The story depicts a man who has a disease which is not curable.

He travels around
the city looking for Zaabalawi; the man he believes will cure his illness.
I think for one to understand the story then they must understand what he man was
actually seeking. The man was experiencing a mid-crisis. The cure for the issues he
was faced with would only be curable by someone who could tell him how to find
God. Each character in the story had done quite well concerning their lifestyle; the
musician, the clerk, and the cotton salesman seemed to have all met Zaabalawi and
become quite successful. Each of the characters were unable to give an exact
location of Zaabalawis location. Amazingly while intoxicated and passed out, the
cotton salesman/drunk said the young man was visited by Zaabalawi. Upon waking
he was told of the visit; at which point he decided to continue his journey in search
of Zaabalawi.
I believe he thought Zaabalawi was a miracle healer and would cure his illness.
Unfortunately, though out the story he was unable to piece together what each
character was telling him. They had not seen him in some time, he comes and goes,
and he does not have a dwelling. In order for him to find what he is looking for, he
will need to believe first.
Response 1:
Darryl:
I think the young man was actually a man experiencing a mid-life crisis. The crisis
for the man is not whether to purchase a red sports car, or find a younger bride, his
illness stemmed from his lack of faith. The only way he thought he would find
himself, by finding religion, would be with the assistance of Zaabalawi. Each person
he spoke to stated they had not seen him in some time. It is as though they had
similar experiences in their past; sought spiritual guidance, eventually finding it and
becoming quite successful in their private lives. I think there was a reason why the
man did not wake up when Zaabalawi visited the bar; Zaabalawi, a spirit so to speak
was not there to visit him, he was there to visit the cotton farmer/drunk; for he had
visited three nights in a row and then vanished. Faith can do some amazing things
when people believe.
Response 2:
Arnoldo,
Excellent post! I agree with your interpretation. I think Zaabalawi represents the
supernatural; he represents an image of God. The man sought faith; his illness was
he had lost faith. He sought to find spiritual guidance. He would not necessarily die
from his illness, but his happiness and fulfillment in life would suffer do his lack of
faith. I agree he was not able to find Zaabalawi because if he had he may not have
found what he was searching for. He continued his quest and within his quest he

would find faith, for that is what was guiding him. The characters in the story
seemed to have experienced a similar illness in their lifetimes as well. They found
him though faith and were able to overcome what was bothering them. Good post, I
think our interpretations are quite similar.