The Green Line (Symbol)
The Green Line that demarcates the divide between predominantly Christian East Beirut and predominantly Muslim West Beirut received its name because of the green foliage that grew along the untouched stretch of land that was unclaimed by either of the warring factions. The burst of verdancy grew in stark contrast to the ruins that stood along either side of the line. In the novel, the Green Line functions as a symbol of how nature, with its attributes of peace and calm, flourishes in this place that is untouched by human conflict. The Green Line is an eerie, natural oasis in the midst of a devastating and protracted war.
Ruins (Symbol)
In Road to Chlifa, ruins symbolize the hypocritical tendency to romanticize the past. This hypocrisy is encapsulated in Karim's contrasting reactions to Nada's destroyed, still-smoking building and to the time-worn Roman ruins he and Maha stumbled across toward the end of the novel. While Karim marvels at the beauty of the Roman ruins and remarks on how fascinating it is to think that people once lived and worshipped there, Maha doesn't see the ancient ruins as being any different from the recent ruins created by the civil war. Maha points out how strange it is that the suffering that must have occurred at the site is forgotten in the impulse to write a version of history that sees only the romantic and the beautiful, eliding the pain or devastation of those who once lived there.
Maha's Lies (Motif)
Through the novel, Maha's tendency to lie arises as a source of conflict for Karim. As the narrative progresses, Maha's relationship to the truth proves to be complex: she admits that she lies as a means of getting attention; since Nada's beauty garners automatic attention, Maha resorts to acting out to get attention for herself. Maha also divulges that she sometimes doesn't feel like it matters whether something is true or false. This loose and psychologically complicated relationship to truth culminates in Karim's uncertainty about whether Nada truly found him boring or if Maha invented the detail to hurt him. Ultimately, Karim learns to live with the uncertainty of not knowing either way.
Nada's Breasts (Motif)
Early in Part II, the narrator comments on how Karim's fascination with Nada began when he noticed the curve of her breasts through her shirt one day the previous summer. Until then he hadn't thought of her in a romantic or sexual way, but afterwards he grows obsessed and longs to hold her naked body. Later, it becomes evident that Maha had always been jealous of Nada's breasts, comparing her own undeveloped chest to her older sister's. Maha recounts how even when Nada was dead, she was jealous of her "magnificent" breasts. The repeated mentions of Nada's breasts prove to be a significant element of not only character but plot: when Karim accidentally gropes Maha, Maha asks if he would prefer Nada's breasts. He insults Maha, saying she doesn't have any breasts, which compounds her insecurity. The tension that festers afterward leads Karim to leave Jad and Maha alone while he clears his head; this decision leaves Maha vulnerable to the person who rapes and murders her.
Juniper Tree (Symbol)
After Maha dies, the people of Chlifa wrap her in cloth and bury her under a juniper tree. Because of this, the juniper comes to symbolize for Karim all the trauma he leaves in Lebanon and represses while in Quebec. As a result, when he hears a juniper mentioned in a song during a class presentation in Part I, he reacts with anger. He doesn't think anyone but him is capable of understanding what a juniper tree really means, believing his suffering to be unique.
