Half a Day

Half a Day Summary | Detailed Summary

The story, which takes place in Egypt, begins with a father taking his son to his first day of school. The boy is proud to be wearing his new school uniform, but wonders whether going to school rather than staying home with his mother represents some kind of punishment. As they walk along a garden-lined street the boy's father tells him that school is not a punishment but a place where boys are transformed into useful men. "Today you truly begin life," he says.

When they reach the school, which looks like a grim fortress to the boy, they stand looking through the gate at the crowds of children already in the schoolyard. The father encourages the boy to go through the gate by himself, to face the experience cheerfully, and to be a man. The father says that when the school day is over, he will be waiting at the gate to accompany the boy home.

The boy goes through the gate, feeling lost and unknown, but then he realizes that the other children are curious about him. At last, one boy speaks to him, asking who brought him to school. When the narrator answers that his father brought him, the new acquaintance tells him his own father is dead.

When the gate closes with a screech, a bell rings to begin the school day. A woman speaks to the children, while a group of men separates them into a pattern of ranks in the yard. The woman tells the children that this is their new home, and that they will find mothers and fathers here, as well as good things related to knowledge and religion. She also encourages them to face their experiences joyfully without tears.

The boy narrating the story describes the school day as a period of submitting to facts, with the act of submission bringing a kind of happiness. The school day involves forming relationships, playing games, and learning music. There are introductions to language, geography, and mathematics, and the children are taught about the Creator of the universe. They eat, take a nap, and awake from the nap to continue their activities of love, friendship, playing, and learning.

As the day wears on, however, it is not always happy or sweet. There are unpleasant winds and unexpected accidents to experience. Rivalries and fighting among friends bring pain. The woman who seemed so benign when she first spoke to the children at the beginning of the day also becomes angry and scolds them. She even resorts to physical punishment on an increasingly frequent basis.

The boy comes to realize that there is no chance of going back to the way he was that morning before he left home to go to school. He now sees life as a period of struggle and perseverance different from the close and intimate life he had known with his mother at home. He notes that some students are able to take advantage of opportunities for success and happiness that present themselves throughout the day, despite periods of worry and concern.

When the bell rings to announce the end of the school day, the children run toward the open schoolyard gate. The boy says goodbye to his friends and goes outside to look for his father. He does not find him waiting there as he had promised. After waiting for a long time, the boy decides to return home on his own. As he begins his walk, a middle-aged man passes him and they recognize one another. The man remarks that it has been a long time since they had seen each other. When the boy asks the man how he is, the man replies, "As you can see, not all that good, the Almighty be praised!" They shake hands, and the man moves off as the boy realizes that the world outside the school has changed since he went in.

Instead of the garden-lined street and the crop fields beyond, he sees crowds of people, tall buildings, streams of traffic, piles of garbage, and the air is filled with noise. There are conjurers and clowns, a band announcing a circus, and a line of trucks filled with security troops. A taxi driver, passenger and the passenger's wife are fighting in the street. In short, the world has changed in just half a day. The boy thinks to himself that he will find the answer to his confusion at home with his father, but he does not know where his home is. He knows he must cross Abu Khoda to reach his house, but the traffic is so intense he does not know how he will get across the road. While the fire engine's siren continues to screech, the narrator stands waiting to cross the road. At last, a young man coming from one of the shops on the street to help him says, "Grandpa, let me take you across."