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Chapter 13
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Beekeeper of Aleppo, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Home, Displacement, and the Refugee Experience
Grief, Memory, and Coping Mechanisms
Hope vs. Delusion
The Trauma of War
Dehumanization vs. Connection
Summary
Analysis
In the present, Nuri wakes in the storage closet once again. It is nighttime, and he listens to the other residents sleeping. He pauses to tuck Diomande’s blanket around him and sees that his wings are just scars. Downstairs, Nuri enters the courtyard, amazed to find the bee still alive despite her surroundings. He knows that Mohammed is gone, that he created him. Nuri’s thoughts turn to memories of Sami—reading Sami books, making up stories, playing in the garden in Aleppo—all the memories he has been avoiding.
Diomande’s lack of wings seems to signify Nuri’s return to an accurate perception of reality. He also feels a tenderness for the young man that he would have previously repressed, evidence that he is opening up to interpersonal connection. The persistence of the flightless bee suggests to Nuri that adaptation is possible, despite his less-than-hospitable surroundings. Though he understands Mohammed was never real, he is grateful to him, conveying acceptance. At last, Nuri opens himself to memories of his own son, knowing he must feel the pain they bring if he is ever to heal.
Themes
Nuri heads upstairs and finds Afra asleep. He sees another picture she has drawn of the cherry tree in the courtyard. The colors are correct, and there is a dim outline of a boy beneath the tree, looking up at the sky. Gently, Nuri climbs into the bed and touches Afra for the first time in a long while, running his hands down her beautiful body. The thought of Mr. Fotakis forcing himself on her fills him with sorrow and rage. Nuri realizes he has forgotten to love his wife.
The boy in the courtyard Afra has drawn could be either Mohammed or Sami; either way, it seems that including him in the picture is part of Afra’s healing process, a process which Nuri now wants to take part in. The act of touching her represents him breaking down the walls they have both built, and he realizes she is the only person who can help him through this grief.
Themes
Nuri wakes Afra and apologizes for forgetting the key. She embraces him and cries, saying Nuri “forgot about us.” Nuri kisses her, all of her, embracing the pain. Aloud, he contemplates having another child and telling them everything about Sami. Afra asks if Nuri won’t forget Sami, and he is quiet for a time before sharing some of the memories of his son. They reminisce about Sami for a while before Afra falls asleep, already softer and closer to peace.
In saying that Nuri “forgot about us,” Afra acknowledges her husband’s retreat into himself, away from all the things that might cause him pain, not realizing she was in the same place. United at last, they confront the guilt and the grief and the tentative hope they have for the future, implying that human empathy is the only thing that has any hope of overcoming the dehumanizing effects of trauma.
Themes
In the morning, Nuri hears the doorbell ringing. The Moroccan man answers it, and Nuri hears someone say his full name. He goes down the stairs and sees Mustafa at the door. A surge of memories overpowers him, all the time he and Mustafa spent together in Aleppo, as if he is watching life flash before his eyes. Mustafa says Nuri’s name, and he bursts into sobs. The men embrace as brothers reunited, both older and grayer than before, but finally together. The Moroccan man offers to make tea after Mustafa’s long journey from the north of England. Mustafa tells the man that Mustafa has traveled much farther than this.
Nuri’s surge of memories at seeing Mustafa is a larger emotional release than he has previously allowed himself. Mustafa—who has represented both hope and home for Nuri—has also been changed by his journey. Though this reunion does not solve all their problems, again, the novel implies that connection is preferable to isolation and is necessary for healing.
Themes
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Mustafa and Nuri sit in the living room, struggling to find words. Nuri asks about the bees, and Mustafa asks if he will come and help him. They are discussing Nuri’s asylum application when Afra arrives. They embrace, and Nuri can feel his wife’s spirit lift. In the courtyard, Afra tells Mustafa what colors she can see. He tells her about the flowers and the hives and how Dahab and Aya are waiting for her. Nuri senses his cousin’s desperation for a happy ending. Mustafa continues to paint a picture of the work he and Nuri will do with the bees. Nuri reflects that Mustafa has always been his source of hope.
The plans Nuri and Mustafa make are tentative; both men have seen too much to dream with the wild abandon of their youth. Nevertheless, they do allow some hope to burgeon between them. Nuri notes a desperate tinge to Mustafa’s chatter; he knows that their future is not guaranteed but still hopes for a happy ending after all their suffering. In this way, hope is the thing that sustains a person through trauma even when what is hoped for seems less than realistic.
Themes
Nuri watches Afra and Mustafa, thinking of Mohammed, the boy he created to fill the void Sami left. Mustafa says that one day they will return to Aleppo and rebuild, bring the bees back to life. Afra is looking up at the blossoms of the cherry tree at three hoopoe birds perched there. She asks the men if they can see them and says the birds have come to find them. As Mustafa, Nuri, and Afra watch, the birds take flight as one.
Mohammed, like the hope of returning to Aleppo one day, supported Nuri through his darkest moments, despite the fact that he was not real; in this way, delusion that sustains a person can provide an escape while also inspiring hope for real change. The image of the three hoopoe birds, seen through Afra’s healing eyes, represents the three refugees attempting to build a home for themselves in a new place. In this way, while safety remains elusive, the narrative suggests that home can always be found by connecting with kindred spirits.
Themes
