Zeitoun: A Tragic Hero
Zeitoun, by Dave Eggers, tells the story of a Syrian-American father with an intense drive to fill in his brother's footsteps. Using his family's wellbeing as his motivation, this drive eventually leads him into a lot of trouble. Zeitoun is a tragic hero. Abdulrahman Zeitoun was widely regarded as a pillar of the community. He was the owner of Zeitoun A. Painting Contractor LLC, a company he had started after earning enough funds from years of hard work. A man of many talents, Zeitoun could paint, hang sheetrock, tilt, and much,eleven years prior to starting this company, Zeitoun worked for a contractor named Charlie.more. At the time, Zeitoun did not own a car, and was forced to ride a bicycle to work every day. While traveling to work
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With Hurricane Katrina in the horizon, Zeitoun's wife Kathy and their kids begged Zeitoun to travel to Arizona with them, but he refused. He felt that it was in the family's best interest for him to stay behind and keep an eye on their rental properties, which were their main sources of income. Although the advisement Zeitoun received from family, aswell as friends ,"Zeitoun dismissed it... The storms always raged across Florida, wreaking havoc, and then died somewhere overland or in the Gulf." Kathy described her husband as "bullheaded," meaning that he "always felt like his information was better than what anyone else had access to." Not long after the storm wrecked the city of New Orleans, Zeitoun sprung into action. He felt "invigorated," and decided that he "had never felt such purpose." Zeitoun wanted to continue helping people in need. Over the course of the next few days, Zeitoun fed a group of abandoned dogs, gave people rides through the flooded streets on his canoe, and much more. Everything was going great for Zeitoun until a group of soldiers captured him outside of his home. The soldiers thought that Zeitoun was a terrorist, arresting him on sight. Zeitoun was detained in several prisons until Kathy was able to locate him and secure his release many months
With Hurricane Katrina in the horizon, Zeitoun's wife Kathy and their kids begged Zeitoun to travel to Arizona with them, but he refused. He felt that it was in the family's best interest for him to stay behind and keep an eye on their rental properties, which were their main sources of income. Although the advisement Zeitoun received from family, aswell as friends ,"Zeitoun dismissed it... The storms always raged across Florida, wreaking havoc, and then died somewhere overland or in the Gulf." Kathy described her husband as "bullheaded," meaning that he "always felt like his information was better than what anyone else had access to." Not long after the storm wrecked the city of New Orleans, Zeitoun sprung into action. He felt "invigorated," and decided that he "had never felt such purpose." Zeitoun wanted to continue helping people in need. Over the course of the next few days, Zeitoun fed a group of abandoned dogs, gave people rides through the flooded streets on his canoe, and much more. Everything was going great for Zeitoun until a group of soldiers captured him outside of his home. The soldiers thought that Zeitoun was a terrorist, arresting him on sight. Zeitoun was detained in several prisons until Kathy was able to locate him and secure his release many months