The hot air balloon
The hot air balloon and Guy’s obsession- the hot air balloon symbolize hope, class, economic prosperity, and social gratification. It is a major source of conflict due to Guy’s obsession. The hot air balloon is an American got asset that no one but the Assads can afford in the shantytown, and this is a concept well known to all the inhabitants. The hot air balloon is a clear reminder of classism and a tool for separation to the societies’ eyes, but in Guy’s eyes, it is an escaping technique. He fantasizes about using the hot air balloon to fly away of escape from his responsibilities and all the frustrations of life. In one of Guy’s fantasies, he takes the hot air balloon to a place where he can and free to build his own house, and it shows how much he perceives it as his ticket to freedom.
The hot air balloon, in the end, becomes a tool for him to commit suicide. In his fantasies, he sees himself flying the balloon high like a bird high in the sky bit then Lily makes him wonder why God created the air and birds with wings but human beings with eyes to see the birds fly and a desire to fly but with no means. Guy’s perspective of the hot air balloon symbolizes his freedom justifies his using it to commit suicide and escape all his frustrations and the harsh realities of life. Committing suicide, maybe, in his mind, was his only means of achieving the long longing for freedom that he kept fantasizing about.