Gold pocket watch

In the beginning of the story, the gold pocket watch given to Midhat by his father before leaving for France symbolizes a connection with his family and with home. Trust between a father and son is contained within the gift of the pocket watch. Where Midhat frivolously and drunkenly gives it to Laurent as he leaves for the war, there are undertones of a breaking of the bond between father and son that will later prove to have substance when Midhat returns to Nablus. Before Midhat is married, his father asks him what happened to the watch, to which Midhat responds that it was sent away for repairs. This lie is evidence of the broken bond and ruptured trust between father and son. Finally, when the watch is referenced for a final time in the hospital Bethlehem, it is presented a vestige of Midhat's...