Zeitoun

After Hurricane Katrina hits, Abdulrahman Zeitoun faces many complications. These hardships, however are not all due to the physical damage done by the storm. In Dave Eggers, Zeitoun, Eggers makes the assertion that people think differently of others due to their race or religion. Unfortunately, this is the way it is, both in 2005 when the book takes place and currently in 2016. The assertion that people judge others based on their race and religion is unfortunately very true and is seen throughout the book. Once Hurricane Katrina hits, Kathy and the children flee while Zeitoun stays behind to make sure everything stays safe. After a couple of days of venturing the city, while on the phone with Kathy, Zeitoun says, “I feel like I’m supposed to be here. [...] It’s God 's will” (124). Zeitoun feels this way because of all of the people and dogs he has saved. He is doing nothing but helping the community. Soldiers, however, think Zeitoun is up to no good. He and his friends are taken from his house because soldiers think they are thieves due to their skin color.

There is no explanation to their arrest and they want to find out why. When Todd asks one of the passing soldiers in the jail why they are there, he simply replies with, “You guys are Al Qaeda” (212). This statement startles Zeitoun, “...he could not have heard right. Zeitoun had long feared this day would come” (212). This quote shows a direct example of judging people based on their race. Zeitoun and his friends are only arrested because they are Muslim. While in jail, “He [Zeitoun] had not been read his rights. He did not know why he was being held” (216). This quote is another example of racism because Zeitoun was still never given a valid reason of why he was in jail other than the fact that he was “Al