Short Story A Handful Of Dates

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“A Handful of Dates” A short story by Tayeb Salih “A handful of Dates” by Tayeb Salih is a story set in Sudan near a river where they practise the reading of Koran. The idea of lacking morals and empathy is shown through the narrator’s grandfather. His characteristics are very influential and the young narrator is forced into choosing whether to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps or to become his own person. In choosing his own path in life the narrator finds himself in situations that astonish him. “My grandfather continued: `Yes my boy, forty years ago all this belonged to Masood – two thirds of it is now mine’ this was news to me for I had imagined that the land had belonged to my grandfather ever since God’s creation.” (125) The idea of lacking morals and empathy play a huge role in the blunt realization that something may not always be what it appeals to be. When the young narrator finds out that his grandfather isn’t the perfect man that he thought he was, and that he is truly just taking everything that Masood has left. It shows the narrator that in real life you need to make decisions and though it may not appeal to everyone you need to do what you believe is right. When they were harvesting…show more content…
Using the date tree you are able to get a sense of empathy, but more important is that the tree symbolizes Masood. When the grandfather is taking all of Masood’s belongings it is just how the young boy seated on top of the very summit of the date tree used the sickle to rid the tree of the dates. As the tree is finally bare with no more dates it shows how much they really have taking from Masood. This is simply shown while the boy was finishing cutting off the dates and Masood said “Be careful you don’t cut the heart of the palm.” (126) Using this connection you are able to see that what they were really doing was tearing apart Masood, leaving him bare. Showing no empathy or remorse what so
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