What the Eyes Don’t See

What the Eyes Don’t See

by

Mona Hanna-Attisha

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on What the Eyes Don’t See makes teaching easy.
Haji was Mona and Mark’s grandfather and Bebe’s mother. A Baghdadi businessman who rose to prominence the director of Pepsi-Cola in Iraq, Haji never let his success cause him to lose sight of his duty to his community and his neighbors. Mona’s mother Bebe used to tell Mona’s daughters Nina and Layla an inspiring bedtime story about how Haji, who dedicatedly tended a flock of birds back in Baghdad, fell in his garden one day. He called for help, and the birds all came together to lift Haji with their beaks and carry him to a doctor. The birds in Bebe’s story represent the power of collective, communal action. In another story, the workers of a perfume factory Haji owned banded together to rebuild the factory after it burned down. To Mona, these tales always remind her of how important it is for community members to take care of one another.

Haji Quotes in What the Eyes Don’t See

The What the Eyes Don’t See quotes below are all either spoken by Haji or refer to Haji. 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:
Racism and Environmental Injustice Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

“He taught me to treat everybody well, because we are all equal, no matter what we look like, what we believe in, or how much money we have. To always do the right thing, even if it’s hard. Even if people tell you it’s impossible.”

Related Characters: Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha (speaker), Haji, Nina and Layla
Page Number: 51
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18 Quotes

I was drawing on something deep inside me. Maybe it was the letters my mom received from Haji in Baghdad, or the pictures I’d seen of the gassing of the Kurdish babies. Maybe it was the tenacity and optimism of Mama Evelyn or the strength and integrity of my dissident parents. Maybe it was the inspiration of my heroes, fighters like Alice Hamilton. […] Or maybe there was even something in my DNA, an ancestral inheritance of persistence and rebellion and activism, handed down to me from the generations of prolific scribes who had hoped to keep Nestorian traditions alive, or from Nuri […] with his brave rebellion, or from Paul Shekwana with his passion for public health.

Related Characters: Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha (speaker), Mona’s Mother/Bebe, Mona’s Father/Jidu, Haji, Paul Shekwana, Alice Hamilton, Nuri Rufail Koutani/Anwar , Mama Evelyn
Page Number: 248
Explanation and Analysis:
Epilogue Quotes

“A small bird few down and tugged at the hem of his white dishdasha. The bird told Haji that he would take him to the doctor. But Haji laughed at the small bird, wondering how such a tiny bird could carry him. Soon another bird came and took the edge of his sleeve. Another bird came, and another, until hundreds of birds surrounded him. They each held a small piece of his dishdasha, and even his hair and his toes, and together the birds were able to lift him and fly him through the air.”

Related Characters: Mona’s Mother/Bebe (speaker), Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, Haji, Nina and Layla
Related Symbols: Haji’s Birds
Page Number: 328
Explanation and Analysis:
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What the Eyes Don’t See PDF

Haji Quotes in What the Eyes Don’t See

The What the Eyes Don’t See quotes below are all either spoken by Haji or refer to Haji. 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:
Racism and Environmental Injustice Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

“He taught me to treat everybody well, because we are all equal, no matter what we look like, what we believe in, or how much money we have. To always do the right thing, even if it’s hard. Even if people tell you it’s impossible.”

Related Characters: Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha (speaker), Haji, Nina and Layla
Page Number: 51
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18 Quotes

I was drawing on something deep inside me. Maybe it was the letters my mom received from Haji in Baghdad, or the pictures I’d seen of the gassing of the Kurdish babies. Maybe it was the tenacity and optimism of Mama Evelyn or the strength and integrity of my dissident parents. Maybe it was the inspiration of my heroes, fighters like Alice Hamilton. […] Or maybe there was even something in my DNA, an ancestral inheritance of persistence and rebellion and activism, handed down to me from the generations of prolific scribes who had hoped to keep Nestorian traditions alive, or from Nuri […] with his brave rebellion, or from Paul Shekwana with his passion for public health.

Related Characters: Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha (speaker), Mona’s Mother/Bebe, Mona’s Father/Jidu, Haji, Paul Shekwana, Alice Hamilton, Nuri Rufail Koutani/Anwar , Mama Evelyn
Page Number: 248
Explanation and Analysis:
Epilogue Quotes

“A small bird few down and tugged at the hem of his white dishdasha. The bird told Haji that he would take him to the doctor. But Haji laughed at the small bird, wondering how such a tiny bird could carry him. Soon another bird came and took the edge of his sleeve. Another bird came, and another, until hundreds of birds surrounded him. They each held a small piece of his dishdasha, and even his hair and his toes, and together the birds were able to lift him and fly him through the air.”

Related Characters: Mona’s Mother/Bebe (speaker), Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, Haji, Nina and Layla
Related Symbols: Haji’s Birds
Page Number: 328
Explanation and Analysis: