25 pages • 50 minutes read
Tayeb SalihA Handful of Dates
Fiction | Short Story | YA | Published in 1964A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
What are the different ways that religion impacts the meaning of this text? How does religion contribute to or contradict the character's actions in the story?
How does the narrative engage with the concept of hypocrisy?
Apply modern critical gender theory to illuminate what “A Handful of Dates” has to say about expressions of masculinity.
A major theme in Salih’s literature is the interaction between competing values and morals. How do these ideas develop throughout the text?
Salih uses a shift in tone throughout the text to express the disillusionment of the narrator. Describe how Salih shifts the tone across the text, and analyze the impact the tone has on the mood for the reader.
The narrator describes adult figures in his village patting him on the head and cheek. Analyze the significance of this subtle action as it relates to the themes in this text.
Discuss the way power manifests throughout the text, including who has it, who does not, and the conditions under which for each.
The narrator and his grandfather have different ideas of being “rich.” What does Salih intend to teach readers about what it means to be rich? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
The only women mentioned in the text are Masood’s wives and the narrator’s mother. What does Salih’s treatment of women in the story imply about the perceptions of women in this society?
Salih includes two references to other children in the story. How does Salih set the narrator apart from the other children in the text, and what is the purpose of this juxtaposition?
