Symbols As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow Zoulfa Katouh

The Color Blue: From Lost Dream to Living Truth in As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow

What the Color Blue Literally Is

In Zoulfa Katouh’s novel, the color blue is introduced as a vivid, impossible shade that Salama’s sister‑in‑law Layla once painted. The painting depicts a quiet sea under gray clouds, and Salama recalls believing the blue was so unique it would “bleed into my hands.” That blue becomes the anchor for Salama’s pre‑war dream—to travel the world and see how each country creates its own version of the color. Under the siege of Homs, blue stands for everything war has stolen: the beauty of nature, the freedom to explore, and the future she once imagined.

Where the Color Blue Recurs

The motif appears in four distinct moments, each marking a shift in Salama’s emotional journey:

Chapter Context What Happens
16 (15) Salama and Kenan on the hospital steps She confesses her childhood dream of seeing the blue from Layla’s painting in real life, but now fears that blue is “tainted with sadness” and replaced by the cold blue of frostbite.
18 (17) On Kenan’s childhood rooftop Kenan shows her a sunset. As the colors settle, she sees an azure blue that “reminds me of Layla’s painting.” For the first time in months, she sees color again.
40 (39) During the boat crossing In a hypothermic haze, Salama hallucinates a vibrant Syria with an “azure‑blue sky.” She and Kenan tell memories to keep warm—memories full of vivid color.
41 (Epilogue) In Toronto, months after leaving Germany The couple has painted their apartment walls “different shades of blue.” Salama says, “Imagine painting our apartment blue like Layla’s painting.” The dream is now their home.

How the Meaning of Blue Changes

Initially, the color blue is pure loss. When Salama describes it to Kenan, she admits she no longer deserves to see colors because survivors’ guilt has drained the world of beauty. The gray of war has overwritten every shade. Kenan challenges that belief: first by taking her to see a real sunset, then by insisting that beauty still exists in Homs. On the boat, blue becomes a memory that sustains her—a mental image of the Syria they loved. By the epilogue, blue has evolved from an impossible dream into a literal, everyday reality. The color no longer represents something she cannot reach; it is the painted walls of her new home, proof that healing is possible even when trauma lingers.

Character and Theme Connections

Characters

  • Salama Kassab: The color blue is her private symbol of hope and loss. Each recurrence tracks her movement from despair to fragile acceptance. In Toronto, choosing to paint the walls blue is an act of reclaiming her own narrative. Learn more about Salama Kassab.

  • Layla: As the painter of that original blue, Layla represents the creative, joyful life war tried to erase. Her painting is a gift that outlives her. Explore Layla.

  • Kenan: He is the catalyst who helps Salama see blue again. His rooftop sunset proves that color can still exist amid destruction, and in the epilogue he builds a home filled with blue alongside her. Read about Kenan.

  • Khawf: The personification of fear is described with “eyes the shade of hydrangea petals”—a pale blue. This connects fear itself to the motif: even terror has a hue, and Salama must learn to see beyond it. See Khawf.

Themes

  • Survival vs. Living: Blue is what Salama wants not just to survive, but to live for. Layla’s argument that “life is more than survival” resonates through this symbol. See Survival vs. Living.

  • Hope and Resilience: The recurring reappearance of blue—especially in the epilogue—illustrates resilience. It shows that hope does not require forgetting trauma, only choosing to build something new. Read Hope and Resilience.

  • Trauma and Guilt: Salama’s belief that she does not “deserve” to see colors is a direct expression of survivors’ guilt. Kenan’s gentle rebuttal (“I think we do”) begins her work of self‑forgiveness. Explore Trauma and Guilt.

  • Resistance and Documentation: Kenan films the revolution; Salama later writes and makes videos. Their work is partly about preserving the color that war tries to erase. See Resistance and Documentation.

Study Questions (with Answers)

1. How does the color blue differ from the lemon tree as a symbol?
Both symbols represent hope, but blue is personal and internal—a dream owned by Salama alone. The lemon tree is communal, rooted in Syrian soil and the Nizar Qabbani epigraph. Blue moves with Salama across borders; the lemon tree always returns to the earth.

2. Why does Salama say the blue is “tainted with sadness” when she tells Kenan about it?
Because the war has overlaid her memory of beauty with the reality of cold, dead bodies and gray destruction. The same color that once meant exploration now recalls frostbite and hypothermia. This shows how trauma can recolor even a precious memory.

3. How does Kenan help Salama reclaim the color blue?
He takes her to a rooftop where she watches a sunset and sees an azure blue that mirrors Layla’s painting. Later, on the boat, he participates in her storytelling about a Syria with blue skies. Finally, in Toronto, he paints the apartment walls blue with her, turning her dream into a shared home.

4. What does the blue wall in the epilogue reveal about Salama’s character growth?
It shows that she has stopped waiting for permission to see beauty. She actively creates it. By surrounding herself with the color she once thought she would never see, she demonstrates that healing is not about forgetting the past but about building a present that honors it. The blue wall is an act of hope made concrete.

This analysis draws on evidence from Chapters 16, 18, 40, and 41 of Zoulfa Katouh’s novel. For a full discussion of the book’s central symbol, visit the main book page.