Frankenstein In Baghdad Sparknotes

People's belief systems impact their rituals of death and grieving by being a core part of them exposed when they are grieving, this is shown through multiple character’s actions as their responses to death in Frankenstein in Baghdad and research explored in an Atlantic article, In Grief, Try Personal Rituals. Frankenstein in Baghdad is a novel by Ahmed Saadawi, originally published in Arabic in 2013. The novel follows a group of neighbors and friends in Baghdad in the 2000s among multiple battles for power in the capital city, as at the same time, a new killer begins a crime spree in the streets around them, reflecting their own struggles with the brutality around them. The novel shows how as death and destruction surround us, we can be driven

George, which she believes carries a stronger power related to her son, who is assumed dead from battle. Her obsession with the picture and her son is shown early in the text, on page 16 where it says “That night by the light of the oil lamp, Elishva could see the ripples in the old picture behind the murky glass, but she could see also the saints eyes and his soft, handsome face. Nabu meowed irritably as he left the room. The saint’s long arm was still holding the lance, but now his eyes were on Elishva. ‘You're too impatient, Elishva,’ he said, ‘I told you the Lord will bring you peace of mind or put an end to your torment or you will hear news that will bring you joy. But no one can make the Lord act at a certain time.’ Elishva argued with the saint for half an hour,” This sequence shows how important the picture is to Elishva as well as her belief in both God, and that her son is still out there, because God hasn’t sent her a sign. This is an example of a private ritual, which the article says in its conclusion, “Those who are grieving cannot raise the dead or change the laws of nature. But by performing their own private rituals, the bereaved can regain their footing in a world that has become a little emptier than it was before.” Elishva holds onto her belief in a higher power despite her life being irrevocably changed for the worse and uses it in her ritual with the picture to soothe herself, making herself feel better by holding onto her belief and being comforted by her imagination of how a saint would. It also shows how core her religion and belief in saints especially are to her, because it’s what she falls back on in her toughest