Through their interactions, Nur’s and Said’s characters are further developed. Said points out that both of the characters have difficulty changing their old jobs, indicating a tendency to hold on to the past for both of them. This is true as both characters hold on to aspects of the past. Said continues to harbour his hatred for Ilish, Nabawwiya and Rauf Ilwan. Nur continues to hold her feelings for Said even if he clearly does not love her back.
Said remarks that he “[doesn’t] particularly like factory owners” to which Nur replies that he “[doesn’t] like anybody”(197). This shows that he has been a very non-trusting and cold person even before he entered prison. This is further supported when Nur says that Said was “heartless long before [he] ever went to jail.”(198).
Said gives the description of someone who looks nothing like him, “fat, fair-skinned and has an old scar on his right cheek”(199). This helps give the readers a very slightly better way of visualizing Said as we now know what he does not look like.
While driving, Said drinks alcohol (196-7). This shows that he is a reckless character. A possible cause for his recklessness is that he has lost all personal regard for safety due to the severe emotional pain he felt from being betrayed by his closest friends
The factory owner’s son, Nur’s client, is depicted as a nervous and frightened man who was “so out of his mind with fear [that] he wasn’t capable of suspecting anything”(197). This could possibly represent the author’s opinion on the upper class people at the time.
When Nur describes her home, she says that “No one knows [her] there and no one’s ever visited [her].”(198). This statement when considered along with the fact that she loves Said though he doesn’t love her back and along with the idea that she uses her sexuality to help earn a living, reveals that she is a submissive and passive character who, instead of seizing opportunity, waits for others to come and save her. This contributes to the portrayal of women from earlier chapters of the novel.
A very important piece of characterisation is given in Said’s short internal monologue. Right before he attacks the couple, he muses about the terror he will bring to them, and how “it’s no fault of [his]” (195). This shows how selfish and cynical he has become, and how he justifies his actions by saying that they were meant to happen.
Said’s bitter sarcasm is seen through his conversations with Nur. When she says that he “has no heart”, he replies “They’ve got it locked up in prison, according to regulations”. Not only is his bitterness revealed but his anger towards the police becomes apparent as well.
By: Anna Heltmann on February 27, 2009
at 12:38 am