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Losing Faith in Dave Eggers' Zeitoun

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Losing Faith in Dave Eggers' Zeitoun
Natural disasters affect many individuals throughout the world. One natural disaster that was known to affect the lives of thousands of Americans is Hurricane Katrina. One particular person affected by this hurricane is a man named Abdulrahman Zeitoun, who ventured through the destructed city of New Orleans helping those in need, while experiencing the malevolent actions placed upon him. Abdulrahman Zeitoun is an individual that underwent an enormous change as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Abdulrahman’s faith was being tested. After the hurricane, Zeitoun experienced many unfortunate events throughout New Orleans and was accused of looting and suspected of being a terrorist taking advantage of the anarchy New Orleans was in. Zeitoun thought he was doing “[God’s] work” (Eggers 262) by staying in the destructed city and helping those in need, explained in Dave Eggers’ book, Zeitoun. How could a man continue to believe in his faith in God when things he thought were right brought misfortune to him? Zeitoun started to doubt his religion, his God. A change which he experienced due to the results of Katrina. The love towards Abdulrahman’s wife, Kathy Zeitoun, diminished as a result of the hurricane. As stated in Naomi Martin’s article of the trial between Kathy and Abdulrahman, Kathy Zeitoun was considered as his "ex-wife", indicating the bond between husband and wife was no more. The separation between the couple could also be considered as Abdulrahman's disbelief in his faith, since he believed the things God hated most were "murder, divorce, and waste" (Eggers 48). The divorce with Kathy showed Abdulrahman's faith in his religion slowly fading. One of my classmates shared the fact that "Zeitoun was such a God fearing man" within Dave Eggers' Zeitoun, no one would have guessed divorce was an outcome. My classmate, Andrea Brunner’s, response towards the change Abdulrahman experienced "was not a surprise" for her since she believes "people can change and we can
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