Zeitoun Lesson Plan

Why does Zeitoun feel a sense of purpose after the levees are breached? Do you think his actions are heroic, or should he have left to help his family?

Thanks to his canoe, Zeitoun is able to move around the flooded neighborhood and help several people who are stranded, as well as dogs that have been abandoned by their owner. Even the military personnel whom he asks for help never show up to rescue a stranded couple, and so Zeitoun and his friends are forced to figure out a solution. This work - saving lives that would have otherwise been lost - is understandably meaningful and undeniably heroic. That being said, some students may think that he is irrational to think...