Half a day

By : Naguib Mahfouz

Setting

• The narrator contrasts the landscape on the way to school with the school building itself . The landscape is green and lush with gardens ,fields and date trees . The school building is like a fortress and to the boy it seems “stern and grim” . He thinks going to school is a punishment .

Personification

• Mahfouz enhances the intimidating aspect of school by using personification in his description of the gate .When closed it lets out a sound “pitiable screech “ ; meaning that the gate is rusty and makes a scrapping sound . The sound reflects the boy’s feelings as he’s left alone .

The passing of time

• The writer hints about the passing of time and that more happens in it then could in a day by :

1-The phase “bade farewell” .2-It’s strange to find many sweethearts and friends

in so short a period .3-Given his nervousness on the way to

school ,he’s not disturbed that his father isn’t there to meet him .

4-It’s odd that the middle aged man greets the boy as an equal .

Cairo of his youth versus city of today

• Mahfouz expresses his dislike of the city of today by mentioning unpleasant details about modern life . He compares Cairo of his youth to nowadays by mentioning the changes that took place .Much green space is gone . He sees crowds of people ,traffic jams ,skyscrapers and heaps of garbage ; Mahfouz is unhappy with this modern life

Symbolism

• The half day at school symbolizes how quickly time seems to pass . Naguib describes half a day and an entire life in two paragraphs .

Point of view

• The short story is said from the first person point of view in order to focus on the narrator’s perceptions of how quickly time passes .

Surprise ending

• An unexpected plot twist at the end of a story . The surprise might be surprising because the author provides ambiguous clues or important information . The story ends with a young man calling him “grandpa” . Naguib is trying to convey how much change the city and he have undergone in what to him seems no more than a half a day .The ending effectively conveys the effect of change .

Psychological portraits

• Naguib mahfouz is known for creating psychological portraits of characters whose personal struggles mirror the social ,political ,religious and cultural concerns of his homeland. In “half a day” the narrator’s struggle with change (from the intimacy of home to the excitement and harshness of school ) mirrors Egypt’s struggle with change (from an intimate ,agrarian society to a harsh ,bustling urban one)

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