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.

Mona’s Mother/Bebe Character Analysis

Bebe is Mona and Mark’s mother, Jidu’s wife, and Layla and Nina’s grandmother. She’s a warm, gregarious woman who is completely dedicated to her family. Bebe often comes over to Mona’s house before dawn to cook breakfast for Mona, Elliott, Nina, and Layla—and she’s constantly vying for information about her work. During the Flint water crisis, Mona worked hard to keep the truth of her research about dangerous levels of lead in the water supply from her mother, knowing she’d only worry. But when Mona was afraid that she’d bring aeb (“shame”) onto her family by blowing the whistle on the crisis, Bebe supported her daughter wholeheartedly and congratulated her on being fearless in the face of so much doubt and injustice.

Mona’s Mother/Bebe Quotes in What the Eyes Don’t See

The What the Eyes Don’t See quotes below are all either spoken by Mona’s Mother/Bebe or refer to Mona’s Mother/Bebe. 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
).
Prologue Quotes

The road behind my family disappeared too. The Iraq they knew was lost, replaced by war and ruins. In my mind, this lost Iraq is a land of enchantment and despair. But its lessons endure.

Related Characters: Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha (speaker), Mona’s Mother/Bebe, Mona’s Father/Jidu, Muaked “Mark” Hanna , Saddam Hussein
Page Number: 5
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15 Quotes

This is what it means to be a member of a family, to have people in your life who trust you and support you and who know you sometimes better than you know yourself. […] What we had was more than love. We understood each other. We were grounded in the same core ideals and morals—and were always moving toward the same goal: to make the world more just, more equitable, and a more human place. To do the right thing, even if it was hard.

Related Characters: Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha (speaker), Mona’s Mother/Bebe, Muaked “Mark” Hanna , Elliott
Page Number: 207-208
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18 Quotes

Now, as the press conference loomed, I was beginning to see that my family’s saga of loss and dislocation had given me my fight—my passion and urgency. […] I grew up with dismay and knew how wrong leaders could be, how cruel and negligent. They have to be held accountable, have to be challenged, because power corrupts, and our moral sensibility can be so dulled that we let atrocities happen right around us, unless we manage to stay constantly vigilant, sensitive, aroused, and ready to take a stand.

Related Characters: Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha (speaker), Mona’s Mother/Bebe, Mona’s Father/Jidu
Page Number: 247
Explanation and Analysis:

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

Mona’s Mother/Bebe Quotes in What the Eyes Don’t See

The What the Eyes Don’t See quotes below are all either spoken by Mona’s Mother/Bebe or refer to Mona’s Mother/Bebe. 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
).
Prologue Quotes

The road behind my family disappeared too. The Iraq they knew was lost, replaced by war and ruins. In my mind, this lost Iraq is a land of enchantment and despair. But its lessons endure.

Related Characters: Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha (speaker), Mona’s Mother/Bebe, Mona’s Father/Jidu, Muaked “Mark” Hanna , Saddam Hussein
Page Number: 5
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15 Quotes

This is what it means to be a member of a family, to have people in your life who trust you and support you and who know you sometimes better than you know yourself. […] What we had was more than love. We understood each other. We were grounded in the same core ideals and morals—and were always moving toward the same goal: to make the world more just, more equitable, and a more human place. To do the right thing, even if it was hard.

Related Characters: Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha (speaker), Mona’s Mother/Bebe, Muaked “Mark” Hanna , Elliott
Page Number: 207-208
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18 Quotes

Now, as the press conference loomed, I was beginning to see that my family’s saga of loss and dislocation had given me my fight—my passion and urgency. […] I grew up with dismay and knew how wrong leaders could be, how cruel and negligent. They have to be held accountable, have to be challenged, because power corrupts, and our moral sensibility can be so dulled that we let atrocities happen right around us, unless we manage to stay constantly vigilant, sensitive, aroused, and ready to take a stand.

Related Characters: Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha (speaker), Mona’s Mother/Bebe, Mona’s Father/Jidu
Page Number: 247
Explanation and Analysis:

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: