Apeirogon

Colum McCann

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Sections 1-80

Part 1, Sections 80-180

Part 1, Sections 181-281

Part 1, Sections 282-388

Part 1, Sections 389-499

Part 1, Section 500-Part 2, Section 500

Part 2, Sections 499-371

Part 2, Sections 370-255

Part 2, Sections 254-150

Part 2, Sections 149-1

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Water

Water is one of the central motifs throughout the novel and one that helps to explicate the central theme of the interconnection of everything. Water, of course, is a necessary element for survival for all living things. Water is an important resource for the West Bank region because of its scarcity, particularly for the Palestinians and the poor. McCann notes how many must take extreme measures to save and reuse the water they do have access to. The major water source is the River Jordan, which is slowed to a trickle in many spots by human irrigation and intervention.

Water is the lifeblood of the area and as such it is a fraught resource that causes issues between groups of people. McCann threads this motif throughout the story by underlining its importance through several anecdotes and stories. For example, Israeli soldiers shoot at water tanks used by Palestinians for target practice. The lower they hit (which means the more water is drained out) the better marksman they are. Sometimes Palestinians react in kind to this game. There is also the story of the explorer Christopher Costigin, who ventures to the Dead Sea in the 1830’s. Through numerous hardships, he makes it there, but with few supplies left he is forced to drink the seawater, which causes his death.

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One important quote that summarizes the symbolism of this story and larger motif is when McCann writes, “water dissolves more substances than any other liquid, even acid” (258). In other words, while not being harmful in and of itself, water can have harmful effects on things. That said, water is shown to be a positive connection as well. For example, while in prison, Bassam furtively passes poetry to Hertzl, the prison guard he forms a connection with, that is written on the label of a water bottle.

Weapons

Weapons are an essential motif to the novel. McCann uses this motif to symbolize how weapons tear us apart and, paradoxically, how they can bring us together through grief. One of the early historical progressions that McCann includes in the novel is how slingshots were first utilized by shepherds to shoot down predatory birds to keep them from attacking their animals. It wasn’t long until slingshots were reoriented as weapons aimed at harming other humans.

Weapons play an important part in the central narrative of Bassam and Rami. Both their daughters were killed with weapons: Abir was killed by a rubber bullet fired from a firearm, and Smadar was killed by a suicide bomber who used the explosive Semtex. Other weaponry gets frequent mention throughout the novel, such as AK-47s and supposedly nonlethal weapons like tear gas and SKUNK, an odorous riot control gas. McCann makes sure to note that weapon manufacturing is a global phenomenon. For example, Semtex was created by Czech scientists, tear gas was manufactured in Pennsylvania, and AK-47s were made by a Russian. This affirms the idea that weapons are a connecting force in the world.

Birds

McCann notes the West Bank is the second busiest migratory passage in the world for birds. This fact opens a book-long exploration of the significance of birds to both the region and this particular story. McCann sees birds as a great symbol for the natural history of the region. Consider this quote: “[B]eyond their immediate calls of distress, it is not known exactly how, or even if, different species of birds communicate with one another” (30). This quote can be seen as an allegory for the Palestinian and Israeli people—they are unable to communicate except in times of great distress like the distress call of birds. This is immediately reflected in the story of Bassam and Rami’s relationship, which develops out of extreme distress.

On top of being a busy migratory passage, it is also one of the bloodiest because of the large populations of birds of prey. This sets up a symbol for the difficulty for people to move around in the West Bank, particularly the Palestinian people. Throughout the story the border patrolmen and constant checkpoints are seen as contentious spots where violence is frequent. Bassam is arrested at a checkpoint because he had pink candy remnants on his hand (which can resemble Semtex)— he is held at gunpoint, restrained, and held for hours. Also, Abir is killed by border patrol officers with a rubber bullet.

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Birds also have great resilience and adaptability to harsh conditions. As McCann writes, “in storms and crosswinds the birds adapt and create new shapes—power curves and S-formations and even figure eights” (210). This sentence operates on a symbolic level. McCann is referencing that even when material and political conditions shift rapidly, groups of people will reform into new shapes and formations to resist the storm. This is clear in the friendship between Bassam and Rami.