The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams

Samir, often self-styled as the Seller of Dreams, is the titular deuteragonist of the novel and the primary drive behind the plot. Samir is characterized as friendly and kind but cunning; he is willing to trick people for his own gain, although he never seriously harms others through his cons and ploys. In this way, the novel depicts Samir as an oddity among the merchants on the Silk Road. He pretends to be selfish but manages to use his trickery to help others, as with his choice to manipulate the monks to save Monkey; this contrasts with many of the other travelers on the Silk Road, including assassins, who are willing to harm and kill for their own personal gain. Monkey also notes on several occasions that Samir paradoxically seems to value his life immensely because he does not value it at all. This somber realization helps characterize Samir as a complex character; he is a character of facades with a mutable relationship to the truth, and he struggles to present himself or his emotions honestly. The one thing he is honest about is his love for his ancient donkey, Rostam, despite the regular, obvious lies he tells about the donkey’s purported value.

Despite his complexity, Samir does not actually have much internal growth over the course of the story. Instead, Monkey grows through his changing idea of who Samir is; while Samir himself does not change, the perspective on him changes, revealing more and more about his nature. Samir’s title, The Seller of Dreams, provides insight into his personality, motivations, and passions—he has no interest in the truth, even in his own life, but prefers to provide people with stories that affect their emotions, illustrating The Power of Storytelling in Creating Human Connection. Samir’s goal is to use his stories as a means of survival, making the plot—that people hate him and his stories enough to try to kill him—a sharp contrast to his characterization. Despite the conflict, however, Samir does not change his ways by the end of the story. Instead, he continues on his way, having survived six attempts on his life by sheer luck (and Monkey’s love and loyalty), clearly willing to continue bringing joy and chaos into the world despite the potential risks.

Rasseem is a major antagonist in the work, characterized as hateful, spiteful, and unpleasant, although not particularly cunning. Rasseem is a bird-seller who collects exotic birds and transports them along the Silk Road; the beauty of the birds he sells contrasts with his description, which matches his personality: He has horrible breath, crooked teeth, and a skeletal frame. Samir seems to view Rasseem as a friend throughout the novel, despite Rasseem’s continual attempts to kill him and involvement with Cid to get rid of him. This bizarre loyalty lends Rasseem a slightly more positive characterization than he technically deserves, although Monkey sees through this facade and suspects Rasseem of betrayal from the beginning.

While many of the people who attempt to kill Samir have a reason to, Rasseem attempts to merely because Samir bothers and teases him, displaying his pettiness and need to control others. This need for control leads to his downfall—meddling in Smithy and Mara’s methods of murder results in him getting eaten by the lion intended to devour Samir. As with many of the characters, Rasseem experiences no growth over the course of the book. He dies as petty and miserable as he begins the story, and nobody seems to miss him, not even Samir, who claims he had seen his betrayal coming, although it is unclear how true this actually is.

Mara and Smithy, who collectively are the killer Cid, are the primary antagonists within the work, although Mara also serves as Monkey’s unrequited love interest. Mara and her father are initially characterized as somewhat odd, since they are blacksmiths without any clear skill or interest in the trade. Smithy is blunt, stubborn, and cynical, disliking Monkey’s belief in fate and God since he believes the only force in the world is accidents. Mara’s approach to Monkey is more sympathetic than Smithy's, who derides his viewpoint and questions his skills, but even she eventually becomes dismissive of him. Whether Mara’s beliefs as an Accidentalist are her own or her father’s isn’t clear. Mara is also characterized as cunning, sarcastic, and beautiful—her blue eyes and jade sash are described on multiple occasions, lending her a sense of exoticism from Monkey’s perspective. Her sarcasm causes Monkey to both hate and love her, since he finds her mockery of him unpleasant but alluring.

Mara and Smithy do not grow throughout the work; rather, like Samir, their growth comes from Monkey learning more about them and their beliefs and goals. They both eventually reveal themselves to be selfish killers who arrange accidents to benefit themselves and their clients, despite their purported status as Accidentalists. Unlike Samir and Monkey, they have no regard for human life and the value of it, and through their role as antagonists, Smithy and Mara serve as foils to Samir and Monkey. Despite this unpleasant side, they also show themselves to be relatively neutral when the situation ceases to benefit them. They do not kill Monkey and Samir for the sake of killing, even sparing them when Rasseem meets his unfortunate end. This, however, just further proves that they are extremely selfish people who utilize their belief in Accidentalism to excuse their crimes.