Iqbal

Due to its importance in the plot and its impact on the themes, the Tomb is a motif that represents oppression and abuse. The Tomb is used to depict the hazardous and abusive conditions that the children working in Hussain’s carpet factory endured. When the children do not obey, such as when Iqbal destroys his carpet or runs away or when Salman and Mohammed fight, they are thrown into the Tomb.

The Tomb is an unused cistern, or a water storage tank. It is filled with spiders and scorpions that bite and sting the children, it is dark, and it amplifies the heat in the summer. While the children are in the Tomb, they do not receive food, water, fresh air, or human contact. Salman describes it as suffocating, and the isolation prompts hallucinations.

The Tomb is a used as a dramatic tool to portray the real-world mistreatment children receive in the bonded labor market in Pakistan and other countries. Its purpose is to create a sensory experience for the reader to help them better understand what the children in the novel are going through as well as what millions of real-life children have suffered while working in bonded labor conditions.