The Red Pencil

The most important symbol in The Red Pencil is the titular red pencil. The red pencil is introduced in the second part of the novel, brought to Amira by Miss Sabine, a worker with Sudan Relief. As an object, it functions as a tool for Amira to express her creativity and imagination—directly replacing the twig that she used to draw sand-pictures back on the farm. By contrasting the pencil with the twig, the former calls to the theme of Resilience and Growth in the Face of Change. Already dealing with trauma and a place vastly different from home, Amira initially resists using the pencil so different from her twig. However, she eventually learns to draw and write with it, the confidence she gains in the process inspiring her decision to leave Kalma for the Gad Primary School in Nyala.

The red pencil also symbolizes the healing power of art. Amira relives the trauma of the Janjaweed attack through illustrations she draws using the pencil. Gamal does something similar with his own pencil and yellow pad. Both Amira and Gamal begin to heal through this process; the former even rediscovers her