Half a day By Naguib Mahfouz Setting The

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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