Iqbal

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2001

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-7

Chapters 8-10

Chapters 11-15

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The Tomb

Due to its importance in the plot and its impact on the themes, the Tomb is a motif that represents oppression and abuse. The Tomb is used to depict the hazardous and abusive conditions that the children working in Hussain’s carpet factory endured. When the children do not obey, such as when Iqbal destroys his carpet or runs away or when Salman and Mohammed fight, they are thrown into the Tomb.

The Tomb is an unused cistern, or a water storage tank. It is filled with spiders and scorpions that bite and sting the children, it is dark, and it amplifies the heat in the summer. While the children are in the Tomb, they do not receive food, water, fresh air, or human contact. Salman describes it as suffocating, and the isolation prompts hallucinations.

The Tomb is a used as a dramatic tool to portray the real-world mistreatment children receive in the bonded labor market in Pakistan and other countries. Its purpose is to create a sensory experience for the reader to help them better understand what the children in the novel are going through as well as what millions of real-life children have suffered while working in bonded labor conditions.

The Bathroom Window

The bathroom window in the workroom is a symbol of hope. Fatima attempts to climb out the window every day during her turn to use the bathroom, but she is unable to reach the sill. She can see the hope of a free future, but she cannot grasp it. She admits that she does not know what she would do if she were to escape, and she reflects that her uncertainty might be influencing her short reach. Fatima wants to hope, but at the same time, she is scared of hope.

Iqbal escapes for the first time through the bathroom window. His hope is strong, and although he does not have a solid plan, he takes the risk of leaving. When Iqbal is handed over to Hussain by the police, he is locked in the Tomb, and the bathroom window is barred. The bars on the window symbolize the impact of Iqbal’s imprisonment on Fatima’s hope. Her hope of freedom is temporarily blocked by Iqbal’s failed attempt at escape and his suffering in the Tomb.

City Noises

The noises outside the factory symbolize Fatima’s insecurity and unfamiliarity with the city. Fatima is from the country, which has different sounds: “The noises that broke the silence of the night all had a name and a familiar origin: a bird of prey, a buffalo that had gotten free, a stray dog wild on following a scent” (27). The city noises are confusing and discomforting for Fatima, and they impact her mindset and behavior. She is unwilling to escape alone and enter the unfamiliar city, and the noises reinforce those fears.

The city noises reappear after Iqbal and the Liberation Front save Fatima and the others. On the first night, Fatima thinks she will not be able to sleep: “The sounds from the street were closer than ever before: motors roaring, cars hooting, donkeys braying, voices exclaiming and laughing, a siren wailing, and from far away, a muezzin” (67). However, the noises do not generate as much fear as they did while Fatima was enslaved at the carpet factory. The change in her perception of the noises is caused by her change in circumstances; while she was enslaved and abused, she was fearful of the noises, but after she is freed, the noises are bothersome but do not generate feelings of anxiety.

The Flyer

The flyer that Iqbal finds while watching Eshan Khan speak for the first time becomes a symbol of hope and freedom, as well as the importance of literacy. Iqbal takes the flyer knowing that he cannot read it but with the hope that he will find a way. The flyer is from the Liberation Front, and he understands that the organization can help him secure his freedom as well as that of his friends and other bonded children.

To decipher the flyer, Iqbal and the others must learn how to read. Maria teaches them what she knows, and they read the message on the flyer together. Their shared experience of reading the flyer becomes a bonding moment that helps strengthen their relationship. Collaboratively reading the flyer represents the importance of Coming Together to Escape Oppression.