Zeitoun free essay sample

In the notes about this book, Eggers explains that the book is based on the accounts of Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun. What does the story gain by reflecting only the Zeitoun familys view of the events? What might be lost in such an approach? The story gains by reflecting only the Zeitoun familys view of the events mainly because of the discrimination that Zeitoun had to go through during the Hurricane Katrinna, by the simple reason that Zeitoun is a muslim man, they accused him and his two friends, of being part of the AlQaeda. The American police – military or a higher power – imprisoned them by their religion and did not give them their right to a phone call or a lawyer. â€Å" Zeitoun was pushed toward the front door. The other officers had already gathered Ronnie and Nasser onto an enormous fan boat. It was a military craft, far bigger than any other boat Zeitoun had seen since the storm. Abdulrahman Zeitoun is a man who was born in Syria and migrated to New Orleans to settle. He runs a successful construction company and is well known around the city of New Orleans. From the very beginning of the story the author begins to reveal to the readers Zeitoun’s character and the importance of family to him. In the beginning of the book, Eggers uses the fishing trips Zeitoun was a part of as an example of his love for his family. Zeitoun would go fishing and catch many fish for his family and not collect a dime from the task. Although he genuinely had a love for the sea and adventure, most of his ambition was driven by love for his family and the need to care for them. In his household, family was put first over everything. I believe that this was presented in that part from the book as they would venture out in the cold night to gather provisions for their family. Where Zeitoun comes from, family is reliant upon family. He was raised with this mentality and it was sort of engraved into him as he grew older. So when he was included into another community, he implemented this mindset and treated the community like it was his family; caring for them and trying to keep everyone safe. When Hurricane Katrina rolled along, there was an instinctive feeling in him that swayed him from moving and caused him to remain in the city. He later realized that he needed to be there for his community and that his presence was necessary in order to bring safety to the people in his city; his community, his family. In the book, Eggers also displays how community and family are needed in times of tragedy. He even showed that tragedy may even trigger a stronger sense of togetherness or it may work to destroy communities. Following the horrific effects of the hurricane, the percentage of crimes in the city soared as some acted out of panic and fear for their survival, and some took advantage of the confusion in order to commit crimes. This was triggered by a lack of community and the idea of needing to steal from the community in order to survive. It is an â€Å"everyone for themselves† outlook to the situation. This sort of anti-community attitude is a dangerous one and really causes the problem to inflate. If everyone worked towards helping their community in this time of peril, the situation would have been much less severe. Examples that include the strengthening of a sense of community are found in the decisions and acts of Zeitoun and Todd. They stayed in the city and devoted their time to assisting people in need. The tragedy allowed them to do acts that they weren’t accustomed to. Todd was a completely new man after the storm hit. His time was engulfed in supporting his community and this was caused by the tragic hurricane and the helplessness it brought to most people in the city. This strengthened both Zeitoun and Todd’s devotion to the community and they worked towards rebuilding the morale and conditions of the people. Stressing the positive effects that came from helping the community and highlighting the negative effects that came from hurting the community, Eggers is trying to express that having a strong sense of community in any given situation is definitely important in ANY given situation. I totally agree with the author’s social comment and understand the huge role a strong community plays. I believe this strong sense of community is extremely important in hard times as it may lessen the effects of whatever the calamity. A final example towards the importance of family is the role his family played in Zeitoun’s release from incarceration. When Zeitoun went missing his family became hysterical and constantly worried for him. His family from afar was constantly calling his wife, Kathy, asking her where he is and pleading her to go and find him. His older brother Ahmad sent a barrage of letters to news stations and the media asking for the whereabouts of his brother and begging them to search for him. After his wife found out he was in prison she hired an attorney and fought to have Zeitoun released. Zeitoun was released after only staying about a month in prison compared to other prisoners from New Orleans who were released from about five months to a year. This highlights the power of family in a difficult situation and can be a means of life or death in some cases. The author spent a quarter of the book showing the trouble Zeitoun’s family went through to retrieve him. Due to this, Eggers really argues the importance of family and I completely agree with him. The prisoners without a strong family connection such as Nasser and Todd ended up staying for about four times as long as Zeitoun. This goes to show that having solid family relations are extremely crucial. Through events described in the book, a strong community and family are viewed highly by the author. He places much emphasis on the advantages of a good sense of community and ties to one’s family. He also portrays how events can be much more drastic when there is a lack of or a shaky sense of the two factors. In conclusion, Dave Eggers stresses the importance of family and community in â€Å"Zeitoun† and I completely agree that the two are something that no one should be without.