50 pages • 1 hour read
Michele MarineauRoad to Chlifa
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1992A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Symbols & Motifs
The Unicorn
The unicorn, first encountered by Maha on a postcard of a tapestry, is a symbol of peace and freedom, yet it is also notable that the unicorn has “an aching soul” (89). Living in harmony with human beings and in nature, the unicorn represents to Maha the possibility of the peaceful coexistence of all of mankind both with each other and with the natural world. She imagines such a peace might be possible after the war has ended.
Maha repeatedly tells both Antoine and Karim that the unicorn must remain free—it cannot be captured and tied up. This suggests that in The Road to Chlifa, freedom and peace are transitory states and experiences, not something that can be finally arrived at. The moments of freedom and communion with nature that Maha and Karim experience together thus have all the more value for existing in a world where such moments are so rare. She says she will protect the unicorn until her “dying day” (89).
The Goat
While the perfect white unicorn is a creature of fantasy, the black goat Black Beard is the trio’s real animal companion on their journey. Black Beard provides milk and company, and she is surprisingly easy to domesticate. She thus represents the reality of man’s interactions with nature. Symbiosis is possible, but man tends to dominate; his companion does not roam free like the unicorn. Black Beard’s death underscores the violence that humans do not only to each other, but also to nature.
The Juniper Tree
The Juniper Tree is a symbol for death. It is first introduced when My-Lan plays a song with lyrics that refer to the species of tree (21). Karim says its lyrics “hit [him] full in the stomach and hurt enough to make [him] scream” (20). It appears again at Maha’s burial, when we learn the reasons for Karim’s reaction. Maha is buried under such a tree. Karim imagines speaking to her, and telling her that although he has to leave, she will be accompanied by the sound of the wind running through its leaves.
Ruins
On their journey, Maha and Karim leave the ruins of Beirut behind as they journey towards the ruins of other civilizations. Each is a reminder of the past, and thus a reminder of past deaths. Maha in particular argues that all ancient ruins are scenes of violence—places where there were “deaths, blood, screams” (96). She takes exception to the idea that all the dead are forgotten, and that ruins become something celebrated, beautiful, and romantic.
