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.