A Handful of Dates

‘A handful of dates’ is a short story by Tayeb Salih, about a young Muslim boy, who admires his grandfather. He idolises his grandfather, and believes he is an example of purity, like the lakes surrounding the land. The young boys ‘understanding of his father begins to change as they when his grandfather speaks of their neighbour, Masood. The boy believed that the land was his grandfathers since god creation, but was surprised to acknowledge that it was Masood’s. The young boy believed that the land was a place for him to play and let his imagination take over. His grandfather further explained that Masood had to sell him two-thirds of his land, because of his many wives. His grandfather also explained how he shall buy the remaining third before Allah calls upon Masood.

As they were walking along, Masood walked towards the two and asked if they would join him for the harvesting of his dates. As Masood and other neighbours began harvesting the dates, the boy’s grandfather fell asleep. When the dates had been harvested, the men began dividing them into sacks.  The grandfather awoke as the dates were finally distributed, and gave a handful to the young boy to eat.  Masood was not given any dates, as the grandfather took the remaining five sacks.  The grandfather told Masood that he is still fifty pounds in debt. The boy did not understand much of what was occurring, but felt a sense of connection to Masood. The boy felt ashamed of the man he always looked up to. As he ran off towards the lake, he began to have an understanding of his grandfather’s actions, and developed a hatred for him. He felt there was a secret inside of him that he wanted to get rid of, and forced himself to throw up the dates he had eaten, into the lake.