Pride of Baghdad
By Jacky Chau
Definitions
Freedom: the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint.
Allegory: a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms.
Symbol: something used for or regarded as representing something else.
Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/
2.
Pride of Baghdad is an allegory because it represents the Iraqi citizens through the animals and it also show events like the bombing and the American soldiers going on Iraq soil.
Character analysis
Zill
Safa
Noor
Noor is Ali mother and like Safa she can be stubborn but not as much as Safa. She is shown to be slightly more adventurous than the others as she was already planning to escape from the zoo even though the zoo helps and cares for both her and her son. She represents the Shia Iraqi because in the beginning see often opposes the decisions of Safa since she thinks of freedom as being free to do as you wish without depending on others. A quote from her is "Freedom can't be given, only earned" this seems to mean that she want achieve her own freedom on her own terms or that you have to do something to get your freedom.
Ali
Fajer
Antelope
Turtle
Conclusion
a) Freedom to me means to be able to live my life while also enjoying the company of friends and family. I am not free in the ways that I still have a curfew and that there are places that I can't visit. Also I can't drive yet.
b) I think that the author chose to tell the story form the animals because it's easier to show the idea of freedom and it's easier to show the horrors that war can bring.
c) I believe that yes it is more effective than us human character because the idea of freedom is easier to understand and also some of the content can be really morbid if humans were used like when the Americans shot Ali, a child, or when the turtle's family was drowning in oil, or just the bombing. So not only is this effective but it's also easier for the reader to understand.