A Bottle in the Gaza Sea

Dreams and nightmares heighten contrasts and ironies, develop characterization, and convey themes in the novel. The motif of dreams is introduced in the novel’s epigraph, emphasizing that believing in dreams is key to individual and cultural survival. Tal responds to the bombing at the cafe in the first chapter by attempting to find relief in sleep, “even if I know that when I wake up tomorrow no one will tell me that everything’s fine and it’s all been a bad dream” (2). Tal later makes the contrast between dreams and nightmares explicit, as when she reflects on her perception of violence in Gaza: “It all seems so far away, I thought. Not far away like an inaccessible dream, but like a nightmare you’re relieved not to be going through yourself” (70). Through these opposite motifs, the novel develops a contrast between the nightmare of the present violent reality and the characters’ dreams of a peaceful future.

The motif also develops The Complexities of Identity and Belonging in a Divided Society and The Impact of Geopolitical Conflict on Individual Lives. For Naïm, his dreams both unite him with his culture and set him apart as an individual.