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Nahem Abdaki
Nicknamed “the Mantis” because of his height, this criminal accuses Mahmoud of being responsible for the death of his brother, a notorious gang leader who was killed in Amara. Mahmoud had written an article celebrating the Mantis’s brother’s arrest and speculating on three types of justice, including “street justice.” When the Mantis’s brother was later killed in the street, thus exemplifying the notion of “street justice,” the Mantis accused the journalist of encouraging his brother’s murder. His threats toward Mahmoud forced the journalist to leave his hometown of Amara for Baghdad. The Mantis’s later success as a politician underlines the fragile distinction between criminality and politics in such an unstable, conflict-ridden country, in which domination over others can take various forms. Although the Mantis dies a brutal death, which could confirm Mahmoud’s notion of “street justice,” the journalist now denies the validity of this concept. Mahmoud argues that the violence in Iraq is pure anarchy and that people’s deaths cannot be associated with any notion of justice: rather, all they reflect is chaos and destruction.
The Mantis Quotes in Frankenstein in Baghdad
The Frankenstein in Baghdad quotes below are all either spoken by The Mantis or refer to The Mantis. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 11
Quotes
The Mantis’s brother had led a small gang that terrorized the locals until he was arrested and detained. The news of his arrest was greeted with great joy by many, including Mahmoud, who then wrote a newspaper article about the need to enforce the law against this criminal. He philosophized a little in the article, saying there were three types of justice—legal justice, divine justice, and street justice—and that however long it takes, criminals must face one of them.
Publishing the article won Mahmoud points for courage and for embodying the journalistic ideal of enlightenment in service of the public interest.
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Chapter 19
Quotes
Mahmoud thought back to his theory about the three kinds of justice, but he wasn’t convinced it was valid. It was anarchy out there; there was no logic behind what was happening. He took a deep breath and gave a long sigh. What mattered now was that he had broken free of a worry that had been weighing heavily on him.
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The Mantis Quotes in Frankenstein in Baghdad
The Frankenstein in Baghdad quotes below are all either spoken by The Mantis or refer to The Mantis. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 11
Quotes
The Mantis’s brother had led a small gang that terrorized the locals until he was arrested and detained. The news of his arrest was greeted with great joy by many, including Mahmoud, who then wrote a newspaper article about the need to enforce the law against this criminal. He philosophized a little in the article, saying there were three types of justice—legal justice, divine justice, and street justice—and that however long it takes, criminals must face one of them.
Publishing the article won Mahmoud points for courage and for embodying the journalistic ideal of enlightenment in service of the public interest.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19
Quotes
Mahmoud thought back to his theory about the three kinds of justice, but he wasn’t convinced it was valid. It was anarchy out there; there was no logic behind what was happening. He took a deep breath and gave a long sigh. What mattered now was that he had broken free of a worry that had been weighing heavily on him.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
