Approval of the Father

One of the underlying themes of the book is vying for the father's attention and trust. This is very obvious in Ishmael. In Arab culture, the young boy spends his early years with the women and is dressed in girl's clothing. It is okay for the father to be affectionate with them then. But one the boy "leaves the kitchen," the affection of the father stops.

Throughout the book, Ishmael is competing with his brothers for his father's affection and confidence. He gains his father's respect by telling him of Farouk's and Kamal's dishonesty with the books, and then makes a deal with Kamal for a share of the rents on the land about which he didn't tell his father. He takes his brother's place as a reader for his father, which infuriates Kamal.

Ishmael becomes his father's confidant in Nablus and makes the arrangements...