Iqbal

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2001

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-7

Chapters 8-10

Chapters 11-15

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Themes

Coming Together to Escape Oppression

The primary theme throughout Iqbal is the importance of coming together to escape oppression. It is difficult for people to escape oppressive conditions on their own, and this concept is embodied in the plot of the novel. When Iqbal is brought into the workshop, he brings hope to the children, and this newfound optimism, combined with Iqbal’s determination, unites the bonded workers. Once they are united, they are able to stand up to their oppressor.

Fatima’s description of the carpet factory in Chapter 1 depicts the children as disconnected. The children separate themselves from one another, form cliques, and bully each other. Fatima admits that she takes part in bullying the so-called numskulls who are not yet able to keep up with the demands of life in the carpet factory. Fatima, too, is ostracized and mocked by the other children. Due to her strong sense of self-preservation, Fatima is a hard worker who does not complain, and she is liked by Hussain, who does not punish her, calls her “my little Fatima,” and pats her head (12). Hussain’s special attention and the fact that Fatima has never been in the Tomb creates jealousy among the children. Keeping the children disconnected helps their enslaver keep control over them.

Iqbal’s arrival changes the dynamic among the children. When he is thrown into the Tomb the first time, the author emphasizes the change in the children’s relationship by the repeated use of the word “together” and imagery that shows they are all the same: “We returned to our looms. We took up our work. All together. The same movements. The same sound of the comb” (33). The children start talking and laughing together, which demonstrates that they are no longer disconnected. The climax of the theme occurs when the children band together to prevent Maria from getting thrown into the Tomb. Fatima narrates that they all “gathered around” Hussain, which seems to diminish his confidence. When Hussain moves forward and tries to touch Maria, Salman steps forward, and the others follow: “Then we all had our hands up and were yelling” (52). Hussain backs down and is irate, but he knows that the children are stronger than he is when they are united.

Once the children are freed, they go off in separate directions, with most of them returning home to their families. Although they are physically separated, they are emotionally connected through their shared experience.

The Power of Corruption

The power of corruption is another central theme. Theoretically, the bonded labor market is rooted in work agreements that provide opportunities to borrow money and pay back debts via work. However, in reality, those with money and power use this system to exploit the poor, who have limited options, by ensuring that their debts are not repaid. In the novel, the children believe that they are working to help their families. Karim is Hussain’s strongest supporter, and he argues that Hussain “lets us work so that we can pay off our family’s debt” (20). Karim’s belief in the system and his positive views of Hussain are ironic, as he spent his childhood enslaved as a bonded worker but has not yet paid back his family’s debt.

The corruption in the bonded labor market occurs on all levels. First, parents use their children as collateral. This is seen most starkly in the case of Maria. Maria’s father is an educator, and he chooses to teach the poor rather than pursuing a career teaching the children of wealthy individuals, where he might gain higher profits. As a result, he does not make enough money to get by, and he sells Maria as a bond worker. Hussain and other individuals like him who run carpetmaking or brickmaking factories manipulate the children to force them to work while keeping all the profits for themselves. Hussain makes it appear as if he is erasing lines on the children’s slates and erasing debt, but he does not. The novel implies that he redraws lines on the slates while the children are away from their stations or asleep. The clients who visit Hussain’s shop are also complicit in the corruption. They witness the conditions the children are forced to work in but look the other way, valuing lower prices more than the children’s wellbeing. The police officers Iqbal originally asks for help also benefit from the bonded labor market now that it is illegal. When Iqbal asks them for help, they see an opportunity to make fast cash, and they readily accept bribe money from Hussain, rather than upholding the law.

The bonded labor market begins with wealthy moneylenders. Eshan Khan is careful to avoid publicly naming these individuals in his activist work because he understands the extent of the corruption in the system. Iqbal, however, does not comprehend the breadth, depth, or inherent danger of this illegal system. He bravely names the moneylenders he heard about in the Liberation Front meetings he attended. This lack of restraint, combined with his fame, creates dangerous conditions for Iqbal, and he is murdered by a corrupt supporter of the bonded labor market.

The Economic Impact of Forced Child Labor

The bonded labor market persists because of the economic impact of forced child labor, which allows factory owners, sellers, and customers to benefit from lower production costs and lower prices. The drive for lower costs and higher profits is motivated by global capitalistic values. By highlighting the corruption in the bonded labor market and by sharing Iqbal’s story, D'Adamo criticizes the unbridled capitalistic values that prize profits above children’s safety and well-being.

The author begins to address the economic impact of forced child labor in the introduction. Families rely on the bonded labor market to help support themselves through the money they receive in exchange for their children. Children are low-cost carpetmakers, meaning that not only can moneylenders or factory owners make a quick return on the money they lend, but they can also make high profits. The carpetmaking industry is presented in the novel as lucrative due to the reliance on child labor and debt bondage.

While the theme emerges early on, it is primarily developed in the relationship between Hussain, his clients, and Iqbal. Hussain takes Iqbal knowing that the boy is a flight risk, which is why he chains him to his workstation. He hopes that the financial benefits of bringing Iqbal into the factory will outweigh the consequences. Iqbal is assigned an expensive carpet—the blue Bukhara. Iqbal understands the economic impact of his work, which is why he destroys his first carpet of this type. His understanding of the value of the carpet is also the reason why he chooses not to destroy the second one he makes. Destroying a second carpet would “be a serious loss” for Hussain (43), one that might exceed Iqbal’s perceived worth and gravely endanger him.

This theme is further developed by the reaction of the merchants in the market who listen to Eshan Khan’s speech and those who gather around or attack the Liberation Front’s headquarters. They financially benefit from forced child labor, and they support the higher-level participants who run the industry—the people to whom Eshan refers simply as “they” in an effort at self-preservation. Iqbal describes the reaction from the market crowd when Eshan speaks, saying, “They weren’t in the square, of course. They don’t go to the open-air market, but evidently they have lots of supporters” (74). The economic incentives derived from forced child labor drive the corruption in the system, perpetuating the oppression of bonded children.