In this chapter we follow the protagonist, Said into a Café where he meets an old friend, Tarzan. It is evident that Tarzan will be of significant assistance to Said as we see him completing several favors within the first few instances.
Towards the end of the chapter we are then introduced to Nur (a prostitute), a former “intimate partner” of Said. It is also indicated that she will play a significant part throughout the novel as she too is asked for a sizeable favor from Said. It is also declared that before Said had gone to jail, Nur was in fact in love with him. Said describes the situation as her trying to “gain his love, but failed” (p. 192)
The character of Said is also developed in this chapter because for the first time it is made evident that he does in fact have friends. The clearest indication of this is the reaction of the people in the café when Said entered as “They stared at him incredulously, then everyone in the café rose at once to meet him. Led by the proprietor and his waiter, uttering a variety of colorful expressions of welcome, they formed a circle around him, embraced him, kissing him on the cheeks.” (P.188). Within the previous chapters Said is displayed as more of a recluse, with few resources and reliable acquaintances. Until now it had been established that all of the people he had once been able to count on had seemingly cut all ties with him while he was in prison.
Further expressed in this chapter, contrasting the initial display of friendship, is the idea that Said is a very cold, unloving character describing himself as a rock with the analogy of someone loving him as being “like a nightingale singing to a rock…” (p. 192). This statement is in reference to his past relationship with Nur, supporting the idea that she loved him, but received nothing in return.
Tags: Characterization, Development, Friend, Nur, Said, Tarzan
