The Mistreatment Of The Zeitoun Family - 1493 Words

Renowned journalist and author, Dave Eggers, in his famed novel, Zeitoun, recounts the mistreatment of the Zeitoun family in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina based on their racial and religious profiles in a post-9/11 America. His purpose is to reveal the unwarranted injustices faced by Muslim-American Hurricane Katrina victims through a description of the Zeitoun family’s experiences, in order to educate his readers of the impact discrimination has on emergency response. Eggers adopts a sympathetic tone towards the protagonists as they fall victim to the government’s unpreparedness, and maintains a critical tone to address the American government’s failure in protecting the rights of the hurricane’s victims. Eggers employs logos to†¦show more content†¦. . other agencies . . . [that] were involved† (307), especially paranoia regarding Islamist terrorists from the 9/11 attack, resulted in the systematic search to incarcerate Muslims like Z eitoun. As a result, when Zeitoun is about to enter Camp Greyhound and questions a passing soldier why he and his friends have been arrested, the soldier replies, â€Å"‘You guys are Al Qaeda’† (212), concurring with the MSSTs’ purpose of apprehending potential members of major terrorist groups. Obviously, this is not a rational reason for an arrest, as the men have done nothing illegal. Eggers uses this appeal to authority (through the quote of a soldier actively participating in the situation) to underline just how much more of a role race and religion play in Hurricane Katrina’s law enforcement than actual criminal behavior. Zeitoun’s only â€Å"crime† is being Arab and believing in Allah in a time when Islamophobia is rampant, reasons that do not justify the mistreatment he suffers during the next couple of weeks as a supposed â€Å"terrorist.† Therefore, through the inclusion of credible evidence and quotes, Eggers successf ully harnesses logos to affirm the unmerited racial and religious injustices that Zeitoun faces during and after his arrest, simply because he is a Middle Eastern, Muslim man. Besides logical appeal, Eggers also uses stark juxtaposition in his writing, in order to draw attention to the injustices that the Zeitoun family faces. To depict their life before HurricaneShow MoreRelatedEssay 9/11 and Its Affects on Americans Views on Islam1163 Words   |  5 PagesAbdulrahman Zeitoun heard from the police officers that had surrounded him and his friends with their guns drawn as he walked out of 5010 Claiborne that he owned. He had been stopping by the house to use the telephone once a day to call his wife Kathy, who was in Arizona with their four children to escape Hurricane Katrina, a catagory 5 hurricane that had hit New Orleans, the city they lived in. Abdulrahman Zeitoun had stayed home to protect his many properties that he and his family had required