In this commentary, I will be talking about how the authors of the short stories ‘My Father’s Ox’ and ‘The Tortoise’, from the book “Sardines and Oranges”, and how they have conveyed the message that both narrators of these stories are strongly affected and controlled by the actions or their families towards them, because of their gender. Both stories are set in Northern Africa and tell the reader the importance of the male role in a North African family. The authors, Hassouna Mosbahi and Hassan Nasr, use the plot and script of their stories to position the reader to see how the actions of the narrator’s family members have affected the narrator physically and mentally and made them the person that they are. Firstly, I will explore the story, ‘The Tortoise’, and how it depicts the life of the narrator, and how the actions performed towards him by his family members has influenced the way that he acts and thinks. Then I will explore the story, ‘My Father’s Ox’ and how it also demonstrates the fact that the narrator is controlled by his family members and their actions. Then I will compare and contrast the two stories and show their similarities and differences and explain how both stories display the same message of the family of the narrator’s being a major factor in the way that the narrator lives.

I will now be talking about Hassouna Mosbahi’s ‘The Tortoise’, and how it positions the reader to see and understand how, in North Africa, a family will treat their son cruelly and harshly, in belief that those actions will make him a man. The narrator was beaten constantly as a child, “They used to beat me all the time”. The repetition of the line “they all beat me” throughout the story emphasises the point that they treated the narrator with severe harshness. Among all the cruelty and violence the narrator had to endure during his childhood, the narrator did experience moments of calm and joy. The narrator only felt happiness when he “disappeared into the barn”, showing that he was happiest when away from his family. The narrator also felt a sense of elation when he discovered books, when the narrator opened up books, he “forgot the world and “was oblivious to everything”. The father of the narrator did not approve of the narrator’s fondness for books, telling the narrator that it would “ruin the family” and threatening him, saying that he will “roast you alive”. The author shows the reader through the threatening use of language that books and papers are not seen as an important use of his son’s time and that it is seen as a disgrace. The narrator’s family not only hurt him physically, but mentally and emotionally as well, they called him by the name of “Ibrahim’s Donkey”, a donkey from the neighbours house, that was old, weak and useless. This comparison further demonstrates the extensive harshness that the narrator had to undergo as a child. Not just physical but mental trauma as well. As the rest of the narrator’s family’s actions hurt the narrator, the actions of ‘Aunt Fatima’ was a positive influence on the narrator’s life, Aunt Fatima was the only family member to show the narrator any compassion, the narrator is very fond of his aunt as she showed “kindness and decency”. The narrator also talks of memories of Aunt Fatima and when she “sang to me”. The compassion shown by Aunt Fatima must have affected the narrator as it is shown when he is older that he is a capable and well-respected man with many adventures and wonderful experiences. The narrator is described as ‘a lord of men’ when he is older, clearly demonstrating his success in life. Therefore, in a way, the cruel mistreatment of the narrator as a child was successful, the narrator’s fondness for books and his Aunt Fatima also played a vital role in the person that he has become. All of these family orientated actions affected the narrator and influenced his actions and way of living. Mosbahi shows that in the Northern regions of Africa, family plays the major factor in the upbringing of a child and are in complete control of the child, even if the influence is benefiting or harming the child.

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The next book I will be discussing is Hassan Nasr’s “My Father’s Ox” and how this story positions the reader to sympathise for the narrator, as his family has influenced and controlled his life and limited the freedom of him living his own life. The story is about a male narrator, Mansur, whose age is not provided in the story, who lives with his mother, his “younger brothers” and an ox, which was seen as a very valuable animal towards the family. Mansur’s father had passed away before the story but it is evident that his actions are still ...

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