An analysis of the language and style of Hisham Matar's 'In the Country of Men'.

1. Language and Style
In the Country of Men – Hisham Matar

2. First person
narration
• Internal monologue
of an only child
– allows for readers to
understand things
that Suleiman does
not

3. Genre

4. Names and Naming
• Characters exist in
relation to Suleiman
• Suleiman = Emperor
of the Ottoman
Empire
– expanded the empire
– instigated social and
cultural developments
– enemy to the Faith
who suffered defeat
under the Christians.

5. Poetry of language
• e.g. description of Rashid being
dragged to the gallows
– ‘He reminded me of the way a shy
woman would resist her friends’ invitation
to dance, pulling her shoulders to her ears
and waving her index finger nervously in
front of her mouth’ (p. 186).

6. setting
• Lepcis Magma
– symbolically a fallen civilisation

7. Heat / Summer
• represents Hell, as
Suleiman tries to
avoid Hell by
practising running
over the bridge to
Paradise.
• Its glare stupefies the
people leaving only
the children to jostle
each other around
outside.
• No school allows
Suleiman to have the
freedom to observe
adults

8. Sea
• Calm - just at the end of the road.
• Suleiman looks to be cooled and cleansed
from the dirty activities he faces day-to-
day.
• Tries to take Kareem into it to seek some
solace from his grief but Kareem resists.
• almost drowns Bahloul , exerts power and
gives in to the base urges

9. The Guide
• symbolism of
replacing the
picture of Baba
– loyalty to the
regime and the
strains on family

10. Children’s Games
• ‘My Land, Your Land’
– represents the political ‘games’ of the
older men
• squabbles and fights -a microcosm for
the violence in the country.

11. Words
• Nasser and his Typerwriter
– Subversive pamphlets
• Burning of the books
– Violent oppression – removal of
intellectuals who might questions
• Democracy Now
• Moosa – poet and lover of language

12. Storytelling
• Scheherazade
– Najwa condemns S for being ‘a
coward who accepted slavery
over death’ (p. 15). over time.
• Suleiman and Najwa –
storytellers in their own right
• Ustath Rashid – scholar of history