In The Country Of Men Character Analysis

964 Words4 Pages

Acts of loyalty and betrayal appear several times in the story of In the Country of Men through the characters. For it is common to have such actions occur in the story as it aids in making it more interesting and dramatic. In the novel, Hisham Matar demonstrates numerous experiences of devotion and unfaithfulness. Such endeavors appear mostly through Suleiman and Faraj. Suleiman can be recognized as loyal for a nine year old. He displays his faithfulness towards his mother by taking care of her and being there for her all of the time. He knows it ought to be the other way around due to the age difference between them but still continues to be her “prince”. Referring to what Suleiman has said, “I patted her back and whispered what I sometimes said when she was ill, when I had nothing to say but couldn’t remain silent: “Everything is going to be fine.” (81), it’s indicated how he always tries to soothe her and calm her down, only desiring his mother’s contentment. He also knows not to tell on his mom’s drinking problem, which he denotes as her “illness”, to his father, in order not to get her into trouble. At the same …show more content…

One of them is the fact that while providing loyalty to one thing, it only makes sense that betrayal is provided to another. Both of these qualities manage to help each other meaning that you cannot do one without the other. The other idea that stood out in the story was the country being under political oppression. In the country’s state, its logical that this is the reason why many people are facing betrayal, similar to how the country is facing betrayal by Al-Qaddafi’s regime. People are being placed under pressure, like Faraj, to go through betrayal while also betraying others. Consequently, the issue of loyalty and betrayal in the story go together as one, and this issue is experienced several times throughout the

Open Document