Patrick Pyfer
N 212
T/Th 2:30

Essay 3

In the books, “Men in the Sun,” the author, Ghassan Kanafani, tells a story of three men struggling for a peaceful place in their society. Kanafani uses a poetic style of language to express his feelings toward what is happening in the Middle East. This style leaves it up to the reader’s imagination when deciding what Kanafani is really trying to say. While I read the book, I felt that I was always on my toes with suspicion of what was going to happen next. Growing up in privileged society made it difficult for me to relate to what the three men were going through. However, the book made me understand the harsh struggles and feel empathy for the characters.
The risk that these men were wiling to face showed me the great amount of pressure they had to better their lives. Marwan was the youngest character in the book. Knowing that he is young, it is easy to assume that he would be the happiest of the men because he has been living in the chaotic life for the shortest duration. However, he never feels content or happy, “but what was the reason for his having such a feeling now, when he had not seen a film like that for a long time, and only a few minutes before the threads of hope that had woven fine dreams in his heart had been broken in the fat man’s shop?” (Kanafani, 37). It was impossible for him to find satisfaction in the harsh life styles he was living. He dreamed of a better life for him and his family and was willing to do anything for it.
My empathy towards the characters climaxed while seeing their undying commitment to the pursuit of a better life. Abu is willing to leave his wife, son, and newborn child back at home, in hopes that he completes this dangerous mission, even if his life is at stake. At their final checkpoint before they reached Kuwait, the smuggler, Abul, was held longer than intended, while the three men were tramped in the water tank. After the checkpoint, Abul drove quickly into Kuwait to release the men to the destination they have been longing for. When he opened the tank, the men were dead, “Stretching out his hand, he felt his way to the back of the tank, the other body was still holding on the metal support,” (Kanafani, 71). Kanafani poisoned the body to be still holding on to the metal for support as a way to symbolize how these men would latch their entire life on the pursuit of a better life. While I read this, my empathy for these men grew greatly. Their struggles were extremely harsh, and they really would risk anything to change it. Their journey did, in fact, cost the men their life. However, they believed it to be a better alternative then the lives they were living.
In the book, Kanafani told a story of the struggles of three men that are difficult for people without these struggles to understand. It was confusing for me to relate because I have never felt that something was bad enough that I would die to change it. It was also difficult for the Abul to comprehend when he questions, “Why didn’t you knock on the sides of the tank? Why didn’t you bang the sides of the tank? Why? Why? Why?” (Kanafani, 74). By ending the book with these questions, was a powerful was for Kanafani to give empathy to people who never had to bear the same struggles. Abul, readers, and I may never understand that feeling. Yet, not understanding shows how powerful the men’s pursuit for a better life really was.

Work Cited
Kanafani, Ghassan. 1998. Men in the Sun and other Palestinian Stories. New York: Lynne Rienner.