Saeed Saeed Character Analysis in The Inheritance of Loss

One of Biju’s coworkers at the Queen of Tarts Bakery. Saeed is a Muslim man from Zanzibar, and Biju comes to admire him for his resilience and his ability to not only survive but also thrive as an undocumented immigrant. Eventually, Saeed convinces a young hippie woman to marry him and sponsor him for a green card, which Biju sees as the loftiest of goals in America.

Saeed Saeed Quotes in The Inheritance of Loss

The The Inheritance of Loss quotes below are all either spoken by Saeed Saeed or refer to Saeed Saeed. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Colonialism and Globalization Theme Icon

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Grove Press edition of The Inheritance of Loss published in 2006.

This habit of hate had accompanied Biju, and he found that he possessed an awe of white people, who arguably had done India great harm, and a lack of generosity regarding almost everyone else, who had never done a single harmful thing to India.

Related Characters: ,

Page Number and Citation: 86

Explanation and Analysis:

You lived intensely with others, only to have them disappear overnight, since the shadow class was condemned to movement. The men left for other jobs, towns, got deported, returned home, changed names. […] The emptiness Biju felt returned to him over and over, until eventually he made sure not to let friendships sink deep anymore.

Related Characters: ,

Page Number and Citation: 112

Explanation and Analysis:

Saeed Saeed Character Timeline in The Inheritance of Loss

The timeline below shows where the character Saeed Saeed appears in The Inheritance of Loss. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...he has spent all of the money he had been saving. He is introduced to Saeed Saeed, an Indian man from Zanzibar whom Biju comes to admire. Saeed Saeed sings and... (full context)

...from each other. He bakes the morning bread and says hello to a fellow employee, Saeed Saeed. (full context)

Biju admires Saeed, even though he is Muslim. Biju sees that Saeed isn’t “drowning” being an illegal alien... (full context)

Saeed sleeps with many women. He describes the beauty and poverty of Zanzibar to them, and... (full context)

Back in Zanzibar, Saeed had been hailed as an American. After two months, however, he returned to New York.... (full context)

Saeed applies for a green card each year, but Indians are not allowed to apply. Not... (full context)

Saeed catches a mouse at the Queen of Tarts, kicking it with his shoe and dribbling... (full context)

...City, Biju begins to feel overwhelmed by the amount of people asking for his help. Saeed understands how he feels, as his own mother has been dispensing out his phone number... (full context)

Biju feels sympathy for Saeed, knowing that he also has many people looking for his help. But he also understands... (full context)

Saeed brings Biju to Washington Heights, having found out about “the van.” They wait on a... (full context)

Saeed quickly finds employment at a Banana Republic, a shop whose name is “synonymous with colonial... (full context)

Saeed Saeed runs into Biju and tells him that he has left Banana Republic and gotten... (full context)

...about the potential for their products to be sold in China and India. Biju remembers Saeed Saeed, who refused to eat pigs. He resolves to quit, and leaves his job feeling... (full context)

Saeed Saeed runs into Biju on the street, and now he speaks much better English and... (full context)

...he’d ever had. He questions why he left. He remembers the last time he saw Saeed Saeed, who planned to divorce his first wife after acquiring his green card and get... (full context)