American War

Three days a week, Sarat meets with Gaines who teaches her about history, geography, and music. Mostly, however, he teaches her about atrocities committed by the North. On one of their many excursions outside the camp's walls, Marcus tells Sarat that his father wants to find a way up North where it is safe. Sarat ponders this: "It seemed sensible to crave safety, […] [but] perhaps the longing for safety was itself just another kind of violence—a violence of cowardice, silence, submission. What was safety, anyway, but the sound of a bomb falling on someone else's home?" (134).

One day, Gaines introduces Sarat to his friend Joe, a man from the Bouazizi Union who supports the Southern cause. They met in their twenties when Gaines fought for the U.S. military in the Middle East. In addition to saving Gaines' life on multiple occasions, Joe helped Gaines' wife and daughter secure safe passage to the Bouazizi Empire. When Sarat asks Gaines himself why he supports the South, he explains: “I sided with the Red because when a Southerner tells you what they're fighting for—be it tradition, pride, or just mule-headed stubbornness—you can agree or disagree, but you can't call it a lie” (142).