The coming-of-age novel “In the Country of Men” by Hisham Matar explores the early life of Suleiman, a nine-year-old Libyan boy who experienced his childhood under the cruel reign of Al-Qaddafi. We are introduced to Suleiman’s family, Faraj and Najwa, as well as two other significant characters Mousa and Ustath Rashid, in the early chapters of the book. Mousa plays a major role in Suleiman’s life as he is portrayed as the main male figure in his life in the place of his absent father. Loyalty and betrayal are two key themes in this novel as they shape the lives of these characters in a great way. They are found in every trivial detail in the novel and affect the characters in all aspects of their lives. The novel “In the Country of Men” by …show more content…
It shapes the lives of many characters and is a trait found in almost all characters in this novel. The two characters that exhibit loyalty the most are Faraj and Mousa, where we see in many occasions their reliability. Mousa frequently proves his loyalty to Suleiman by acting as a father figure to him and always being there for him as Faraj is unable to be there for him most of the time due to his endless business trips. ”At other times I secretly wished that Moosa, Baba’s closest friend, was my father instead… He often carried me on his shoulders to pick the high fruit, sweetened by the sun, on the crowns of the plum and orange trees in our garden,” (ICM, p.29-30). Another instance where Mousa has proven his loyalty Suleiman’s family and to Faraj in particular, is when he burns Faraj’s books that verified his anti-government beliefs, so that the Mukhabarat wouldn’t find evidence to his support to the anti-government movement. “Then, looking into my eyes, he said, ‘we mustn’t tell the men coming here about Baba’s books. You must promise,” (ICM, p.99). Furthermore, Mousa exhibits his loyalty to Um Suleiman, as he doesn’t tell her husband, and his best friend, that she is an alcoholic and is almost always drunk when he is out on his business trips. We also see Faraj’s loyalty to his family by not disclosing any details on his business concerning the anti-government matters as he is trying to protect them from the