitoun’s life. Kathy does not believe that what he does is worth the status of a hero. The passage provokes the own reader’s questions about what makes a true hero and that is one of the main themes from this year.

**“Every person is stronger now. Every person who was forgotten by God or country is now louder, more defiant, and more determined. […Zeitoun] must trust, and he must have faith. And so he builds, because what is building, and rebuilding and rebuilding again, but an act of faith? […] If he needs to restore every home in this city, he will, to prove he is part of this place” (Eggers 334-445).** This passage is from the final pages of the novel. It sums up Zeitoun’s outlook on his whole experience. Once again, religion plays a part in the writing style. After so much tragedy, Zeitoun chooses to stay in New Orleans because he still believes that it is his destiny to help the devastated city. He has so many horrific memories that vividly return to him at times but he believes it is all part of why he is there. He looks at the positive result of the hurricane: it made him and his neighbors stronger. Zeitoun shows true heroism and compassion in these final pages.

[|**Final Thoughts About the True Story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun**]