Frankenstein in Baghdad

by

Ahmed Saadawi

Abu Zaidoun Character Analysis

This elderly barber and ex-Baathist is known as a cruel man responsible for sending many young Iraqi men to war in the 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq War. Even though he is no longer engaged in such activities, he is one of the first people whom the Whatsitsname kills, seeking revenge for the death of Elishva’s son Daniel.
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Abu Zaidoun Character Timeline in Frankenstein in Baghdad

The timeline below shows where the character Abu Zaidoun appears in Frankenstein in Baghdad. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: The Madwoman
Power, Authority, and Social Divisions Theme Icon
...both Faraj and Hadi, whom she considers greedy and immoral. She curses them, along with Abu Zaidoun , the Baathist barber responsible for forcing her son, Daniel, to enroll in the army.... (full context)
Chapter 5: The Body
Good vs. Evil Theme Icon
Family, Friendship, and Home Theme Icon
Elishva shares all of these stories with her guest. She also describes Abu Zaidoun , a Baathist who would force people to join military service, and who physically dragged... (full context)
Chapter 6: Strange Events
Good vs. Evil Theme Icon
Power, Authority, and Social Divisions Theme Icon
...the police have now taken over the neighborhood. The murder victim is the local barber, Abu Zaidoun . Someone killed the old man, who suffered from severe dementia, by stabbing him in... (full context)
Good vs. Evil Theme Icon
Power, Authority, and Social Divisions Theme Icon
Family, Friendship, and Home Theme Icon
At the man’s funeral, people emphasize Abu Zaidoun ’s positive qualities, giving him dignity by relegating his cruel behavior to the first years... (full context)
Truth, Lies, and Storytelling Theme Icon
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Power, Authority, and Social Divisions Theme Icon
...the story of the Whatsitsname. He invokes the murders of the four beggars and of Abu Zaidoun to insist to Hadi that his stories are likely to put him in danger. He... (full context)
Chapter 9: The Recordings
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...violent person. He believed in the nobility of his mission. He argued that he killed Abu Zaidoun as retaliation for Daniel Tadros’s death. (full context)