The Yellow Birds

by

Kevin Powers

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Yellow Birds makes teaching easy.

The Iraqi Man Character Analysis

The local inhabitant of Al Tafar gives the Americans information about Murph’s whereabouts and shows sincere surprise at the young man’s state, as he proves unable to understand why Murph would choose to walk around naked and alone in such a dangerous area. His honesty about what he has seen is meant to defend the truth as much as to protect Iraqis from the Americans’ aggressive searching techniques.
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The Iraqi Man Character Timeline in The Yellow Birds

The timeline below shows where the character The Iraqi Man appears in The Yellow Birds. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 10: October 2004 – Al Tafar, Nineveh Province, Iraq
War, Violence, and Detachment Theme Icon
...dangers, such as being attacked or having to search for Murph for days. Suddenly, an Iraqi man emerges from a house, his arms raised, begging not to be shot and explaining that... (full context)
Memory and Trauma Theme Icon
The Iraqi man pauses, confusedly asking the soldiers why Murph was naked, as though they knew the answer.... (full context)
War, Violence, and Detachment Theme Icon
Justice, Morality, and Guilt Theme Icon
The soldiers follow the direction the Iraqi man indicated, seeing local inhabitants run away with fear at their approach. The soldiers look for... (full context)