5. Naguib Mahfouz
• was born on December 11, 1911 and died on August 30, 2006, was an Egyptian writer. He is
the only Arab writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature. He is regarded as one of
the first contemporary writers of Arabic literature.
• He published 34 novels, over 350 short stories, dozens of movie scripts, and five plays over
a 70-year career. Many of his works have been made into Egyptian and foreign films for
example; his novel, “Midaq Alley” (1947), was adapted into a Mexican film, of the same
title, starring Salma Hayek.
• Half a Day was published in 1989 as a part of a short story collection called, “The False
Dawn.”
9. Half aDay: A Summary
• The storybeginswithalittle boyand his father. They
were walking towards the boy’s school for it was the boy’s
firstdayinschool.Hewasnervousandafraid.Hewas
convinced that there was nothing good about going to
school.Buthisfatherurgedhimforwardsaying; “Be a
man. Today you truly begin life. You will find me waiting
for you when it is time to leave.”
10. Vocabulary
• Tarboosh - atasseled cap of cloth or felt, usually red, that is worn
by Muslim men either by itself or as the inner part of the turban.
• Unmarred = mar - to damage or spoil to acertain extent; render
lessperfect,attractive,useful,etc.;impairorspoil(unmarred
would mean the opposite)
11. Half aDay: A Summary
• The boywithhesitationenteredtheschool.Hemetboys
andgirlstherewhomhedidnotknowandwhodidn’t
know himbut where curious about him. After the gates
closed,thechildrenstartedcrying.Thenalady(teacher)
cameinandarrangedthechildrenintoclassessaying,
“This isyournewhome.Dry yourtearsandfacelife
joyfully.”
12. Half aDay: A Summary
• The children then have accepted the fact that they were
to stay there for the rest of the day. And with this
acceptance,camecontentmentfor theboymadenew
friends,hefellin lovewithgirls, he played different
games, sang songs, learned about language, learned about
the world and religion, ate food, took a nap and woke up
to do all the same joyful things.
13. Half aDay: A Summary
• But then the boy realized that the path of school was not
alwayshappy.Therewerebumpsontheroadlikepain,
hatred,fighting,heartbreakandeventheteacherwho
wouldscowlandscoldthenandwouldresortto physical
punishment. The boy learned that he and his friends
shouldbecarefulastheygo ontheirjourneythrough
school.
14. Vocabulary
• Exertion - vigorous action or effort
• Throngs - a multitude of people crowded or assembled
together; crowd
15. Half aDay: A Summary
• When the bell rang, it signaled the end of the day. He bid
farewell to his friends and sweethearts and waited for his
father to pick him up but he did not show up. So the boy
decided to go home on his own.
16. Half aDay: A Summary
• After afew steps, he stopped. He was shocked because the entire
place had changed. There were cars and high buildings
everywhere. The gardens and fields have disappeared. Trucks with
security troopswere crawling the area. Circuspeopleand
conjurerswereshowingtricksandperforming.A fireenginewas
causing traffic.The boyfeltlike he was goingcrazy. Hesaid,
“How could all this have happened in half aday, between early
morning and sunset?”
17. Vocabulary
• Hordes - a large group, multitude, number, etc.; amass or
crowd
• Conjurers - aperson who conjures spirits or practices
magic; magician.
18. Half aDay: A Summary
• He then decided to seek the answers from his father. So
he needed to get home but where was home? The boy
wondered.Hethenhurriedlymadeitto thecrossroads.
He needed to cross Abu Khoda to get home but how
could he cross when a line of cars would not let him?
20. Half aDay: A Summary
• Hewasextremelyirritatedashewaitedandwondered
when will he be able to cross. Then after a long time of
waiting,ayoungboywhoworkedattheironingshop
fromthe corner came up to himand stretched his arm
and said, “Grandpa, let me take you across.”
21. What can we learn from the short story?
• Thisshortstoryreflectsonhowfast and quick time
passes.Yesterdaywewerelittlechildren,todayweare
teenagersand tomorrow we will be oldpeople.
Nowadays, the hours of aday seemto be moving too fast
and we do not even notice. Most of us wish for hours to
beshorterbutwhenthedaypasseswewishfor longer
hours.
22. What can we learn from the short story?
• We are not grateful and appreciative for the minutes we
are given everyday. Weare lucky that we are given time to
dothingsandbebetterbecausefor somepeople,they
don’t have enough time. We want to grow up already and
beadults.Butwhenwedoreachadulthood,welongfor
our childhood days.
23. What can we learn from the short story?
• The lesson here is to cherish every moment, every
second, every minute, every hour, every day, every week,
every month and every year because time is not
something we can get back. It is not afile that, once
deleted, cannot be restored from the recycle bin. Weneed
to make each moment count. “Live for today.”
24. What can we learn from the short story?
• Anotherreflectionisschool. The school is not just a
place where we learn about reading, writing and etc. It is a
placewere we are being prepared for life.Weare taught
to work under pressure and meet deadlines. Welearn how
to dealwithpeople.Weexperiencepain,heartbreak,
happiness and success and many more.
25. FOOD FOR THOUGHT
• Weoften think that LIFE is too slow. Think again. Life is
actually passing by so quick and we don’t even see it. So
live for today.
• In order for a person to learn, that person must have the
willingness to learn. Without it, aperson simply just takes
education and learning for granted. Be grateful.
