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Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Frankenstein in Baghdad, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Truth, Lies, and Storytelling
Good vs. Evil
Power, Authority, and Social Divisions
Family, Friendship, and Home
Superstition and Religion
Summary
Analysis
Early the next morning, the senior astrologer woke Brigadier Majid to tell him that the creature was currently sleeping in a house in Bataween. Excited about finally arresting this mysterious criminal, the two men drove up to Bataween together but ran into a roadblock, because the police and military were surrounding the car of a suspected car bomber parked next to Elishva’s house. Abu Salim was watching the scene and Faraj the realtor was observing his new hotel when the bomb exploded.
This explosion in Bataween mirrors the explosion in Tayaran Square at the beginning of the novel. However, the difference is that, at this stage in the story, the effects of this bombing are now personal. Acquainted with the characters affected by the blast, the reader understands that the victims of these attacks are not anonymous crowds but, rather, full individuals with complex lives.
Themes
The explosion seriously damaged the entire neighborhood: Elishva and Hadi’s houses were completely destroyed, and Hadi, who had been sleeping in his bed while his house caught fire, narrowly escaped being burned alive. Faraj was wounded in the face. Although Umm Salim’s house was severely damaged, her entire family survived, including Abu Salim, who fell from his balcony.
The different effects of the explosion on these characters’ bodies and homes suggest, once again, that survival is primarily a matter of luck. Indeed, it is impossible to predict how serious the consequences of a terrorist attack will be on each person present. No matter of authority can keep one safe from such unpredictable disasters.
Themes
Abu Salim spent the next days in the hospital telling everyone about all the scenes he had witnessed from his balcony over the decades. A week later, a visitor with a digital recorder came to visit him, telling him that he was “the writer.” The man wanted to hear Abu Salim’s stories.
The introduction of a new character, “the writer,” refers back to the introductory chapter of the novel, which recounted the arrest of a mysterious author. The man’s objectives remain unexplained, although his possession of a digital recorder is reminiscent of Mahmoud’s journalistic investigations.
Themes
When the Brigadier and the senior astrologer reached Bataween, the senior astrologer drew his cards and examined them. This allowed him to realize that the One Who Has No Name was no longer in the house where they planned on arresting him. The senior astrologer also told Brigadier Majid that their team was responsible for this car bomb. The junior astrologer, he explained, moved the car bomber to this neighborhood in order to kill the mysterious criminal as he slept. As the senior astrologer insisted that they return to the office to solve this problem, the car bomb went off.
This episode suggests that the activities the astrologers take part in do not only seek to predict future events: they also orchestrate them. The junior astrologer’s efforts to kill the Whatsitsname might have been well intentioned, but they could not take into account unpredictable events, such as the fact that the Whatsitsname has left the house where he was previously sleeping. In this sense, the failure of the junior astrologer’s actions highlights the impossibility to accurate anticipate every detail of the future. At the same time, it also puts the astrologers’ actions in the same category as those of the criminal they are trying to catch: adding unnecessary fear and violence to a conflict-ridden city.
Themes
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Emerging unharmed, Brigadier Majid and the senior astrologer hurried back to their office. When the Brigadier realized that the junior astrologer was indeed responsible for moving the car bomber—who had planned to attack another area—to Bataween, he decided to close down this section of the department in order to avoid future problems. Two weeks later, a special Committee interrogates Brigadier Majid about the department’s activities. He realizes that, instead of receiving a promotion, his job is now seriously at risk.
The junior astrologer did not create a suicide bomber out of the blue, but simply moved the attack from one neighborhood to another. However, his involvement in this violent event reflects an extreme attitude: the willingness to put innocent people’s lives in danger to kill a single criminal. Brigadier Majid’s decision to shut down the department shows that he understands the gravity of the situation, and is not willing to take part in such criminal activities.
Themes
After hearing of the explosion in Bataween, Mahmoud calls his friend Hazem Abboud, who tells him that both he and Abu Anmar are safe: the hotel owner has returned to his hometown, whereas Hazem is currently away from the city, taking pictures of the war for an American news organization. Mahmoud is relieved to learn that no one he knows has been killed.
Hazem’s collaboration with an American journalistic outlet is paradoxical: although the U.S. is occupying Iraq—and thus actively contributing to the country’s internal conflicts—it is also willing to publish images of this devastation. This combination of democratic (protecting a free press) and undemocratic (occupying a foreign country by force) activities build a morally complex situation.
Themes
Mahmoud then heads toward the magazine’s office. He plans to tell Saidi, when the editor returns, that he wants his former job back, with fewer responsibilities. Some staff members have not yet been paid, and Mahmoud does not want to handle so much stress. However, when he reaches the offices, he notices government cars parked in front of the building. After being stopped by armed guards, Saidi is let into the empty offices. Everyone, he realizes, has left, perhaps because they are aware of something Mahmoud does not yet know.
Mahmoud’s desire to return to his former job shows that he is not ready to sacrifice his well-being for social and professional advancement, in the way someone like Saidi might. This suggests that Mahmoud is ultimately less interested in having a position of authority over others than in being a good journalist. This highlights some of Mahmoud’s positive qualities: his dedication to his job and his desire for people to be treated fairly—for example, to be paid on time.
Themes
In Saidi’s office, Mahmoud meets four men in suits who tell him that they are closing down the magazine because Saidi has stolen “13 million dollars of U.S. aid money.” In complete shock, Mahmoud hands them the key to the safe. He tries calling Saidi multiple times but receives no answer. The janitor Abu Jouni leaves the building without glancing at Mahmoud. In the meantime, Mahmoud calls accountants and colleagues who claim that they cannot help him in any way. The men in suits then tell Mahmoud to follow them for questioning. Terrified, Mahmoud expects to be tortured, a technique he knows is typical in Iraqi security agencies.
This shocking accusation against Saidi brings the editor’s secret activities to criminal heights, suggesting, that Saidi is less interested in journalism than in making money. Certainly, whether or not he is actually guilty, his willingness to let Mahmoud suffer some of the consequences of this shocking event reveals his callousness: he prefers to stay hidden and safeguard his own secrets than to protect his faithful employee, who has put all of his trust in the editor.
Themes
In the meantime, a Committee interrogates Brigadier Majid at length. Afterward, the Brigadier fires all of his staff members, because he realizes that disputes among his staff members are responsible for this disaster. The senior astrologer admits that the junior astrologer’s adversarial behavior toward him jeopardized the entire operation. Taken aback by his staff’s lack of surprise at being fired, the Brigadier realizes that, having consulted their special tools, the astrologers already knew this would happen. Depressed by this miserable ending to their operations, the Brigadier feels abandoned by his team.
Brigadier Majid’s vulnerability to external interrogation reveals that even having as much political power as the Brigadier does not serve as protection against higher authorities: ultimately, the Brigadier is just as likely as any other employee to be punished for his mistakes. However, the fact that such an important operation fails due to some astrologers’ internal squabbles gives this story an ironic, quasi-humorous tinge, suggesting that humans are not able to put their personal frustrations aside to focus on a larger goal.
Themes
Before heading out of the office, the senior astrologer cuts off his beard to look like an ordinary “religious man.” He changes into civilian clothes. When he runs into the junior astrologer, the two men share looks of anger but separate without a word. The senior astrologer takes a taxi home, but the driver soon gets lost. Apologetically, he tells the senior astrologer to get out, claiming that this street is not dangerous.
The mention of the senior astrologer’s beard highlights the role of external appearances in determining one's status and religious belonging in society. This underlines the arbitrary nature of sectarian tension, which can target people based on their appearance instead of their actual beliefs.
Themes
The senior astrologer leaves the car and enters a long, dark side street. Filled with gloom, he has the feeling that he can already anticipate what is going to happen. This feeling is confirmed when he sees the mysterious shape of a man ahead of him. He realizes that the meeting he has been waiting for is about to take place. He does not want to appear weak and afraid. When the Whatsitsname begins to talk to him, all the senior astrologer wants is to see the criminal’s face.
The senior astrologer’s feeling that he can predict what is going to take place suggests that he does indeed have special powers. However, his obsession with the Whatsitsname’s face reveals his frustration at not being able to understand the full complexity of reality: he might be able to anticipate some events, but others remain out of his reach.
Themes
The senior astrologer tells the Whatsitsname that the junior astrologer is responsible for all of these events, since he was the one who tried to kill the criminal earlier this morning with a car bomb. The senior astrologer argues that his own goal, by contrast, was simply to arrest the criminal, because he was so desperate to see his face.
The senior astrologer aims to divert what he perceives to be the Whatsitsname’s murderous intentions by accusing his colleague. This highlights the man’s desperation before what he anticipates to be his brutal death—one of the many murders the Whatsitsname has perpetrated.
Themes
The senior astrologer insists that he is no longer interested in arresting the criminal. However, the “Criminal Who Has No Name” asks to see the man’s hands, which are responsible for dealing the cards that formed part of his astrological work. The Whatsitsname grabs holds of them and squeezes them hard, depleting the astrologer’s strength. He then explains that his face changes constantly. However, he allows the astrologer to see it. The astrologer feels as though he recognizes this face, which he concludes must be the face of his own past. A car passes by, but soon turns around after noting suspicious activity on the street. The Whatsitsname then raises an ax to the arms of the astrologer lying on the street.
The detail of a car turning around after noticing the Whatsitsname’s figure in the street mirrors the junior astrologer’s previous manipulations of magic sand, in which he was able to control the Whatsitsname’s mind. As a result, it is unclear whether the Whatsitsname is acting out of his own volition, or whether he is secretly following the junior astrologer’s external manipulation—meant to kill a colleague whom he hates. Suspicious circumstances such as the taxi driver’s confusion could corroborate the interpretation that these events are not random, but manipulated from the outside.
Themes
