Thank You M'am (Short story by Langston Hughes) Summary

Langston Hughes was a 20th century American writer, best known as the leader of the Harlem Renaissance. James Mercer Langston Hughes was born in 1901 in Missouri. Thank You M’am is a short story about forgiveness and compassion.

The story begins with Roger, a teenager of 14 or 15 years, snatching the purse of Mrs Luella Bates Washington Jones. Mrs Jones is portrayed as a tough and brave woman who walks home at 11 o’clock in the night. Roger is a naive, adolescent boy who tries to steal Mrs Jones’ purse because he wants to buy a pair of blue suede shoes.

Mrs Jones, instead of punishing the boy, drags him to her home and makes him wash his dirty face. She pities Roger as there is no one to take care of him. Roger feels scared that Mrs Jones might take him to the police. So initially, he keeps looking for an opportunity to escape from the house.

Mrs Jones does not ask any personal questions to embarrass Roger. Instead, she tells about her young stage when she could not afford what she had wanted. She also had committed unspoken crimes during her youth and she advises him not to do the same.

When Roger realises that Mrs Jones is not punishing him, he stays back and makes sure not to break her trust. Mrs Jones goes to the kitchen to prepare some food for them. She no longer watches Roger, despite leaving the purse near him. They both trust one another due to the forgiveness and compassion shown by Mrs Jones. Then, Mrs Jones and Roger have supper. When it is time for him to leave, she asks him to behave well. She also gives him a $10 bill to buy the blue suede shoes that he wanted. Thus, this story shows the importance of trust, forgiveness and compassion.

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Exile (Partition Short Story by Jamila Hashmi) Summary

Exile is an Urdu short story written by Jamila Hashmi and translated into English by Alok Bhalla. The story traces the effects of the rape and abduction of women, in association to the partition of India.

The narrator is a young woman who was abducted by Gurpal, her now husband, during the partition of India. She is the nameless protagonist of the story and commonly addressed by everyone as Bibi. The partition of India resulted in a lot of violence and bloodshed. It involved the rape, kidnap, mutilation and murder of several Hindu and Muslim women. Bibi is one such Muslim woman who belonged to the other side of the country. After the tragic incident, she keeps thinking of her past and her childhood memories. She feels sad about the unexpected separation from her family and longs to be united with them.

Bibi’s parents were murdered by Gurpal. He had forcefully raped Bibi and dragged her to Sangraon to be his slave-wife. Bibi does not know what had happened to her brother and sister-in-law and keeps hoping for their arrival.Bibi is initially treated like a slave by Gurpal and his grandmother Badi Ma.

Later on, as years pass, Gurpal treats her with respect like a wife and Badi Ma also feels proud of the skills and beauty of her Bahu (daughter-in-law). One day, during Dusshera, Badi Ma asks Gurpal to take Bibi and the children to the Fair. Dusshera reminds Bibi about her past and she compares herself to Sita and her husband Gurpal to Ravana.

Munni, her daughter, keeps asking her questions during the Fair. She also says that her friend Swaroop received a soft, silk dress for Diwali, as gift from her Mama. So, Munni enquires her mom, if she has a Mama, who would send her gifts. Bibi is devastated by the questions, as she is once again reminded of her brother.

Her two sons and her daughter Munni feel very tired and so they halt for some time. Gurpal comments that, women are so careless that they forget and lose their children during the Fair, watching Ramlila. Bibi replies that children get lost even outside the Fair, referring to her past. This scene shows the deep impact of her rape and abduction still so fresh in her mind. The psychological trauma associated with the terrors of partition still haunts the young women who had fallen prey to it. Bibi hopes for her brother to come and take her back home.

After the abductions during the partition, both the governments in India and Pakistan initiate the repatriation of stranded women from both the sides. One day, soldiers arrive at Sangraon to take the abducted women back to their natives. Badi Ma and Gurpal are worried that Bibi would leave them. But, on seeing the soldiers, Bibi hides inside the house as she fears that her body is polluted and she might not be accepted by her family. She considers her daughter Munni as an obstacle for her to unite with her family. She cannot leave her present family abruptly and so she accepts her new situation and adapts to it. Thus, the story reveals how partition and its aftermath are like a permanent scar in the life of Bibi. She has no way to find peace, except, finally accepting the house of Ravana as her home

A Handful of Dates by Tayeb Salih

A Handful of Dates is a short story written by Tayeb Salih, a renowned 20th century Sudanese writer. This story was translated into English by Denys Johnson – Davies. It is a story about exploitation, greed and injustice. It traces how the narrator, as a young boy gets epiphany about his grandfather in his childhood.

The story begins with the narrator recollecting his childhood memory with his grandfather. He adores his grandfather who is also a respectable man in their village. The narrator is so good at memorising verses from the Koran, which the children of his age did not prefer. The narrator does everything possible to please his grandfather. He accompanies his grandfather wherever he goes.

One day, the narrator’s grandfather explains how he had come to the village with nothing and at present half the land in the village is his. The narrator asks his grandfather about a man named Masood. His grandfather does not like the mention of his name and says that he is an irresponsible man. He also states that the land which belongs to them was previously inherited by Masood from his father.  But, Masood had lost almost all his property to his grandfather, because of his ignorance and multiple marriages. The grandfather believes that Masood will not be able to repay the debt that he owes and soon the entire property can be taken. The narrator is shocked by the greed and exploitation done by his grandfather.

The next day, Masood invites his grandfather to the farms for date palm harvest. During the harvest, nobody cares about Masood’s presence or his instructions but treat the narrator’s grandfather with respect. The young boy pities Masood and feels bad for him. Many eat the harvested dates and his grandfather too, gives the narrator a handful of dates. The narrator chews them, but as he sees Masood, he feels that he is eating something that actually belongs to him. The grandfather tells Masood that he still owes him 50 pounds. When the narrator hears that, he feels guilty and also disgusted by the way his grandfather is exploiting Masood.

The narrator continues his walk back home with his grandfather, but with a change in his mind. He now hated his grandfather. By eating the dates, he felt like taking part with his grandfather in exploiting Masood. So he put his finger inside his throat and spit the dates out. This action shows how he does not want to be like his grandfather and gets a realisation about the injustice that the grandfather has been doing to a poor man in their village.