Beards

The Castilians grow out their beards because they believe it makes them superior to the Indians, who are all clean shaven. The beards later come to represent the outsider status for the survivors of the expedition. The Indians consistently spot the survivors because of their unique beards.

Gold

Gold is representative of the greed that the Castilian adventurers have and a great symbol of wealth to them. They are willing to do anything in order to get even a few gold trinkets. This leads to them trying to conquer the Indian capital, even when they start to run out of supplies and get hunted by the Indians.

Story of the Embroiderer and the Sultan

Mustafa’s mother tells him this story when he is trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life. The point of the story is to point out that...