2017-04

The second international scientific conference

Despite the fact that Zakho city provides a safe sheltering for multi-faith/ethnic groups, little has been documented regarding the coming of age by people residing this city. This paper analyzes a book titled My Father’s Paradise, written by Ariel Sabar and published in 2008. It focuses on the initial events of the book that take place in Zakho; a city located in Kurdistan region of Iraq. This city plays an important role in the development of Sabar’s main characters of the story. Additionally, the paper focuses on the notion of tolerance among various religious groups co-existing in the same city. In exploring the notion of coming of age, researchers use the approach of close reading in order to gain insights into characters’ lifestyle and how they are represented in the world of the story. The paper concludes that the ambience of Zakho city, including cultural elements, traditional elements, and geographical and personal names, have essentially influenced individuals’ moral, intellectual, and spiritual character development of My Father’s Paradise. KEY WORDS: Tolerance, Coming of Age, Co-existence, Zakho, character development, Ariel Sabar.