A Handful of Dates by Tayeb Salih (Contextual Analysis)
The
story is told from a memory of the narrator, recalling himself as a young boy
who is very fond of his grandfather. The young boy highly looks up to him and
describes him to be of an ideal man that he wanted to be just like him when he
grows up. He also describes to having a very close relationship with his
grandfather – as for him being his favorite grandson.
One day, the young boy asks his
grandfather why he dislikes their neighbor, Masood. His grandfather answers to
the reason that two thirds of Masood’s land property which he inherited from
his father now belongs to him. He also told the boy that the reason for this
was that Masood has to sell his land to him every time he marries another woman
– an act of which the grandfather does not like. A moment later, Masood joins
in the scene, inviting them to go with him to come pick up the dates from his
land. The boy eats a handful of dates his grandfather gives him. When all the
dates had been harvested, Masood, his grandfather, and the other landowners
gather together to divide the harvest. The boy observes the helplessness in Masood’s
face as he is left with no harvest at all. Having no dates left for him, the
boy’s grandfather asks him of the debts he still owes him. At this point, the
young boy feels angry and disgusted at how his grandfather treats Masood. He
runs away towards the nearby river and throws up all the dates he had eaten
that his grandfather had given him.
Themes
1. Love for family
As
we read through the first paragraphs of the story, we come to know that the
protagonist has a strong connection to his grandfather. As family as they are,
the young boy admires his grandfather very much and both of them spend more time
together than the young boy’s father. As the narrator describes the thoughts he
has for his grandfather, we are drawn to an impression that he is indeed a good
man for having made this strong relationship with his grandson. The young boy
describes his love for his grandfather by narrating him to be of an ideal man
and wanting to be just like him when he grows up. However, this childish
admiration would not last long as we advance through the story.
2. Greed
Another character in the story is introduced in the fourth paragraph as the young boy asks his grandfather of his particular disliking of their neighbor, Masood. His grandfather states the reason for this by describing Masood as an “indolent man”. The grandfather means that Masood didn’t have to work hard for his land properties as he inherited all of this from his father. The grandfather tells his grandson that Masood squanders his property for “women”. Every time Masood marries a new wife, he had to sell his land to him – making the grandfather now own two thirds of Masood’s land.
The narrator of the story does not seem to understand nor find his grandfather’s dislike for Masood reasonable. Instead, he feels “fear” of his grandfather’s “word” – and “pity” for Masood. Wishing that his grandfather would not take all of Masood’s lands for himself. In this part of the story, the narrator already feels that something is wrong with his grandfather. His impression would worsen at the later part of the story.
The grandfather sees Masood’s way of life as full of ignorance for selling his properties in exchange of having so many wives. Greed is taking up in the story when he reveals that this indolent way of Masood’s life is an opportunity for the grandfather to take up more of his lands. The grandfather even tells his grandson that someday he will be owning the remaining pieces of Masood’s land. One of his ways was too empty out Masood when he, Masood, and the other land owners had to divide the harvested dates from Masood’s own land. Masood would have to find another way of repaying his debts to the grandfather after having no dates left for him during the division of the harvest.
3. Disavowal
The young boy’s connection with his grandfather weakens as he discovers his selfishness by the way he treats Masood. His strong disapproval with the act of his grandfather leads him to running away from him and throwing up the dates he had eaten that his grandfather had given to him. He felt a strong anger and disappointment with him and disavows him at the end of the story.
4. Maturity
Although the boy is young, he is already mature enough to understand that his grandfather had treated Masood unfairly. Masood was no neighbor to him but rather a person he could use for his own gains. The protagonist comes into conflict of his own thoughts as he admired and loved his grandfather very much only to lead him to discovering that his grandfather was not at all the man whom he thought he was.
The Writer's Philosophy
Tayeb
Salih is a twentieth century writer from Sudan, Africa. His writings are
centered on his experiences in a communal village and he focuses on themes
where the protagonist comes into conflict with his own thoughts.
Having lived as a village boy himself,
Salih advocates living in unity and harmony. This philosophy is reflected in
the story, A Handful of Dates as the protagonist in the story realizes the
greed he had observed from a loved one and instead of tolerating such act for
his love for his grandfather, the protagonist condemns it and instead seeks for
justice by feeling pitiful of Masood and wanting to help him. The protagonist
rejected his grandfather at the end and it can be concluded that refraining
from greed and selfishness will make us love our neighbor as humans than use
them for profit and own selfish gains. Although Masood is aware of his life’s
disposition, he seems to accept his ways and feels no hatred towards the boy’s
grandfather. This does not however justify the grandfather’s act towards
Masood. The young boy knows that what his grandfather did was wrong on all
aspects.
Africa itself had suffered from greed
and selfishness when it was colonized by its oppressor. They became slaves who
were humiliated and deprived of their own rights. Salih awakens the minds of
his readers through his story that greed will always lead them to depriving
other people of their needs if one is too centered on the materials of life.
Wanting more than what one already owns will create injustice for those who
need more. In the case of Masood and the boy’s grandfather, the grandfather
should have seen the needs in Masood’s life and would not have taken
opportunity of his ignorance. There is no success for a man who pulls other people
down for his own benefit.
References:
http://sittingbee.com/a-handful-of-dates-tayeb-salih/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tayeb_Salih
https://www.gradesaver.com/author/tayeb-salih
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