41 pages • 1 hour read
Yasmina KhadraThe Attack
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2005A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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BetaCharacter Analysis
Dr. Amin Jaafari
Amin, the protagonist, is an Arab and a naturalized Israeli citizen. He has done a great deal to distance himself from the conflict that surrounds him every day. He is an optimist who cannot understand why so many people would commit so many violent acts in the name of their country or their religion. In this respect, he is apolitical. Fancying himself a detached and objective observer, he is divorced from the political reality that many people face, and his position is made possible thanks to the privilege brought to him by wealth and recognition. His status as a doctor has allowed him to become an esteemed member of the Tel Aviv elite, even if he faces racism and prejudice on a regular basis. At the beginning of the novel, Amin lives a comfortable existence. This is shattered quickly when he discovers that his wife Sihem—the woman who he believed loved him and loved their lifestyle—has strapped a bomb to herself and blown up the restaurant. This act forces Amin to reconsider everything he has thought about his life and his political views.
The novel is narrated from Amin’s perspective in the present tense. This provides the reader with a direct insight into Amin’s thought patterns, including his snobbery, despair, and mistakes. The audience can see him judging others who do not hold the same political views or who have not achieved as much in their lives; the audience sees his inability to cope with the aftermath and the reality of Sihem’s actions; and the audience witnesses him making a string of mistakes, falling for lies and traps that place him in immediate danger. Amin is an unreliable narrator. Not in the sense that he is lying to the audience, but in the sense that his prejudices and lack of consideration inform the subjective viewpoint taken by the narrative. With his final actions, Amin seeks redemption. He has tumbled into depression and alcoholism following the death of his wife. Though he finds answers to his questions, they are unsatisfying. Instead, he tries to prevent Faten from doing the same. His agency is restored, even if he is not successful. Amin dies in the pursuit of redemption, finally engaged in the political situation that has defined his existence.
Dr. Kim Yehuda
Kim is Amin’s friend, colleague, and former lover. As an Israeli doctor, she is both similar and different to Amin. Her privileges are on a similar level (her status as an Israeli means that she is not bothered by the police like Amin), but she faces different discriminations as a woman. She provides a narrative counterpoint to Amin, a person who empathizes with his position but counsels him to be as cautious as possible. Of all Amin’s friends, Kim is the closest. After the death of Sihem, it is Kim who positions herself as Amin’s caregiver. She takes him into her home, putting a roof over his head where she can watch him closely. On numerous occasions, she worries that he might have attempted suicide. As careful as she acts, she helps Amin to continue down his self-destructive path. From small actions (such as giving him cigarettes or taking him to a bar) to large actions (such as driving him to Jerusalem), Kim indulges Amin’s worst impulses. As much as she cares for him, she finds it difficult to deny her friend. She knows how much he is suffering following the death of Sihem and hopes to provide comfort and support. Instead, she is forced to reckon with her role in Amin’s eventual death.
Sihem Jaafari
Though Sihem is only glimpsed through memories and photographs, her actions and the lack of understanding about her character define much of the narrative. In a quest to understand how Sihem could possibly have blown herself up in a crowded restaurant, Amin discovers the truth about his homeland that he has willfully ignored for so long. In doing so, he finds the truth about his wife. In that regard, Sihem becomes a proxy for a discussion of the Palestinian situation in Israeli, forcing Amin (and the reader) to examine whether her actions could ever be adequately explained or even understood. Amin gives up, acknowledging that while he has a grasp of his wife’s motivations, he will never forgive her for what she has done. Sihem killed men, women, and children. Even after learning everything he does about Palestine and witnessing his family home’s destruction, Amin does not empathize with Sihem’s cause. Instead, he must face that the woman he thought he knew was—for a large part—a stranger. Sihem is a void in Amin’s life, a missing part of a puzzle that he must solve.
