A Handful of Dates

“A Handful of Dates” is a coming-of-age story that exemplifies the pain of reconciling with the harsh realities of adulthood, specifically humans Greed for Riches and Power. While not a traditional frame story, Salih structures the story as a boyhood memory. This narrative choice allows the narrator, who tells the story from the first-person point of view, to reflect further and add meaning to his experience of losing his idealized view of his grandfather. Framing the story as a memory allows the narrative to present, early in the story, the boy’s adoration of and desire to be just like his grandfather, whom he compares to the tall and powerful giants in his imagination. The narrative portrays the devolution of the relationship as the grandfather describes the process of buying out the land from the “indolent” Masood, and the narrator reflects on wishing that his grandfather would not continue to exploit him. Finally, the reflective, linear structure of the text builds toward the end of the story when he observes Masood’s exploitation with his own eyes, in which he physically remembers experiencing pain and forces himself to vomit.