Kanafani, Ghassan. Men in the Sun.

Ghassan Kanafani’s 1962 work Men in the Sun features three Palestinian refugees of different generations en route to what they believe will amount to relative freedom and prosperity in Kuwait. Many Palestinians have sought lives beyond the refugee camps, some attaining prominence as advocates in Europe and the Americas, but Kanafani’s protagonists lack such lofty ambitions. The aging Abu Qais, frustrated Assad and young Marwan are Everyman characters, seeking only jobs, food and perhaps better lives for their children. A deeply textured, moving literary work emerges as the men smuggle themselves across borders towards a common fate.

Though Kanafani’s story is one of political disenfranchisement and suffering imposed by political powers, he avoids alienating readers through ideological rhetoric. The context to Men in the Sun is a widely understood (or at least fairly easily referenced) one, and educated readers would likely find any gratuitous background information contained in the story to be redundant. As the issues surrounding the conflict remain contentious and often divisive, the assumption of a didactic tone would turn off readers not

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Some common words found in the essay are:
Abul Khaizurans, Marwan Everyman, Palestinians Sun, European United, Palestinians Traditionally, Assad Marwans, Ghassan Kanafanis, Ustaz Selim, Middle Eastern, Kuwait Palestinians, abu qais, palestinian refugees, refugee camps,
Approximate Word count = 819
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)