The Lemon Tree Literary Elements

Palestinian Literature, Non-Fiction, War Novel

The setting of the novel is Palestine before and after Naqba. The story has been written in the context of the displacement and replacement project in Palestine.

The story has been written from first person's point of view and the narration shifts between Dalia and Bashir.

Hostile, Grave, Optimistic, Pensive.

The protagonist of the book is Bashir, who was a Palestinian man and whose family had been displaced from their home because of the Zionists' invasion of their homeland. The antagonists in the story are the Zionists who deprived Bashir of his home.

The major conflict in the story is between the Zionists and the Palestinians. The Zionists moved Bashir's family out of their home along with many other Palestinian families. Bashir comes back but he witnesses that a family of Jews has been settled in his home.

The climax in the story comes when Bashir comes back to his home in Al-Ramallah.

The school which is built by both Dalia and Bashir foreshadows the formation of two nation state in Palestine. The withering of lemon tree foreshadows the loss of hope for the Palestinians.

The understatement in the novel is that there is a difference between Zionists and the Jews. All Jews are not Zionists and the author has demonstrated the character of Dalia to understate this point. The Palestinians are suffering at the hands of Zionists and their ruthless policies but the Jews are not brutal when we see them on individual level. Another understatement in the book is the writer's support for a two nation state in historic Palestine.

There are allusions to the historical issue of Palestine, the invasion of land by Israel, formation of an illegal state, violence upon Palestinians, the displacement and replacement project, atrocities on the innocent families, hopelessness, two nation state, terrorist activities of the Zionists, the false accusations on Arab Muslims and the life before and after the six day war in Palestine.

The author has portrayed how the Palestinians were living before the occupation of their homeland by the Israel through the memories of Bashir. There are images of war in Palestine which devastated the lives of Palestinians and shattered humanity to its core. The book also depicts the inagery of home and the deprivation of home. Bashir led a life a homelessness because the Jews were given his home to settle them in Palestine. The book conveys the imagery of friendship between a Palestinian Muslim and a Jew along with demonstrating the tolerance which they show despite of their differences.

The paradox in the story is that despite of having a home, Bashir leads a life of homelessness. The Jews were called from their homes in various places to settle them in the homes of Palestinians which is a paradoxical action. The home of Bashir's family was snatched from them and they were forced to live a life of refugees.

There is a parallelism between the settling of Jews and the uprooting of the Palestinians. This parallelism has been demonstrated through the house of Bashir's family which had been given to a Jewish family after displacing the owners of the home. Another parallelism has been drawn between the withering of lemon tree and the loss of Bashir's hope. The lemon tree's death has also been paralleled by the birth of another tree which was planted by the Jews.

An example of metonymy is Bashir, who represents all the Palestinians who were driven out of their homes in order to settle the Jews. An example of synecdoche is the school which stands for imparting tolerance in both Palestinian and Jewish children.

Trees, home, and memories have been personified in the novel.