Thanaa alsitri (10N)

English literary analysis

15 October , 2020

Half a day - Najib Mahfuz

Half a day by Najib Mahfuz can only be understood by analyzing the story, reading and

trying to understand the use of symbolism in the story. In order to fully understand the story, the

reader must be able to comprehend that each part has a greater meaning than the one before. The

narrator is a young child, as the story begins, heading to his first day of school. The boy is

pleased with the fresh clothes he wears for the occasion, but is nervous about going to school. In

this essay, I will be explaining the ways the author has used symbolism to explain what events

are taking place around him.

First I will be explaining what the father symbolizes. At a different stage of life, the father of the

boy is seen to represent the narrator himself. He can also be symbolized as God, who ushers each

human being both into and out of life, it can also be seen as a guardian angel that protects you in

your vulnerable moments and then sets loose when they know you’re ready to be introduced to

the outside world.

The main symbolic idea in this story is the school because it represents your life and the

challenges you will someday face, these plots that took place in school are just some examples of

the steps you’ll be taking in life, like making new friends, or the fights you’ll be wrestling in life

etc. The father drops Najib Mahfuz to school the author states that it looked scary and

inconvenient where he starts describing the frightening view of it “ I was not convinced. I did not
believe there was really any good to be had in tearing me away from the intimacy of my home

and throwing me into this building that stood at the end of the road like some huge, high-walled

fortress, exceedingly stern and grim”. As time passes by, the author adapts to his environment

and make friends along the way “ from the first moment my heart made friends with such boys

as were to be my friends and fell in love with such girls as I was to be in love with”, the narrator

states there were some struggles, incidents occurring but they were soon to be solved “Nothing

lay ahead of us but the exertion, struggle, and perseverance”,

Furthermore, the bell rings announcing the end of the day, the narrator steps outside the gate

looking for his father but his father wasn't there as promised . He bumps into a familiar middle-

aged man; they greet one another and shake hands as they move to different directions. The

narrator finds that the street and everything surrounding him have completely changed since the

morning. These changes are meant to be understood in symbolic terms, as representing the effect

of modernization and urbanization in radically changing the face of the city within the lifetime of

one man.

In conclusion, Najib Mahfouz has used symbolism in a very smooth yet mysterious way to

express his feelings to the readers, you start reading thinking its a normal personal story but then

it ends with a strong meaningful message. The aim of the story keeps the reader thinking about

the way the author hid the story’s true intention using symbolism.
MLA citation

“." Short Stories for Students. . Encyclopedia.com. 11 Aug. 2020 .” Encyclopedia.com,

Encyclopedia.com, 5 Oct. 2020, www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-

and-books/half-day.

“Symbolism In Najib Mahfuz's Half A Day.” Cram, www.cram.com/essay/Symbolism-In-Najib-

Mahfuzs-Half-A-Day/F344JLP2B5YW.