Previous
Chapter 7
Themes
and Colors
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
At noon, Brigadier Majid receives a report from his senior astrologer that one thousand ghosts will assemble on the Imams Bridge, crossing the river Tigris. Brigadier Majid believes that these ghosts are none other than the pilgrims currently crossing the river to head to religious ceremonies. However, at the very same time the Brigadier is perusing his astrologer’s report, he sees on his television that several people have died on the bridge. A rumor about a suicide bomber caused panic in the crowds, leading some people to be trampled to death or to drown in the river after jumping from the bridge.
The contrast between the astrologer’s report and the information on the TV signals two ways of looking at reality: through the lens of superstition and imagination (the people on the bridge are “ghosts”) or through a more pragmatic approach (the “ghosts” are those who have died on the bridge). These two separate interpretations reveal different understandings of violence: as a mysterious phenomenon, orchestrated by superior forces, or as the consequence of harmful human behavior. Both interpretations try to find an inherently mysterious phenomenon: death.
Active
Themes
Frustrated by his inability to prevent this catastrophe, Brigadier Majid realizes that his reports are never taken seriously. The criminals he identifies are rarely arrested. When they are, another member of the government takes credit for these operations. In these circumstances, Brigadier Majid has been working on a special operation that would demonstrate the high quality of his work and bring him a promotion. He is intent on solving mysterious crimes perpetrated around the city, for which he believes a single criminal is responsible. His senior astrologer calls this man “the One Who Has No Name.” The Brigadier is skeptical about this qualification. He wonders if this name suggests that this person will never be caught and sent to jail.
Although Brigadier Majid is concerned with public security, one of his primary interests is his personal success and advancement. In this sense, his frustration with his work also relates to the shifting political situation in the country: political instability leads people to defend their own interests first, in order to ensure their survival. In addition, although the Brigadier is inclined to believe in the Whatsitsname’s existence, he still retains a pragmatic approach toward this criminal, focused on sending the Whatsitsname to prison. The Brigadier’s unwillingness to give this criminal a mysterious nickname shows that he prefers to focus on a traditional understanding of justice, according to which criminals—however fascinating they might seem—should be punished for their violent deeds.
Active
Themes
In the meantime, Brigadier Majid focuses on the Imams Bridge catastrophe. His junior astrologer tells him that the people on the bridge are ghosts temporarily inhabiting the people’s bodies, which can break loose when people become scared. This explains their name: “familiars of fear.”
Active
Themes
Later in the day, after finalizing this report, the Brigadier has the impression that his thoughts are wandering around his body. They are centered on his personal version of the “familiars of fear”: his obsession with the nameless criminal. Brigadier Majid is also worried that he might one day be fired from his job, and that the Americans might thus leave him prey to the Iraqi political parties. He also wonders if his enemies are using the same tools that he is, such as astrologers and fortune-tellers, who could be able to instill such fears in him. When he tries to grab the ghost of the nameless criminal, in order to get rid of this fear, he realizes that there is no one in his office besides himself.
Active
Themes
Get the entire Frankenstein in Baghdad LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
In another part of the city, Hadi finishes recounting his story to Mahmoud. Mahmoud then tells the junk dealer, in exchange for this story, that he is in love with his boss Saidi’s lover, Nawal al-Wazir. However, Hadi is dissatisfied with this uninteresting secret, disproportionate to the danger of the Whatsitsname story. After reflecting a while, Mahmoud finally accepts to reveal a deeper secret: he admits that his family was not originally Arab. One of his ancestors, he believes, converted to Islam. His father recounted the story in his diaries, but his family burned it after the man’s death.
Active
Themes
Mahmoud then interrogates Hadi, telling him that he cannot believe the story of the Whatsitsname is true without concrete evidence. However, Hadi refuses to let Mahmoud meet the creature. The Whatsitsname, Hadi argues, would kill him whoever tried to take his picture. Overall, Mahmoud is surprised by this turn of events. The night before, the journalist had made an appointment with the junk dealer, but he did not expect for the story to be so intricate. In between their first meeting and their appointment, the disaster on the Imams Bridge took place, and Mahmoud spent the day reporting on it. When he reached the magazine’s office, he saw that Saidi’s cell phone had seven missed calls from the number 666.
Active
Themes
Mahmoud debated whether or not he should call the number, because he longed to tell Nawal al-Wazir how he felt for her. Finally, he decided to call. He soon heard Nawal’s voice and was frozen on the spot. Then, he heard her address Saidi himself, who was in the same room as her. Saidi picked up the phone, asking if he was talking to Abu Jouni, the janitor. Terrified by this unexpected exchange, Mahmoud hung up abruptly. Saidi had told Mahmoud he would be away at a conference, and Mahmoud is shocked to realize that his editor has lied.
Active
Themes
Desperate to forget about this conversation, Mahmoud went to Aziz’s coffee shop. There, Hadi reminded him of their appointment. Grateful for the opportunity to forget about his day, Mahmoud eagerly listened to Hadi discuss the Whatsitsname. However, Hadi’s attitude intrigued the young journalist, who realized that the junk dealer was serious and secretive, as opposed to his usual lighthearted behavior. Hadi preferred to tell the story in his house so that no one would overhear them. Finally, after hearing the story Mahmoud stayed in silence, shocked by what he Hadi told him. He realized that Hadi could not have invented such a complicated story on his own.
Active
Themes
Mahmoud decides to record Hadi’s story on his digital recorder, so that he will not forget any of the details. He bought the Panasonic recorder months ago, in order to avoid using notebooks. This led him to recall his father’s diaries, composed of 27 notebooks, which Mahmoud sometimes perused. However, after his father’s death, his mother burned all of the notebooks, baking 27 loaves of bread over the ashes.
Active
Themes
Mahmoud knows that his father told the full truth of his life in these diaries, including scenes of masturbation and his sexual fantasies concerning women in the neighborhood. These episodes contrasted with his reputation as a respectable gentleman. Mahmoud concludes that the only way his father could accept this polished external image was by documenting the truth in his diaries.
Active
Themes
Before the notebooks were burned, Mahmoud heard his family members discuss events concerning the family’s origins and religious conversion. Although he only gathered bits of information, he understood that his father invented their last name, Sawadi, to replace their original tribal name. After their father’s death, Mahmoud’s brothers reverted to their tribal name. However, indignant about the family’s brutal treatment of his father’s life narrative, Mahmoud decided to keep the Sawadi name and to become known as a journalist with it.
Active
Themes
After talking with Hadi, Mahmoud tells him that he will only believe the junk dealer’s story if he interviews the Whatsitsname. He hands Hadi his digital recorder and explains to him how to use it, noting that the batteries die out fast. After leaving, he wonders if he would actually believe any evidence that Hadi was able to provide.
Active
Themes
Mahmoud returns to his hotel. There, he sees the hotel guests watching television, where his friend Farid Shawwaf, elegantly dressed, is discussing the events of the day. A government representative appears on TV, cheerfully saying that the government has succeeded in preventing a suicide bombing on the bridge, although the criminal escaped.
Active
Themes
Farid Shawwaf is later interviewed. He argues that the government is responsible for this disaster, because it did not search anyone who entered the bridge and allowed the bridge to become too crowded. Another man on the show argues that al-Qaeda is responsible for this. Even if the terrorist group is not personally involved in this tragedy, he argues, the fear they have instilled in people is responsible for that day’s death toll.
Active
Themes
Finally, Farid concludes that everyone is responsible, because everyone in the country is constantly terrified. It is the fear of dying that led people on the bridge to jump to their death. Similarly, people who fear armed groups support al-Qaeda. This, in turn, only leads to more insecurity, as new militias are created, to protect themselves from al-Qaeda. This vicious cycle of violence leads everyone to be afraid of “the Other.” Farid concludes that the government and the occupation forces must put an end to fear if they want to avoid more deaths in the future.
In another part of Baghdad, Brigadier Majid watches the talk show but is not convinced by any of the interventions, because he believes that the true criminal has not yet been caught. He has planned his “big coup” to take place that night, in order to catch “the One Who Has No Name.” He trusts that the success of this operation will finally bring him public recognition. At the same time, he wonders what this horrific criminal looks like. He has heard that the man cannot be harmed by bullets and that he has unique powers, such as breathing fire and flying with wings.
Active
Themes
