Casablanca matters as a possible route out for Ismael, not as a visited setting. In the novel’s limited references to the city, it stands against the hardship he associates with staying where he is, while remaining distinct from the Paris journey Driss recounts to him.

A Destination Considered

During the moonlit pause after Abdellah questions Ismael, the boy considers fleeing to Tabrikt and thinks that he is going to run away to Casablanca anyway. He does not act on the thought: he clenches his fists but stays where he is. The scene presents the city as a possibility in his mind, not as the next stage of a completed escape.

Driss and Ismael’s Shared Plans

Ismael’s idea of Casablanca is connected to his conversations with Driss. The two had spoken of going there many times, making the city part of a shared imagined way out. That history also links the thought to Driss’s influence: earlier, Driss deliberately cultivated Ismael’s admiration so the younger boy would be a more willing partner in the scheme he had in mind.

Contrast with Paris

Paris has a different place in their conversations. Driss tells Ismael about his past journey there, but withholds much of its reality, including his failed search for work and the loneliness and boredom he experienced. Casablanca, by contrast, appears here as a destination Ismael still considers escaping to. Neither reference establishes that Ismael reaches the city; its significance lies in the future he imagines when remaining in Tafal’aalt feels intolerable.