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In "Zeitoun," Dave Eggers narrates the story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a Syrian-American man who stays in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina to help others. The novel explores themes of American ideals, justice, and the impact of fear during crises. It highlights the double tragedy of natural disaster and the loss of civil liberties, as Zeitoun's heroic actions lead to wrongful suspicion and detention. Through his experience, we reflect on the inconsistencies in American values and the treatment of the disenfranchised, revealing crucial lessons about justice and human dignity.
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Zeitoun A novel by Dave Eggers Antar R. Keith, Computers in the Classroom
Part I. Desired Understandings • Throughout our history, complex situations have caused America to entirely embrace or temporarily compromise its ideals. Japanese Internment Camp during WWII Antar R. Keith, Computers in the Classroom
Other acts of Injustice • What is the result of America being, at one time, a nation tolerable of slavery and tolerable of imprisonment or internment camps? Antar R. Keith, Computers in the Classroom
Maintaining Core Values • What situations do our values, as regards the equality of all men, remain intact? Camp Greyhound, as depicted in the events of Egger’s, Zeitoun Antar R. Keith, Computers in the Classroom
The Disenfranchised • Has this situation ever happened to any other Americans? Antar R. Keith, Computers in the Classroom
Part II. In the Wake of Disaster Click the computer’s screen to watch Extreme Weather Photographers, Mike Theiss and Jim Reed confront (and film) the devastating force of Katrina, and live to tell about it! Antar R. Keith, Computers in the Classroom
Zeitoun’s Belief in a Higher Purpose • Zeitoun’s Muslim faith imbues him with a sense of purpose. • Similar to Theiss & Reed, Zeitoun feels compelled to fight out the storm for benefit of others. • He, too, remains in New Orleans, despite warnings to flee the city. He remains to help others who have also chosen to stay, but do not have the ability to survive. • Eventually, Zeitoun becomes convinced that God has placed him in that exact spot, at that exact moment in time, to work His Mercy on others through his body. Antar R. Keith, Computers in the Classroom
The Gift and The Curse • Unfortunately, Zeitoun’s faith, which compelled him to search and save multiple people and animals, eventually results in him being suspected of terrorism. • This example demonstrates that dangerous situations can inadvertently cause America to forsake her ideals. • Click the portrait for an interview with Zeitoun, as he relates the events of his “incarceration.” Antar R. Keith, Computers in the Classroom
Part III. What can we, as a nation, learn from this double-tragedy? NOW THEN • How does this kind of literature reflect a time past, and a current sentiment in American society today? Antar R. Keith, Computers in the Classroom
Zeitoun’s own disappointment in the American Dream • Zeitoun was eventually detained in a makeshift prison, akin to the one used in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba—which, coincidentally, was his biggest fear. The notorious bus station-turned-prison, “Camp Greyhound.” Pictured is the lobby where Zeitoun was “booked” for his “crimes,” with no lawyer and no obligatory phone call home. Antar R. Keith, Computers in the Classroom
IV. Reflections Throughout the novel, America’s ideals were put to the test in the Hurricane Katrina disaster and the way that Zeitoun was treated. The novel shows which ideals are actually practiced during times of crisis, and which ideals are actually compromised during the same crisis. Antar R. Keith, Computers in the Classroom
