: the particular idea or quality that is expressed by a symbol
Throughout the novel the pervasive nature of trash crops up frequently.
(pg 44) "Because of the exodus of labor in search of pickings amongst the valuable refuse of the Gulf, local rubbish piled up in buckets left in front of apartment doors, which allowed the cats to hold riotous carnivals that went on all night."
(pg 201) "The plea had met with a positive response, for it was not only the rubbish falling out of overfilled litter bins that had sullied the area; the square, as well as the streets leading off it, were full of laundries, for souls as well as money."
It is my interpretation that the trash serves as a tangible manifestation of the corruption in Egyptian society. Is this for this reason that Zaat is seen as so strange, since, at least on page 44, she is the only member of her apartment who seems disturbed by the trash. Zaat sees this decomposition of society and the corruption raging through her country and is disgusted by it, but more importantly, feels, unlike the majority o the Egyptian population, that the fight against corruption is worthwhile.
"Symbolism." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
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