Abu Qais' exhaustion

A considerable chunk of class discussion focused on failed masculinity in the text ‘Men in the Sun’; how the men have little agency or pride and how they constantly feel shame

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However, all three men (Abu Qais, Assad and Marwan) are also very different and this comes across in their respective dealings with the ‘fat proprietor of the office’ ie the first man they approach when they wish to make the trip to Kuwait. Assad and Marwan both negotiate with the man, Marwan even goes as far as to insult him (a show of agency) However Abu Qais protests weakly and then gives up. On the face of it, this may seem to indicate that Abu Qais is the most passive of the three but I would like to focus on his reaction before drawing any conclusions

His reaction to the man is quite odd: ‘He wished the man would stop staring. Then he felt them. Hot, filling his eyes, about to fall. He wanted to say something, but could not. He felt that his whole head had filled with tears….the horizon of the earth and sky came together and everything around him became simply an endless white glow. He went back and threw himself down with his chest on the damp earth which began to beat beneath him again’

This may seem like an extreme reaction but it does highlight certain themes in the text. First, the idea of exhaustion. Abu Qais has yet to go on his journey and his exhaustion is thus not a physical but a mental one. His tears are perhaps a reaction to his lack of control of a situation (and not just this particular situation but numerous situations that have shaped his life) as one often cries when they do not know what to do/generally feel helpless or inadequate. Thus, though men are expected to take charge of situations and never cry we see that given Abu Qais’ circumstances such behavior would be impossible

Finally, Abu Qais throws himself onto the earth. Abu Qais is a farmer and is portrayed as closest to the earth. The earth revives him and he derives strength from physical contact with the soil. Abu Qais is also the oldest of the three and remembers a time when he farmed his homeland, before he was forced to leave, and did not live as he does now. His relationship to land therefore is one that Assad and Marwan cannot relate to.

It must be remembered that the stakes are very different for Abu Qais. He does not wish to remain in Kuwait but wants to return to his family with some money. He is also aware that he may die in the process. Assad and Marwan are more ‘conventional’ adventurers but Abu Qais is a poor farmer who simply wants to get by.

To conclude, Abu Qais should not be dismissed as a weak, passive character but should be seen as someone whose life has been shaped by others and who, at this point, is simply exhausted.