This story is about a young boy whos looks up to his grandfather as a god. They are muslim which means that they go to mosque. The boy thinks of his grandfather as pure and compares him to a river. He wanted to be just like his grandfather when he grew up.
One day, the neighbour of the grandfather, Masood, told them that he was harvesting the dates and asked if they wanted to help. They said yes. There was a history between the grandfather and Masood. They didn't like each other. The grandfather said it was because Masood had treated him badly. So the grandfather and the boy went to harvest dates. When they got there the grandfather sat on a stool while Masood harvested the dates. Masood had told everyone to be careful not to cut the heart of the palm. Once the dates had been harvested, the grandfather and others went over towards the dates. The grandfather gave some of the dates to the boy and then they started to divide them. The grandfather and the others sepearted the dates and left none for Masood. Then, the grandfather said that Masood was till in debt to him.
After this, the little boy ran off because he know had a feeling of hate towards his grandfather. He was mad at the way he had treated Masood. He ran right to the river and threw up all the dates he had just eaten into the river.
If you were the boy, would you of reacted in the same manner?
One day, the neighbour of the grandfather, Masood, told them that he was harvesting the dates and asked if they wanted to help. They said yes. There was a history between the grandfather and Masood. They didn't like each other. The grandfather said it was because Masood had treated him badly. So the grandfather and the boy went to harvest dates. When they got there the grandfather sat on a stool while Masood harvested the dates. Masood had told everyone to be careful not to cut the heart of the palm. Once the dates had been harvested, the grandfather and others went over towards the dates. The grandfather gave some of the dates to the boy and then they started to divide them. The grandfather and the others sepearted the dates and left none for Masood. Then, the grandfather said that Masood was till in debt to him.
After this, the little boy ran off because he know had a feeling of hate towards his grandfather. He was mad at the way he had treated Masood. He ran right to the river and threw up all the dates he had just eaten into the river.
If you were the boy, would you of reacted in the same manner?
I think I would have reacted the same way as the boy did in the story. In your opinion what do you think the theme of the story is ? In the story what was the signficance of the symbols that were given?
ReplyDeleteI have learn a lot from this story.
DeleteThe theme is connection, conflict , selfishness, greedy , coming of age .
Deletedo you believe in forgetting the debt?
ReplyDeleteNikita: I think the theme of the story is that things aren't always as they seem. The symbols in the story help make the story more meaningful. For example, the river as a symbol helps make the boy's change in heart towards his grandfather more meaningful and explains it better.
ReplyDeleteRabia: I believe in forgetting the debt because its like holding a grudge. You miss life if your hold a grudge towards someone.
ReplyDeletewhat is the significance of the title of the story?
DeleteWhat would you have done if you were in the boys shoes? Would you have reacted the same and run away from your hero?
ReplyDeleteWould you have felt betrayed by your grandfather? Would it seem like he is a completely different person?
ReplyDeleteI think that the story discuses an important theme with regard to the absolute power which tends to corrupt basically the social level of society . The grandfather treated Masood so badly and accuses him of being a worthless man as he is an " indolent" man. He feels no mercy, sympathy or even be as a human being who the human side in order to pursue money and business . While Masood feels mercy on a simple thing regard his palm trees "Be careful you don't cut the heart of the palm."; this would reflect that Masood is a simple, merciful, and poor man who doesn't care about money and business as much as the grandfather. In the eyes of the child, we can see the something unexpected from a man who this child thinks of him as a kind and merciful man; but in reality the grandfather is a hypocrite even to his grandchild and religion; he ignored the chapter of the Merciful for his Koran. Thus, it's expected from an intelligent child to detest and never likes his grandfather any more.
ReplyDeleteThis Story can be connected to the theory of Italo Calvino, a theory discuses the " right and wrong political uses of literature". Saleh represents by this story the good desired literature as he give a voice to the voiceless, help the reader to identify a certain motive or hidden problem, which is much related to economic motive. And in this story , literature was able to tackle the idea of changing qualities and never absolute ones such as inhumanity and sympathy.
Great and true analysis of the story.
DeleteHats off to you sir.
Appropriate it...
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DeleteCertainly. You can notice the difference in the child's attitude towards his grandfather when in the end he goes and throws up in the same river he used to identify his grandfather as. This blatantly shows the disgust the child feels towards his grandfather.
ReplyDeleteIf I were him I would swim in the river and eat some fish
ReplyDeleteThe good theme will be "MONEY CAN CHANGE PEOPLE"
ReplyDeleteTheme of the short story
DeleteI WILL REACT THE SAME WAY THE LITTLE BOY DID
ReplyDeleteTHE LITTLE BOY'S HEART WAS BROKEN BECAUSE HE THINK HIS GRANDFATHER AS A GOD.
ReplyDeleteHIS GRANDFATHER HAD A HEART OF STONE.
ReplyDeleteTheme of the short story
DeleteThis story has a inspiring moral
ReplyDeleteCan i have the character sketch of grandfather
ReplyDeleteHi i have to write an essay about symbolism in a handful of dates and my life with the wave but i don't know what to write in the introduction any help.
ReplyDeletePlease have a look to the following link: http://sittingbee.com/a-handful-of-dates-tayeb-salih/
DeleteHi there, as a Sudanese Muslims we can not look to someone whoever is as a God even if we love them very much.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this short story for many times,it has made me develop an attitude just like the boy in the story. Pretence is dominant even in people we least expect to be hypocrites. it is a nice story for ages
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm wrong but didn't Masood sell his land every time he married so isn't it kinda his fault that his in debt and he still didn't care about his land that his ancestors worked hard to take care of
ReplyDeleteif you were end the story what will be the end?
ReplyDelete