Zeitoun Character Analysis

Zeitoun Essay
Hurricane Katrina, the third strongest hurricane to touch the United States, caused the displacement of thousands and wreaked havoc in New Orleans. In the nonfiction memoir Zeitoun, Dave Eggers reveals the story of a muslim couple that struggled through the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in 2005. The book comes four years after the disaster and reflects on how one of the main character’s stubbornness to leave led to many issues. The book is geared towards muslim americans and people involved in natural disasters. It points out the severity of the situation in New Orleans and the inefficiency of the government’s response. The characters represent a well known muslim family, the Zeitouns, with the main character being a Syrian. The family owned several properties affected by the storm and were well liked by the customers of their painting business. The author demonstrates a reflective tone through the language strategy of reflecting on prior events and exposes the characters throughout the story by reflecting on their childhoods. The allusions to prior times are directly connected with the actions of the characters and the plot.
There are several references in the book to Zeitoun’s childhood and his family history. For example, After Abdulrahman's brother, a ship engineer and global sailor, told him that the storm was bad and that, “You should

be scared...It really does seem unusual big and slow-moving. I’m watching it on satellite(p20),” Abdulrahman responded to this by telling his concerned wife, Kathy, “This is not the storm for us(p22).” After this, Abdulrahman’s stubbornness is explained by a reference to a life-threatening experience that his father lived through and how his family could live through anything. The book tells of how his father survived being shot at by Germans in WWII, “When the seemed safe again, the sailors returned to their lifeboat and found it full of holes. They stuffed their shirts into the gaps and paddled by hand, for miles, until they reached the Egyptian shore(p23).” On the next page another story is given about his father and how he floated, attached to a barrel, for two days until he reached shore after falling of a schooner. These reflections and past stories are part of a more recent and bigger reflection about the storm. They help foreshadow as well- Abdulrahman does not give in to the warnings and precautions of others, but decides to weather out the storm.
In addition to explaining Abdulrahman’s hard-headedness, reflections are used to expose the characters to the audience throughout the story.

They allow the audience to feel more familiar and connect with the characters throughout the book. The book references the childhood of Kathy, “Growing up in Baton Rouge, it was a crowded house, full of clamor and extremes…Kathy’s house backed up against Sherwood Middle School… She was one of a handful of white students...She grew to be quick to fight, quick to argue(p58-p59).” This reflection as well as others allow the audience to understand and bond with the

characters.
Lastly, a reflective tone shines through in the end of the book when Kathy explained to people what hurt her the most about their hardship following the storm and things that maddened her. Kathy explained how the government’s treatment of her husband in the prison system caused her to feel the worst and she stated that, “I felt cracked open(p319),” and, “It broke me(p319).” In this case reflection shows the direct effect of the her husband’s arrest and the storm- heartbreak.
Throughout the book Zeitoun, Dave Eggers displays a reflective tone by giving “flashbacks” to previous times and including the characters’ sentiments towards an event that occurred in the past. The memoir records the tragic event of hurricane Katrina as well as the repercussions that affected those involved, so that the people don’t let it slip into the abyss of forgetfulness.