Genre
Short story; realistic fiction.
Setting and Context
The story is set in a Sudanese village in the early twentieth century.
Narrator and Point of View
The story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator; the point of view is that of the narrator when he was a boy.
Tone and Mood
The story's tone moves from being optimistic to sorrowful; the mood is nostalgic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The story's protagonist is the narrator; the antagonist is his grandfather.
Major Conflict
The major conflict in the story is that the narrator feels inclined to disavow the grandfather he admires after learning that his grandfather has been taking advantage of their neighbor's propensity to get himself in debt.
Climax
The story reaches its climax when the landowners divide up Masood's date harvest and the narrator feels a sharp pain in his chest as he empathizes with Masood's humiliation.
Foreshadowing
The grandfather's eagerness to attend the date harvest foreshadows the humiliation Masood will suffer as his dates are divided among the men he is in debt to.
