Characterization proves itself to be essential to the plot as a good majority of it is written from Said’s perspective. When he is trying to infiltrate Rauf’s house, he notices that the, “road seemed empty and when he got to the house he saw no sign of guards which both pleased and angered him.” (Page 248 ) This quote could signify one of two things. One is that he wants an audience to witness his form of ‘justice,’ maybe even trying to inspire others to do the same. The other one is that he subconsciously believes that for his principles of justice to be truly unbiased in its most basic form, he too must be caught for committing murder. This idea is emphasized on the next page where he proclaims, “This is Said Mahran! Take that!” (Page 249) when he attempts to kill Rauf.
From the beginning of the novel, Said seems to have issues with companionship after being betrayed by Nabawiyya and Illish. It seems like Said feels as if he is alone and, “despite this support from millions of people I find myself driven away into dismal isolation, with no one to help.” (Page 248 ) This quote can be seen as Said believing that he is carrying the will of the entire community of people in his search for ‘justice.’ He sees this as a burden that only he is bearing because there is no one that can help him with the way that he feels. This also ties into the idea of ‘darkness’ discussed in the ‘Imagery’ section. This idea of him being a type of savior is shown again where he expresses his feelings. He desires to “die a death that has some meaning to it.” (Page 251) This statement gives Said the image of someone that embraces death, but wants something to come about from it. This makes sense considering that his only goal seems to be revenge and to seek ‘justice.’
There is also some development between Said and Nur towards the end of the chapter. Nur tells Said that, “you’re more precious than my life itself; I’ve never in my whole life known happiness except in your arms. but you’d rather destroy yourself than love me,” (Page 253) to which Said tells her that, “You’ll find me true to my promies,” (Page 253) and that they, “will escape and live together forever.” (Page 253) There is a certain irony here that connects Said’s relationship with Nur and his past relationship with Nabawiyya. This is shown through the fact that Nur unconditionally loves Said, but yet he continues to go out at night, seeking revenge, and not sincerly returning Nur’s love by respecting her wishes. The line where he promises her that they, “will escape and live together forever,” is an obvious lie because he only thinks about revenge when he has his dramatic monologues in italics. This means that he is being deceptive and lying to Nur which was one of Said’s main issues with Nabawiyya. Although he is angry and seeking revenge against Nabawiyya for betraying him, he seems to be doing the exact same thing to Nur.
Tags: bias, characterization, isolation, justice, morality, relationship
