A Handful of Dates

In the beginning of the story, the narrator describes daydreaming in one of his favorite places at a nearby river in a wood of acacia trees. It is here that he imagines a world where giants live in a tribe. The narrator describes them as “a people tall and thin with white beards and sharp noses, like [his] grandfather” (90). Tayeb Salih uses the narrator’s boyhood imaginings of giants, made in the likeness of his grandfather, as a means to introduce the theme of childhood illusion and fantasy, and to associate the grandfather implicitly with childhood flights of fancy. He imagines the giant tribe living just around the corner of the river bend where he cannot see, symbolizing the inevitable disillusionment he experiences as he comes to understand the injustice of dominating over the weak as his grandfather exploits Masood. This idea of manhood being defined by power and dominance directly conflicts with the more collective and generous version of manhood the narrator values in Masood, who exhibits, joy, laughter, and a connection to the land. Giants are associated with power, destruction, and danger, gesturing toward the boy’s subconscious understanding of his grandfather’s true, hidden nature.