In the Country of Men Literary Elements

Tragedy, adventure

In 1979, the Qaddafi dictatorship was beginning in Libya, Tripoli

The author used the character of Suleiman as a narrator of the story

The tone is sad, doomed, helpless and tragic

The protagonist, and the son of a democracy favoring man who is persecuted by the Qaddafi regime. Suleiman is only 9 years old when the government begins harassing his father. The antagonist could be the whole Qaddafi regime which caused the death of Suleiman's father and his exile from his country

Suleiman and his father's struggle against the dictatorial Qaddafi regime, as well as Sulieman's seeking toward a good and stable life which is full of love and peace.

The climax begins when Suleiman's father dies and Suleiman is no longer able to enter Lybia anymore

The general atmosphere after Suleiman's mother and father started to drink alcohol which predicts the tragic end that was waiting all of them.

Suleiman's parent's act of drinking alcohol to forget about the bad situation that they live in foreshadowed the tragic end, but understated the very harmful effect of drinking alcohol which could be the reason that led them to make wrong decisions and consequently to their bad end.

The professor whom Suleiman saw while being hung in public is an allusion to the process of eliminating all people who may be a threat against the dictatorial regime.

There are many forms of imagery in the novel such as Lybia which indicates the huge and various differences between the North African and Western nations. The imagery of death and torture when Suleiman sees the professor being executed in public. Egypt which is the exile to where Suleiman is sent to, as well as it represents the sanctuary of those who escaped the dictatorship of Qaddafi.

The character of Suleiman was the opposite of his father and mother's ones who only held theoretical ideals without working to achieve them in reality; on the other hand, we have Suleiman who did his best using good methods to reach his goals.

Parallelism could be found in the characters of Kareem Rasheed, Suleiman's best friend, and his father's friend Mousa along with Suleiman's character itself, their actions were at the same level aiming to achieve similar goals.

Nationalism was used in the novel to refer to people's keen concern to protect their country by not revolting against a regime that they know of being a terrible dictatorial. The author also used a corrupt mind to refer to Qaddafi's authority which is oppressive.

The corrupt mind was described as being a leader or king who is able to control things as if it is a human being.