Half A Day

By: Naguib Mahfouz

 • Do you
remember your
first day at school
when you were in
Kinder garden or
in Grade 1?
I bet some were…
Video Presentation
 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.”
Naguib
Mahfouz
Midaq Alley
 Half a Day: A Summary
• The story begins with a little boy and his father. They
were walking towards the boy’s school for it was the
boy’s first day in school. He was nervous and afraid.
He was convinced that there was nothing good about
going to school. But his father urged him forward
saying; “Be a man. Today you truly begin life. You will
find me waiting for you when it is time to leave.”
 Vocabulary
• Tarboosh - a tasseled 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 a certain

extent; render less perfect, attractive, useful, etc.;
impair or spoil (unmarred would mean the opposite)
 Half a Day: A Summary
• The boy with hesitation entered the school. He met
boys and girls there whom he did not know and
who didn’t know him but where curious about him.
After the gates closed, the children started crying.
Then a lady (teacher) came in and arranged the
children into classes saying, “This is your new
home. Dry your tears and face life joyfully.”
 Half a Day: 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, came contentment for the boy made
new friends, he fell in love with girls, 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.
 Half a Day: A Summary
• But then the boy realized that the path of school
was not always happy. There were bumps on the
road like pain, hatred, fighting, heartbreak and
even the teacher who would scowl and scold then
and would resort to physical punishment. The boy
learned that he and his friends should be careful as
they go on their journey through school.
 Vocabulary

• Exertion - vigorous action or effort

• Throngs - a multitude of people crowded or

assembled together; crowd
 Half a Day: 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.
 Half a Day: A Summary
• After a few 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 troops were crawling the
area. Circus people and conjurers were showing tricks and
performing. A fire engine was causing traffic. The boy felt
like he was going crazy. He said, “How could all this have
happened in half a day, between early morning and sunset?”
 Vocabulary

• Hordes - a large group, multitude, number,

etc.; a mass or crowd

• Conjurers - a person who conjures spirits or

practices magic; magician.
 Half a Day: 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. He then
hurriedly made it to the crossroads. He
needed to cross Abu Khoda to get home but
how could he cross when a line of cars would
not let him?
 Vocabulary

• Abu Khoda – is an actual street in Cairo

located near an elementary school.
 Half a Day: A Summary

• He was extremely irritated as he waited and

wondered when will he be able to cross. Then
after a long time of waiting, a young boy who
worked at the ironing shop from the corner
came up to him and stretched his arm and
said, “Grandpa, let me take you across.”
 What can we learn from the
short story?
• This short story reflects on how fast and quick
time passes. Yesterday we were little children,
today we are teenagers and tomorrow we will be
old people. Nowadays, the hours of a day seem
to be moving too fast and we do not even notice.
Most of us wish for hours to be shorter but when
the day passes we wish for longer hours.
 What can we learn from the
short story?
• We are not grateful and appreciative for the
minutes we are given everyday. We are lucky
that we are given time to do things and be
better because for some people, they don’t
have enough time. We want to grow up already
and be adults. But when we do reach
adulthood, we long for our childhood days.
 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 a file that, once deleted, cannot
be restored from the recycle bin. We need to
make each moment count. “Live for today.”
 What can we learn from the
short story?
• Another reflection is school. The school is not just
a place where we learn about reading, writing and
etc. It is a place were we are being prepared for
life. We are taught to work under pressure and
meet deadlines. We learn how to deal with people.
We experience pain, heartbreak, happiness and
success and many more.
 FOOD FOR THOUGHT
• We often 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, a person simply just
takes education and learning for granted. Be grateful.