Pride of Baghdad

History allegory

masks actual events or people for socio-political commentary (E.g., Gulliver’s Travels: convert criticism of British politics, Animal Farm)

Conceptual allegory

buries an abstract idea, philosophy, and morality within a story (abstract ideas represented through characters, events, or symbols) (E.g., Faerie Queen: personification of virtues into knights)

Can make it more approachable and easy for audience to consume since they don’t have to think about it from a human perspective

Why, then, does the author use animals to talk about a human problem instead of actual humans?

the wild is not as glamorous/hopeful as Ali thinks it is

Look at Safa's speech on page 21. What is she saying?

Being pragmatic; concerned about having family be safe; in nature, you’re not always safe

(Foreshadows the end with the sunset and war)

Look at Zill's speech on page 22.   What is he saying?

Freedom comes with a price (like Gilgamesh losing Enkidu and leading to his search for immortality)

At the bottom of page 29, Noor says "Freedom can't be given, only earned."  What does she mean?

Better to stay there than risk death/danger in the wild

On page 30, Safa says to Ali, "This place might not be perfect, but it's better than the alternative."  What does she mean?

mob/gang, violent, manipulative; “orphans”

After the explosion at the zoo, the lions escape, but at one point Ali is captured by the monkeys.  How are they depicted?

They let her go bc Noor wants to prove her point that they could have escaped years ago; lions keep their word

The lions re-encounter Antelope.  What happens, and what does Noor say that reminds us of what happened earlier in the story?

Triumphal arch; doorway (entering next phase), remnant of war

On page 47, the lions arrive at a different setting.  What is it?

The snapping turtle; is the archetypal sage

Shortly after they arrive there, Noor and Safa argue, but Zill becomes the mediator, the peacemaker.  Noor and Zill then go off to be alone while Safa remains with Ali.  Who do they encounter?

Effects of war on wildlife and innocent civilians

On pages 54 and 55, Turtle makes a number of interesting speeches in which he refers--indirectly--to several important topics.  What are they? 

Turtle losing his family because of the oil spill

What is revealing about the imagery on page 56?

She’s not ready for freedom (which is why she keeps trying to mate with him, to distract herself?); Zill reassures her, saying she has courage

 After Noor and Zill have been alone together, Noor makes an interesting admission.  What is it?

It’s a statue of a lion trying to eat a man but the man is fighting it off; As long as the statue stands the land will never fall to outsiders.

As long as they are still there, land won’t fall to Americans

Nature wins; symbol of courage

On page 59, Safa and Ali hear a loud sound, and Turtle refers to it as the "Lion of Babylon".  At the top of page 60, what is Turtle saying in his speech about the statue?

Take care; watch out, get away from the tank

They’re encroaching on civilization

On page 62, there is a powerful column of tanks that move across the natural landscape, with one of the tank commanders shouting something.  What is it?

Bites Safa’s tail; Safa freezes up; Ali is getting out of being naive and demonstrating growth/resourcefulness

On page 64, what does Ali do to save Safa?

Wants to go back home to the zoo, but they will cut off their path there and run over them; Zill says they should move and opposite and parallel to them

With the movement of the tanks, and their dangerous power, the lions are confused and frightened.  What does Safa want to do?  What is Zill's response?

A dead keeper (keepers try to control civilization, but they don’t win)

Lions have moral code, unlike monkeys

On page 72, what figure do the lions come across?

Safa argues that the keepers kept them alive

Zill argues for pride over keepers

Loyalty: Enkidu being loyal to Gilgamesh (goes on mission with him)

On pages 75 and 76, Safa and Zill argue about the dead body of a child they have come upon and whether or not to eat it.  What are their respective arguments?

Horses, but they aren’t able to catch them because of a bomb so they start running after them

Who do the lions encounter on page 77?

Rashid, lion who has been abandoned and is dying; people under Hussein’s dictatorship

On page 89, who do Noor and Safa encounter in the palace?

Safa says they were their captors, but not their torturers. Noor says that those who hold us captive are always tyrants

What is the argument that Noor and Safa have about what they have found and the "keepers"?

Bear who is the man of the house, brutal to his people

Echoes Gilgamesh who separates families, and Saddam Hussein

On page 91, Noor and Safa encounter Fajer.  Who is he?

Zill says they aren’t hunters, the women are. Foreshadows how he says he’s a fighter

On page 93, Zill and Ali, observing, find a few horses for them to attack, but an interesting exchange takes place between Zill and Ali.  What is it?

Her other eye gets scratched, similar to when she was in the wild

On page 96, what happens to Safa in her fight with Fajer?

He says that they should have stuck to what they knew and that he’s the true leader

On page 101, what is revealing about the speech Fajer makes, especially when he uses the phrase "regime change"?

In their nature to fight back; mirrors convo between lion and antelope (look at this again)

When Zill, in his battle with Fajer, says "It's our nature," what is the phrase a reference to?

Zill and then Safa

Who is the first lion to be killed?  Who is next?

Animals; ironic because they’re animals

On page 118, what does Noor call the soldiers? Her description is ironic.

They’re not wild but free (bc of their death)

What is ironic about the exchange between the soldiers on this page (118)?

A bird representing freedom (which is their death); birds said sky was falling in the beginning

What creature do we see at the bottom of page 121?  What is both revealing and ironic about this image?

Bird flies on top of statue of lion crushing a man; symbolic of nature winning and freedom even though they were killed

What is the final image on page 125?  What is revealing about it?

conflict between freedom and captivity, nature vs. civilization, the importance of friendship and loyalty (Noor and Safa even though they have opposing views), the presence of death, the consequences of war, the question of betrayal

themes

bird, folktales, hunger, fighting (noor and safa), sex (intimacy and violation)

motifs

statues (3 of them; victory arch [represents Iraq Iran war, even though there was no clear winner], Saddam Hussein, lion and human at end), horizon (freedom), bear (Hussein), turtle (sage), tanks (represents civilization, encroaching on land), bird (freedom), faceless humans (dehumanized; focus on lions’ human-like qualities), backward American flag (maybe the Americans’ mission is backward)

symbols