Characters

Zaki Bey

• The eldest resident of the building; revolves his life around women

Abaskharon

• Copt
• The only one with real street smarts
• “We must not, however, be fooled into thinking of Abaskharon as no more than an obedient servant, for the truth is that there is much more to him than that and behind his servile, weak exterior lies concealed a strong will, and precise goals that he will fight courageously and obstinately to achieve” pg 25

Malak

• Abaskharon’s brother; the other Copt-together they’re working to get a room on the roof
• Stereotypes of Christians in the meeting with Fikri Bey-bargaining over the price (pg. 30)

Aziz

· Owner of Chez Nous; “the Englishman”; imposes order within his bar

Hatim

· Francophone intellectual

· Product of a French mother and famous Egyptian jurist

· Editor-in-chief of a francophone newspaper

Abd Rabbuh

• Part of the Central Security-separated from the regular people

Busayna-39

• Unable to keep any job due to her sexuality colliding with morals
• Eventually agrees to do whatever her boos wants, as long as her virginity is preserved

Mr. Talal

• Busayna’s boss

Sheikh Hagg Muhammad Azzam-48

• Even though he is called a Sheikh, there is nothing to revere about what he does later on
• The millionaire who was able to rise up from the bottom (started as a migrant worker from Sohag)
• Pg. 195: "This country is ours, Hamidu. We have a long reach and we have all kinds of ways of dealing with people. Choose the kind you want"

Sheikh El Samman

• Celebrated man of religion and president of the Islamic Charitable Association
• Distorts religion, as seen in the scene with Souad’s abortion

Souad-55

• Sheikh Azzam’s second wife
• Hates him but at the same time is grateful for all that he provides
• puts on a show for him every time he visits

Taha-56

• the son of the doorman-unable to accomplish his goals because of this
• unclear why he wants to be a policeman to begin with

Dawlat-64

• Zaki Bey’s wife
• From the upper class; this is her third marriage
• Bitter and resentful about her lack of accomplishments in life

Hammid Hawas and Ali the Driver 69

Idris 74-Hatim’s childhood Nubian stewart and first lover

Kamal el Fouli -80

• Power in the form of information
• Can keep anyone quiet because he has dirt on everyone
• Controls the elections

Sheikh Shakir

• Represents religious fundamentalism
• Able to control a whole crowd of people with his speeches
• Uses the pre-emptive strike argument that is usually attributed to America
• Indoctrination in his speeches

Christine Nicholas-107

• Zaki’s former lover and longtime friend
• Gives him advice on all his life problems
• Makes his relationship with Busayna work out

Radwa

• Taha’s widowed wife
• A tool used by the leaders to placate Taha

Distortion of Religion:

Sheikh Shakir: pre-emptive strike and dramatic irony: pg. 99

“In God”: pg. 115

Slogans: pg. 141

Hagg Azzim’s campaign against TV and commercials: pg. 146

Hagg Azzam bribes God for his victory: pg. 123

Sheikh el Samman and Abortion: pg. 173

Abduh’s view on religion: pg. 134

The neighbors view of Abduh: pg. 154

Motifs:

Acting/Movies/Illusion:

7: "With its locked stores and old-fashioned, European-style buildings the street seemed dark and empty, as though it were in a sad, romantic, European film."

56: "It was just like that when you watch a film-you get engrossed in it and you react to it, but in the end the lights go back on, you return to reality, you leave the cinema, and the cold air of the street, crowded with cars and passerby, strikes you in the face; everything returns to its normal size and you think of everything that happened as just a movie, just a lot of acting"

37: "With his smart clothes, svelte figure, and fine French features, he would look like a scintillating movie start were it not for the wrinkles that his ritious life has left on his face and that miserable, unpleasant, mysterious, gloomy look that always haunts the faces of homosexuals"

48: "Were it not for his advanced age and the years of hardship that have left their traces to his countenance, Hagg Muhammad Azzam would look like a movie star or a crowned head, with his towering height and imperturbable gravitas, his elegance and his wealth, his face rosy with overflowing good health and his complexion all polished and shiny thanks to the skill of the experts at La Gaite Beauty Center in El Mohandiseen where he goes once a week"

182: "You played the role of the cultured European among the savages. You kept grumbling about Egypt and the Egyptians treating everybody coldly and haughtingly."

193: "The double doors with two round glass portholes looked like those in an operating theater in an Egyptian movie from the forties"

203: beating in the police station; satirical film

243: "You look like a movie star!"