Castle in the Air

Abdullah is the protagonist of Castle in the Air. The third-person limited perspective narration is written from his point of view, following him at all times as he seeks a happy ending. Abdullah and his quest is the main vehicle for the theme of Personal Agency Versus Fate, as he seeks to achieve his goals despite the bigger forces around him. Abdullah is a daydreamer, which also shapes his journey and ties it into the theme of Navigating the Lines between Fiction and Reality. At the beginning, he has a rich fictional life but is passive in reality; by the end, he makes his dreams a reality through his choices. He is brave, facing up to powerful entities like the Sultan or the djinn. He is universally respectful and polite, which sometimes imbues him with a dry humor as he retains this manner even when his private feelings are very different.

Abdullah is an unreliable narrator in some ways. His prejudices toward the northern people and toward women are imposed on the third person limited perspective.