Cultural Markers as Signifiers of Religious Devotion
The characters of Yehoshua's novel all seem to belong to different cultural pockets of Israel. They don't belong to the same scene, but the manner by which they signify their cultural identity to the world around them amounts to a demonstration of religious devotion or neglect. For Veducha, her Hebrew identity is her most sacred possession. She recites prayers and keeps her distance from Arabs, harboring racist resentment. As the recipient of Veducha's prejudice, Na'im understands that his entire identity in Israel is tied to his native religion. He possesses no true loyalty to his homeland, but he is marked by every passerby as an outsider and a pagan. Finally, Gabriel is no lover of his Israeli heritage. He has long since abandoned his cultural heritage and become an international wanderer of sorts. His cultural mandate is to defy expectation and classification, one which he readily abandons in order to play the part of an Orthodox Jew and escape military service.
Emotional Neglect
Several of the characters are either emotional neglectful or emotionally neglected by their families. The proverbial distance between characters stands in stark contrast to their physical intimacy. Dafi and Na'im stand out among the others not only as the youngsters in the group but also as the only two believers in emotional connection. They defy Adam with their union, even after they are found out and Na'im is banished. For his part, Adam is consumed with reservation for work. He emotionally neglects his wife and daughter, only once demonstrating affection -- to Gabriel, --but even his grand search for the man can be attributed to the debt he has yet to fulfill.
Fleeing Responsibility
In this regard, both Gabriel and Na'im play equal roles. They are the proverbial black sheep in the story. Gabriel has abandoned his family and his homeland years previous. And Na'im has done the same, although he came to Israel and Gabriel left. In either case, they both demonstrate a desire to flee responsibility. Gabriel goes so far as to adopt a fake identity and to live in a community he previously detested on principle in order to avoid the military draft for the war. On the other hand, Na'im's aversion to responsibility shine through in one specific moment. When he learns that Veducha has died, he correctly suspects that he will be blamed for negligence in his care. Although this is not true, Na'im understands that he is an outsider and more thus very likely to be blamed. He meets up with Dafi to find consolation in her arms rather than immediately informing Adam and the authorities. This one action ends up getting him kicked out and sent back to his home village.
