Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Frankenstein in Baghdad, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Truth, Lies, and Storytelling
Good vs. Evil
Power, Authority, and Social Divisions
Family, Friendship, and Home
Superstition and Religion
Summary
Analysis
In the meantime, in Bataween, Abu Anmar realizes that his hotel is experiencing severe financial difficulties and that he must find a solution to this situation. He now only has two permanent guests. This situation has forced him to sell his furniture to Hadi, a man he despises, in order to survive.
Abu Anmar’s economic problems suggest that years of success in a booming city—Baghdad a few decades ago—does not guarantee a safe future. Instead, one’s personal and professional course follow the whims of external circumstances, such as political fluctuations.
Themes
Meanwhile, since the Whatsitsname has not visited Hadi in a while, the junk dealer has returned to his usual cheer. Although people laugh at Hadi’s stories in Aziz’s coffee shop, the junk dealer also knows that they can become distorted. Weeks ago, someone showed him the cover of al-Haqiqa with Frankenstein’s face on the cover. Hadi was angry about the way in which Mahmoud recounted the events, some of which were fabricated.
Hadi’s frustration with Mahmoud’s narrative is partially justified, but also reflects Saidi’s manipulation of Mahmoud’s story. In this sense, stories go through layers of interpretation and marketing before reaching the public, in order to seem as appealing as possible. In the case of a story based on true events, however, this can cause a sense of personal harm, as Hadi’s frustration reflects.
Themes
A couple of days after the publication of that issue of al-Haqiqa, the Whatsitsname came to Hadi’s house. Annoyed to be described as a fictional creature, he noted that he was now exacting justice on the people who insulted him, not only one those responsible for physical violence. He said that Hadi could warn Mahmoud about this, so that the young journalist would not insult him again. Hadi has not seen the Whatsitsname since then.
The Whatsitsname’s decision to seek revenge on those who insult him confirms that he is no longer exclusively concerned with broad notions of justice: he is now more focused on protecting himself and in tending to his reputation. This reaction highlights the danger of journalistic writing, which can offend those currently in power.
Themes
One day, Faraj the realtor calls Abu Anmar into his office. Earlier that morning, Faraj slapped a man who visited Elishva on behalf of the Association for the Protection of Historical Houses, in order to punish him for trying to buy the house. When Abu Anmar enters Faraj’s office, he is impressed by the grandeur of the space. Adopting a confidential tone, Faraj asks him about the deteriorating state of his hotel. Although Abu Anmar says that he has plans to renovate it, Faraj—aware of the hotel owner’s financial difficulties—offers him to become his business partner: Faraj would pay for the renovation of the hotel and the two of them would then share profits. He asks Abu Anmar what he thinks about this.
Faraj’s behavior toward Abu Anmar does not stem from empathy or generosity. Rather, Faraj seeks to take advantage of his neighbor’s problems in order to expand his business, as he has done throughout the city. His behavior with the employee who visited Elishva’s house confirms this: Faraj is more interested in defending and expanding his territory than in securing the well-being of his neighbors. At the same time, the deal he proposes Abu Anmar is fair, and reveals that neighborly affinities can benefit everyone: Abu Anmar will escape bankruptcy, while Faraj will expand his commercial enterprise.
Themes
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Later that day, officers sent by Brigadier Majid raid Hadi’s house. One officer—whom the Whatsitsname once tried to strangle, leaving him with a bandaged neck—attempts to determine whether Hadi could be his aggressor, even though Hadi looks too weak and thin. The officers accuse Hadi of undercutting the Americans’ work and collaborating with terrorists. However, Hadi points to his belongings to prove that he is nothing but a junk dealer. Although the officers note the heterogeneous accumulation of smelly, dirty objects in Hadi’s house, they continue to interrogate him about crimes that have occurred in Baghdad.
This event confirms that Mahmoud’s decision to share Hadi’s information with Brigadier Majid can bring the junk dealer serious problems. Paradoxically, in the same way Mahmoud feared being interrogated by Brigadier Majid’s department, he exposes another person to the same ordeal. Although Hadi is not entirely innocent—he is initially responsible for creating the Whatsitsname—he has never actually taken part in violent deeds, and does not trust the authorities enough to share secret information with them.
Themes
Looking around the room, one of the officers notices a statue of the Virgin Mary and threateningly asks Hadi if he is Christian, to which the junk dealer replies that he is Muslim, and that the statue was covered by the Throne Verse on the wall. When the officers interrogate Hadi about the Whatsitsname, the junk dealer mocks them for believing a made-up story. Angered by Hadi’s mocking attitude, the officers start hitting him. This does not surprise Hadi, who has heard that many interrogations in Iraqi police stations end this way. The officers punch Hadi in the stomach for two minutes, causing him to throw up his food.
The officers’ aggressive behavior toward Hadi takes the form of religious intolerance, as being a Christian could be held against Hadi. This behavior underlines the degree of sectarian divisions in the city, where belonging to a certain religious group can mark one as an enemy. Hadi’s lack of surprise at being treated so violently reveals the oppressive nature of the state, which does not even guarantee its citizens fair, respectful treatment.
Themes
An hour later, after beating the drunk dealer, one of the officers concludes that Hadi is nothing but an old madman and that taking him to the police station will solve nothing. With Hadi on the floor, unable to stand up, the officers return to searching the apartment. They steal the little money Hadi has saved from selling some of Abu Anmar’s furniture, along with other pieces of furniture. The officers call the statue of the Virgin Mary haram, forbidden by Islamic law, and one of them attacks it with the butt of his pistol. However, he only succeeds in destroying the statue’s head and finds the newly headless statue scary.
The officers’ realization that Hadi cannot provide them with useful information does not lead them to treat him with greater respect. Rather, they behave in a criminal way, thus inverting the expected dynamics between suspects and the police: the state paradoxically proves more criminal than the people it claims to interrogate. The officer’s fear at seeing the headless Virgin Mary suggests that destroying an object of devotion—even from another religion—might be unjust and reprehensible.
Themes
The officers then subject Hadi to an experiment, which they used against 11 ugly men whom they arrested earlier. They cut into various sections of Hadi’s body with a knife, in order to check that the man does indeed release blood. One of the officers is disgusted by this scene. He does not understand why they are stabbing someone from which they simply wanted to extract information. Writhing on the floor in pain, Hadi trusts that, as in American movies, a superhero will soon arrive to save him from his enemies. However, the officers simply leave Hadi’s house, taking the stolen belongings with them.
The officers’ behavior toward Hadi proves gratuitously cruel: they seem to enjoy harming this defenseless, vulnerable man, instead of limiting their actions to what is strictly necessary in order to interrogate him. Hadi’s reflection on American movies underlines the role that fiction can play in structuring reality: it can give people a sense of hope even in the direst of circumstances. At the same time, the absence of a superhero suggests that reality is more disappointing: people can behave in criminal ways and never be punished.
Themes
In the meantime, Abu Anmar reflects on Faraj’s offer. Hazem Abboud encourages the hotel owner to accept Faraj’s offer, so that he can renovate the hotel and find some economic stability. However, Abu Anmar—who recalls both his hometown and the powerful economic position he once had in this neighborhood before Faraj arrived—decides that he is ready to do something even more radical: he will sell Faraj the entire hotel.
Abu Anmar’s decision to sell the entire hotel suggests that he does not feel rooted to this particular business or geographic area. What motivates him in life is the memory of his past success, which gives him a desire for independence and power beyond what a mere partnership with Faraj might offer.
Themes
