Literature of the Picaresque – Writing

Warlesky Fernandez

JPeer

November 15, 2016

¶ 1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 Warlesky R Fernandez

¶ 2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 0 English 2850

¶ 3 Leave a comment on paragraph 3 0 Prof. Jeff Peer

¶ 4 Leave a comment on paragraph 4 0 Dear Reader:

¶ 5 Leave a comment on paragraph 5 1 On the following piece of work, I will present you with the letter written by Mustafa Sa’eed. Here you will find answers to many questions which made this book extremely interesting to me: Why did Mustafa give the responsibility of his family to the narrator? As well as Where did Mustafa go? Why did he go? Although to me there is a certain level of uncertainty regarding his departure, I think the author leaves some of these questions a bit ambiguous. This action by the author allows the reader to convey his own interpretation of what happened to Mustafa. This was a very cool book to read being that it has a good level of engagement. It is very fun to read how the narrator’s grandfather and his friends reminisce about their previous lives and how they go about it―chatting, laughing and being explicit about it. Moreover, like the old saying goes “curiosity killed the cat” and that cat was the narrator who was dying to know who was Mustafa Sa’eed, what was he doing in this small village who the narrator thought of as being his. Finally, my greatest intention is to analyze the letter and draw the best interpretation possible as to why all of this. The letter is about two pages long, and I totally look forward to reading about your thoughts on my work.

¶ 6 Leave a comment on paragraph 6 0 Happy Reading.

¶ 7 Leave a comment on paragraph 7 0 Warlesky R Fernandez. “Season of Migration to the North”

¶ 8 Leave a comment on paragraph 8 0 Letter from Mustafa Sa’eed: (54 – 56)

¶ 9 Leave a comment on paragraph 9 0 “I leave my wife, two sons, and all my worldly goods in your care, knowing that you will act honorably in every respect. My wife knows about all my property and is free to do with it as she pleases. I have confidence in her judgement. However, I would ask you to do this service for a man who did not have the good fortune to get to know you as he would have liked: to give my family your kind attention, and to be a help, a counsellor and an adviser to my two sons and to do your best to spare them the pangs of wanderlust……………”

¶ 10 Leave a comment on paragraph 10 4 Touching words written by Mustafa Saeed because who in their sane mind would leave their family in charge of a total stranger. Although Mustafa and the narrator were getting to know each other, there had not been enough interaction between them for Mustafa to proceed with such a matter. In fact, Mustafa himself said he did not have the fortune to know him as he would’ve liked. Hence, what was going through Mr. Saeed’s mind? Where was he going? Why was he renouncing to his life? These are the question that at the moment are unanswered, hoping to arrive to a conclusion. Was he tired of life, or was that the way of him to simply pay for the death of his previous harlots. There’s much more to read about and I am sure there is a rich end to this story.

¶ 11 Leave a comment on paragraph 11 2 Upon reading the letter left by Mustafa, the narrator finds that he has been assigned a tremendous responsibility. The letter reads: “I leave my wife, two sons, and all my worldly goods in your care, knowing that you will act honorably in every respect.” This action on behalf of Mustafa represents a great level of trust he felt for the narrator, someone he barely knew. Mustafa states: “I ask you to do this service for a man who did not have the good fortune to get to know you as he would have liked.” Why would Mr. Sa’eed leave the responsibility of his family to someone he did not have the opportunity to know? Perhaps because in some way he grew some sort of liking towards the narrator, or maybe he saw himself as the young man the narrator was―responsible, goal getter, intelligent and respected by the people of the village. The fact is that his family was left in the care of this young man who was full of curiosity of who was Mr. Mustafa Sa’eed.

¶ 12 Leave a comment on paragraph 12 1 Mr. Mustafa was concerned about the places his children would visit and perhaps the atrocities or ventures they would live therefore he wanted to spare them from any disappointment per se. Sa’eed tells in his letter: “do your best to spare them from the pangs of wanderlust.” Mr. Sa’eeds concern perhaps derives from the fact that as a young man he experienced what takes place in other parts of the world as he traveled from a Khartoum, a small village, to Cairo and London, where he lived plenty life experiences, some good and some bad, for him to know that he would not want his children to live any of these bad experiences he had to endure. “Spare them from the pangs of wanderlust and help them have a normal upbringing and to take up worthwhile work.” The statement “Pangs of wanderlust” means a painful emotion from the strong desire to travel. Therefore, Mustafa wanted to avoid his children any displeasure derived from the wickedness that exists around the vain world. As a result, he asked the narrator, someone who left behind for a prolong time the purity of the village to go abroad where he perhaps saw or experience some of the life experiences Mustafa lived, who would understand his request of caring for his children in this manner.

¶ 13 Leave a comment on paragraph 13 1 The narrator sensed that Mustafa had an intricate life which arouse tremendous curiosity and therefore, he wanted to get to the bottom of who Mr. Sa’eed was. Mustafa exposes in his letter: “I know you to be suffering from undue curiosity where I am concerned―something for I can find no justification.” From the moment of his return, the narrator wanted to know who was the man who was not doing a fuss for his return. Rather he was watching from afar perhaps showing little interested which cause the narrator to get filled with curiosity as to why this man was no celebrating his return full of joy as well. The handsome man with the beautiful eyes who no one knew much about. The curiosity grew to such extent that he asked his closest people of the village about this strange man, yet no one knew anything solid about him. “I leave you the key of my private room where you will perhaps find what you are looking for” Evidently Mustafa was aware of the narrator’s interest to know all his secrets and therefore, he gave him the key to what would be the truth of who Mustafa really was.

¶ 14 Leave a comment on paragraph 14 2 Mustafa’s life has been hindered by his past which was the cause of his secrecy. Mr. Sa’eed tell the narrator in his letter: “Were it not for my realization that knowledge of my past by the village would have hindered my leading the life I had chosen for myself in their midst there would have been no justification for secrecy.” Perhaps here Mustafa is trying to explain to the narrator that in his past life he committed things of which he was not proud of and those were actions that were a burden to him. Moreover, those actions caused him to have an intricate life full of secrets because it was not of his great interest for the people in the village to know the past that lied behind him due to their conservative culture.

¶ 15 Leave a comment on paragraph 15 1 Mustafa wanted his children to know who their father was despite the fact they would judge him or not, love him or not or perhaps think well of him or not. “I leave you to judge the proper time for giving my sons the keys of the room and for helping them understand the truth about me.” But, who was Mustafa? The narrator himself, although was given the duty to share such important information with his family, did know who Mustafa was. He was extremely curious to know but had not had the opportunity to do so. “If you are unable to resist the curiosity in yourself then you will find, in that room that has never before been entered by anyone but myself, some scraps of paper various fragments of writing attempts at keeping diaries, and the like.” This evidence was at hand at the end of the story when the narrator finally found the courage to enter the room and really find out the secrets of Mustafa Sa’eed. He learned about his previous women and how he treated them like harlots among. Also, there he found the most important secret of his life which was his that of his wife who was product of death by his own hands and who at the same time for the first time claimed to love him dearly. These were the stories he wanted his children to know about which were stories that perhaps would have change the late image people knew about the great, secretive Mustafa Sa’eed.

¶ 16 Leave a comment on paragraph 16 1 Mustafa’s past is an undesirable thought that was tormenting him in his new life. “That distant call still rings in my ears” In this evidence Mustafa makes reference to what happened with his first wife Jean who was a victim of on his own hands due to the lies, betrayals, and fights that occurred between them during their matrimony which resulted in Mustafa burring a dagger into her chest as he so many times promised that he would take her life if she continued her behavior. “I thought that my life and marriage here would silence it.” Unfortunately, along came the narrator whose curiosity created uncertainty in Mustafa’s life. Perhaps this was the moment which he sensed that his time was coming to an end and therefore, proceeded with the creation of this letter which explained many of the secrets which no one knew about. Also, it provided the narrator with the answers to his curiosity.

¶ 17 Leave a comment on paragraph 17 2 Although the narrator and Mustafa did not know each other, Mustafa left the responsibility of his family to him. Moreover, Mr. Sa’eed destine was yet uncertain and unknown. The reason for which he renounced to his life remains ambiguous. However, the one thing that is certain is that the narrator had all the necessary means to answer all his questions as to why Mustafa left him the responsibility of his family.