The Power of Narrative

One of Sacco's main points is how the power of narrative and perception is the driving force behind the Israel-Palestine conflict. Through his callbacks to Israel's Zionist origins, Sacco shows how a narrative -- the perception of Jewish entitlement to the holy land -- is the source of the modern day conflict. Stories that people told themselves are what began the fighting in the early twentieth century, and stories continue to fuel the fighting on both sides in the territory today.

In Chapter One, Sacco relates how he has only known the Israel narrative all his life. Edward Said describes this type of story as an, “unctuous narrative of Israeli triumphs, democracy, achievements (...) assumed and re-confirmed presentations” (iii). Sacco dismisses all assumed presentations, opting instead for an objective journalistic look at what goes on in Palestine, unfiltered by the stories he has heard all his...