The Forgiven

Murder in the Desert

The dramatic tale set in Morocco in the novel, The Forgiven, by Lawrence Osborne was not my usual choice of literature. I tend to lean towards biographies or history however; this mysterious and dramatic fictional book dragged me in. I commend Lawrence Osborne for this engaging and suspenseful tale of a tragic trip to Africa. However, I personally hated the main character of the book, David Henniger. He embodies everything a quality person much less a doctor should not be. When I began to read, I thought I was going to relate quite well to the Henningers due to both having lived in London and taking a vacation to Morocco. I could understand the feeling of wanting to escape the cement jungle of London; London is a melting

pot of all different cultures and languages it leaves a sense of wanderlust within. When I personally lived in London, I too traveled to Morocco for a week however mine did not end up as tragic as the Hennigers. Although, The Forgiven, was not my typical type of reading material I did enjoy consuming the pages despite my hatred for the Hennigers.

The Forgiven appears to be a normal mysterious book however; Lawrence Osborne uses David and Jo as symbols to reveal Western societal issues.

It is prominent that David Henniger believes in white supremacy. Lawrence Osborne put in the constant racial slurs and derogatory mindset of David to show the culture clash. Even in the beginning of the book, David’s racism is exposed. David’s description of the native Moroccans is offensive and crude. Countless times he describes other human beings as “wild eyed men” (12) or “towel-heads” (77) just because they are not what he is accustom to. This is just the start of my dislike for David’s testy personality. I believe Mr. Henniger is the perfect example of the self-entitled elites that populate society today. He thinks he is perfect and better than anyone else thus, the Moroccans and the rest of the world need David’s help. This is shown when David “thought of himself as a cleansing agent, a purifier of other people’s prejudice”(9). David is just so pure and saint-like that he has to help others become just like him. Furthermore, David is one of the “Les visiteurs” (17) yet he acts like he himself founded

Morocco. He complains how the “roads with villages [are] listed in Arabic” (14). I took the unremitting complaints as proof of the Hennigers believing they are so superior. The assumption that all Moroccan public transportation and signs should accommodate them left me speechless. David is so irritated that “the Mercedes infuriated him” (13) solely due to the fact that “Arabs”(13) could actually be driving a luxury car. Wow. I was stunned with how severe David’s level of prejudice was. Additionally, David is constantly finding flaws within others but never himself, showing he is extremely flawed underneath but too self-conscious to show it. I think one of the most important quotes in the entire book is “they were just efficient pessimists, and therefore astute readers of human nature. They always assumed the worst, and that made them correct nine times out of ten. Their pessimism, however, was not like David’s. David was someone who believed that the past was superior to the present, and that was a different sort of pessimism.” (104) Osborne himself writes that David is so undesirable and nasty that he is his own kind. I think Osborne made David Henninger so distasteful to show the reader how Westerners treat foreign countries. I know the spiteful hate for Muslims portrayed in the novel has only grown over the past years. Due to September 11th 2001 and other terrorist attacks, Americans now have an excuse for their racism. I really enjoyed how Osborne expresses the underlying message of the flawed Western world through a fictional story. The Forgiven was eye opening to how protuberant racism is, David Henninger is just one of millions with this mindset.
Not only is David Henninger discriminatory to races; he speaks to women in a vituperative manner. As I worked through the book, my hate for David grew. I have come to consider David Henninger is a narcissist who is sexist and racist who is too self-centered to give a damn about anyone else. His “self- righteous’ (104) attitude is exhausting which Jo Henniger has had to deal with for years. He states to Jo “they treat their women like donkeys” (Osborne, 9). David is describing the Moroccan men judging Jo. Yet I think David should spend more time worrying about his own relationship and treatment of women rather than strangers. Likewise, on multiple occasions David is fraught with sexualizing comments towards women. I think David was verbally abusive of Jo and since “Jo was ten years younger than him” (6) he was even more protective. He denies Jo her individuality and anytime she tries to stand up for herself, he mocks her. David sarcastically calls Jo “Miss Feminist” (9) picking apart his own wife. I personally do not understand how Jo in the first place could marry someone like David, much less stay with him. However, “ in forty- eight hours she had been completely destroyed from top to bottom” (244). Jo is talking about how her husband murdered an innocent boy than tried to cover the evidence. Osborne shows the persistent attempts to cover the manslaughter has taken a toll on Jo. Both Jo and David have neglected the fact their own relationship is diminishing. David makes sexualizing comments about “the French girls” and is overly controlling of Jo. Yet again, David has found another group of people to degrade.
I liked reading the book, The Forgiven, which discloses how flawed the West is.

I grew to hate David and his lack of penitence for his endless sins. Nonetheless, I believe David was just a face and name for today’s society. Osborne shows how the ideal that white people are superior makes all of us look foolish. Since David’s actions towards the Moroccans and Muslims almost seem funny for how outlandish they are. However, every one has bit of David Henninger within them. I mean that every Westerner whether American or European unconsciously are told they are greater than the rest of the world. But by identifying that mindset within yourself, you are taking the possible steps to change the global prejudice. I believe that was the main reasoning for Lawrence Osborne’s use of David’s racism. Lastly, the degrading of women give even more of a reason to hate David. In spite, as I said David is just a spitting image of how society acts as a whole. The Forgiven is a beautiful novel, which uses the main characters’ defects to show how the rest of the world treats each

other.