Men in the Sun

Ghassan Kanafani's Men in the Sun is novel with significant symbolism about themes concerning displacement, opportunity, and freedom. Kanafani writes the novel from the perspective of three Palestinian men who attempt to escape the hardships of Palestine after World War I. The three men trust to hire a cheap smuggler named Abul in his task to Kuwait. Unfortunately, the men's dream of new opportunities is short lived as they die on the road because of the excrutiating heat that suffocates them.
I think that on of the most important scene in the novel is when the men choose not to knock to signal Abul that they are suffocating when he is stopped and talking to a guard. The men knew that if they had knocked, it would caused a bigger stir for the country of Palestine because human smuggling would be a lot more difficult. By remaining quiet the men made it possible for others to achieve their dream of reaching Kuwait and ending their struggles in Palestine. This scene is also significant because it demonstrated their trust on Abul even when they were in a deadly state. Like the other novels we've read in class, this book reveals the voice of the unheard as many times refugees like the three Men in the Sun don't make it to tell their stories and struggles they encounter to attain their long lived dream of freedom.