Read the excerpt from part 5 of Zeitoun. The kids fear water, yes, and when a pipe burst last year there were screams and nightm
ares, but slowly they’re growing stronger. For them he has to be strong, and he needs to look forward. He needs to feed them, to hold them close, and he needs to show them that God had a reason for their trials. He tells them that perhaps God, by allowing him to be jailed, saved him from something worse. Why does the author include these musings? to suggest Zeitoun’s fear of the unknown to emphasize Zeitoun’s unwavering faith to prove Zeitoun’s innocence and good standing to illustrate Zeitoun’s confidence in his children
The references to God's providence in this excerpt from Dave Eggers's book <em>Zeitoun </em>seems to suggest that these musings are included in order to emphasize Abdulrahman Zeitoun’s unwavering faith. His children are rightly scared after having experienced Hurricane Katrina (they are terribly afraid of water and of bursting pipes) and having witnessed the sentence and imprisonment of their father, but Zeitoun resorts to his faith in God's providence in order to appease them and reassure them, and himself, that they will eventually overcome this difficult challenge.
The contrast created between East Egg and West Egg suggest that the story's conflict will be based on wealth and appearances. The East Egg is the area of "old money," people who has inherited all of their money and are accustomed to a certain standard of living.
