Imagery
Animal imagery is used on a single occasion in this chapter on page 262 when Said’s consumption of left over food scraps is being described, “He consumed them all, ravenously gnawing on the bones like a dog.” This imagery is effective in this part of the novel as it helps build the picture of the mental toll Nur’s disappearance is taking on Said as his way of eating is not human but vulture like.
There are two examples of violent imagery in the chapter, the first is when Said is in a moment of reminiscence, dreaming back to the Nabawiyya days, the palm tree days,
“They’re gone forever, cut off by blood, bullets, and madness.” (261) This imagery not only shows how blasé Said is with regard to brutality but also that he is conscious of the implications of the violence he has inflicted upon his life and others. The second reference to violence is when Said asks himself a rhetorical question posing the idea of there being a “murderous loneliness” (263) if Nur was to never return. Said’s fear of being alone is like a form of murder, a slow, painful death, and murder is something he can relate to through infliction.
The use of adjectives with reference to “dark” and “darkness” represents a loss of hope. The hope of ever seeing Nur again, “Closing his eyes in the darkness, he silently acknowledged that he did love her and that he would not hesitate to give his own life to bring her safely back.” (264) And in the instance of his dreaming, “He saw her there in the dark” (264) making Nur seem as if she is only an illusion, that she no longer exists.
Tags: animal, brutality, dark, darkness, murder, Nur, violent
