Mahmoud’s Father Character Analysis in Frankenstein in Baghdad

Although known as a respected gentleman in Mahmoud’s hometown of Amara, Mahmoud’s father revealed the full truth of his life, including uncomfortable sexual passages, in his diaries. This approach to truth-telling inspires Mahmoud, who finds comfort in knowing that writing can allow for self-expression and the revelation of all aspects of reality. However, these diaries also illustrate the potential dangers of storytelling: Mahmoud’s mother burns them all after his death, unwilling to let her husband’s truth come to light. In his notebooks, Mahmoud’s father also discussed the origin of their family, which Mahmoud is shocked to learn was not originally Arab: one of Mahmoud’s ancestors converted to Islam, and his father actually invented their family name “Sawadi,” in order to replace their tribal name. These events highlight the political importance of something so intimate as family relationships, since belonging to a given social, religious, or ethnic group can determine one’s fate in an environment marked by sectarian violence.

Mahmoud’s Father Character Timeline in Frankenstein in Baghdad

The timeline below shows where the character Mahmoud’s Father appears in Frankenstein in Baghdad. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...his family was not originally Arab. One of his ancestors, he believes, converted to Islam. His father recounted the story in his diaries, but his family burned it after the man’s death. (full context)

...Panasonic recorder months ago, in order to avoid using notebooks. This led him to recall his father ’s diaries, composed of 27 notebooks, which Mahmoud sometimes perused. However, after his father’s death,... (full context)

Mahmoud knows that his father told the full truth of his life in these diaries, including scenes of masturbation and... (full context)

...family’s origins and religious conversion. Although he only gathered bits of information, he understood that his father invented their last name, Sawadi, to replace their original tribal name. After their father’s death,... (full context)