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David
In “David,” Masud is a man from Asha’s village in Sudan. Through flashbacks, the reader learns that Masud made Asha’s young son, David, a bike from bike from scrap metal. David loved the bike and rode it everywhere, and Masud joyfully promised David that one day, he’d have a bicycle race named after him (like the Tour de France). This didn’t happen, though, as enemy soldiers shot and killed David during the Sudanese Civil War. When the young Sudanese woman chooses to name her new bicycle “David” to honor Asha’s late son, it offers a moment of closure, symbolically fulfilling Masud’s promise to David that he’d have a race named after him one day.
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Masud Character Timeline in Foreign Soil
The timeline below shows where the character Masud appears in Foreign Soil. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
David
...Also, the young woman reminds her of her son David. Back when David was seven, Masud, a mechanical engineer from her village, made David a bike from metal scraps. David loved...
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...thought the Janjaweed might leave them alone. But one day, Amina, the woman’s friend (and Masud’s daughter) runs to the woman (whom she calls Asha) to tell her the army has...
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...tells the boys it’s time to flee, David runs outside to find his beloved bike. Masud runs after David. Asha tries to follow him, but Amina won’t let her. The army...
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