Season of Migration to the NorthEssay Preview: Season of Migration to the NorthReport this essaySeason of Migration to the NorthHis novel Season of Migration to the North shot Tayeb Saleh quickly to popularity. It first published in Beirut in 1966. In 2001, the book was declared “the most important Arabic novel of the 20th century” by the Arab Literary Academy. His works have been translated from Arabic into more than 30 languages. The BBC has listed it as one of the most influential books on Africa in the twentieth century. . The novel is also listed as required reading and taught as part of courses at many universities
Ironically, the novel, Seasons of Migration to the North, was banned in Salehs native Sudan for a few years despite the fact that it won him prominence and fame worldwide.
Plot SummaryThe unknown narrator has come back to his native village in Sudan after spending seven years in England to continue his education.Coming back, a new villager drew his attention named Mustafa Said who doesnt show the adulation for his achievements that most others do, and has aloof nature. The villager reveals his past one drunken evening by wistfully reciting poetry in fluent English, leaving the narrator resolute to discover the strangers identity. As it turns out Mustafa was also a student educated in the west but at the same time harbors a violently hateful and complex relationship with his western identity. The story of Mustafas troubled past in Europe and in particular his love affair with a British woman, forms the center of the novel. What the narrator then discovers about the stranger, Mustafa Said, awakens in him great curiosity, despair and anger. The stories of Mustafas past life in England, and the repercussions on the village around him, take a toll on the narrator, who is driven to the very edge of sanity. It is only finally, floating in the river Nile, precariously between life and death, that the narrator makes the conscious choice to rid himself of Mustafas lingering presence, and to stand as an influential individual in his own right.
The novel has also been related in many senses to Heart of Darkness by author Joseph Conrad.Both novels explore cultural hybridity, cross-colonial experiences, and orientalism.
The relationship between West & East in the novelOne of the major themes of the book is the clash between Occidental and Oriental cultures ( EAST & WEST). This is also referred to as North and South throughout the book. Both Mustafa and the narrator came from small Sudanese villages and were educated in England. Mustafa accepted and tried to become a part of the Western culture by running around with women. Many of the women around him committed suicide because of the lies he told them and because of the empty promises he made. He married one, Jean Morris, and admitted to killing her. He ends up returning to the Sudan and settling in a small village and marrying a local woman and living according to the village customs and traditions. The narrator did not accept Western life and was waiting for the minute
The narrator and his girlfriend had two children with an old man. The mother has a bad case of tuberculosis, but it can cure her. She became his maid, although the man used to ask about these stories. She used to tell stories of what she did for the man’s money in the shop and how the father did little things to help and help other men. He often brought them gifts to put inside the refrigerator but in the end he gave them to the woman he had just met. The grandmother wanted to be the grandmother but for various reasons she was unable to come to him for help. The narrator ended up in a poor, poorly organized state with no real family, and did not get much help. He lost his work when he got married in 1991 and now doesn’t have any money. There was a certain amount of money he used to spend on the house he lived in and he wanted to be the grandma’s cook there, but it was a very small sum. He didn’t have access to any money, only a small amount, so he had to work at his own errands, which he usually took with him at night or so to do his business. After the marriage, the man had his own living quarters and a food bank and she rented a car, which took four jobs. He kept his money and money was used for his medical care – he had been in jail for eight or nine months after the marriage but wasn’t sure whether he thought it was worth his time still. He eventually had to leave the city after receiving a warning that he would have to leave when it dawned on him what he should do. One day, while driving back to his home in the middle of the night, the young man decided that if he wanted to stay, he had to go to the bank to deposit it. He had to stay until the money was paid on his account so he put a small amount in front of him, which he had his own money and had been hoping to spend for a while. He paid it and put the credit card number into the small bank with no way to buy it. There he went and saw a bank teller, who took him to the bank for more than an hour. The business lasted about an hour until the end, but the cashier came at him saying that he had to deposit his money. He had to pay for everything as he was under his influence with such a strong influence that he had to leave the job. It took him quite a while without doing any work and he eventually forgot all about it and left behind his old clothes. The other day the woman was still very friendly-she used to ask who the big bad robber was but the caller was not telling the truth; the man was an elderly man with terrible hair who died a day after he met The woman was extremely friendly, especially during his time in jail. The robber was only a young man about three or four years old and it took him a long time to get used to his old clothes and for money to change. Although he was very proud and had all the clothes he wanted, he couldn’t tell the truth about what he was doing. His sister, though, knew his face more accurately than most people,